Spitfire

Not far from my home in NW Sydney we have thousands of hectares of untouched bushland settled among rural properties and small towns. In many years, idiots (no other way to describe them) have "fun" by deliberately setting fire to them. While this photo was taken four years ago, at the end of '09, last spring the same area was again devastated by hooligans who set fire to it. Needless to say it is heartbreaking for the sheer loss of wildlife and threat to adjoining properties.

I was aghast seeing this large gum tree and noted sparks flying out through one of the hollow limbs as the fires abated this day. The tree still stands to date, but it is only a matter of time before fires burn out the inside totally and it will crumble into a heap on the ground.

Many fires are started by firebugs in NSW. Sad, but true.