Australia's Hard Summer

These photos arrived in my email last evening. I tried to find out who took them but was not able to. The little koala apparently was abandoned by his mother who became disoriented during a heatwave Australia is presently suffering. As sweet as these photos are, and heart warming that this little fellow found refuge, the bigger picture is horrific.
This morning I received word from Saucey Chef's husband, living near Melbourne who wrote, "The fires have been as close as 8kms but fine now. Lots of distraught folk. 7000 homeless, 1,000 homes gone. 3-4 hundred killed. No one's untouched by this. I talked to an old mate tonight. He's lost both his children.
I'll probably be heading up to a town called Marysville as soon as they clear the bodies. The town had 4-5 thousand folk living there. Now there are 6 houses left standing. Fortunately the weather has cooled but the wind is still around and the temp will be up to 30c by the weekend.
One fire front is 250kms long and not contained. Pray for my girls working in schools where mates/parents/grandparents are dead...Prayers are greatly valued."
Light rain did fall overnight there, meaning throughout today for us here in North America. The aftermath is "akin to a war zone." People are pulling together; a charity cricket match between New Zealand and Australia, donating relief monies and opening their homes to those left with nothing. Please pray for rain, relief aid and that people receive help they need to deal with this tragedy.