AS temperatures soared to 45c (113f), most of Australia held its breath. We all know what high temperatures, strong winds, a dry earth from a decade of drought, and idiots with nothing better to do with matches than cause mayhem, can do to our fragile environment.

And that was the sorry tale that many Australians woke up to on Sunday morning. Almost half of the state of Victoria turned to ashes in what has been described as the worst Victorian bushfires in history. In fact, the worst bushfires in Australia’s history.

Estimates are that nearly 200 have or will lose their life, 33 people from the one hamlet have died. At last count, over 750 homes had been destroyed with countless schools, halls, churches and businesses in ashes. In some areas, complete towns have been wiped out. I don’t mean tiny villages either, I am talking small towns with populations of around 1000. Australia has not known such devastation since cyclone Tracy wiped out Darwin many years ago.

One can only imagine the terror that many families have endured. In fact, it’s not only the families. Emergency services such as firefighters, both paid and volunteer, state emergency services, police and ambulance. They have all been involved in the fight and now, when a lot of the danger is over, they must help with the clean up. It is their job to search burnt out properties and vehicles trying to account for every person known to be in the burnt out areas.

I know lightening caused many of these fires, however there is now evidence to show that quite a few were also deliberately lit. Why? That is the question on everyone’s lips.

Australians are a resilient lot. We will band together, forget issues that often divide us, and get stuck in to clean up the ruins and yes, rebuild again. Hundred’s of thousands of dollars have already been donated including $100,000 from Football Federation Of Australia along with a pledge to replace soccer equipment in all schools and clubs.

In what many would consider sheer irony, the northern parts of Australia are recovering from cyclone damage and suffering from huge floods – the weather at its extremes.

The Victorian bushfires may have been one of our worst disasters on record – but that is only a statistic. We will regroup and rebuild. We will get on with our lives. It’s the Australian way. We don’t quit – we fight on.