1/1--The Sydney Sky
 

http://cellar.org/pictures/sydney2.jpg

Tony, I don't know if you were planning an IotD today or not, so I hope you don't mind.

Bush fires are currently burning in the Australian state of New South Wales. The fires are starting to enter Sydney's suburbs, and smoke is choking the sky. This pic is from AP. The Opera House and Harbor Bridge are in the lower right corner. The ABC (that's Australian Broadcasting Company) has a gallery showing some of the destruction on their site.

Don't mind at all sir, I'd just forgotten.

There, I've edited it so it's right in the message and not an attachment.

I had thought that I'd set things up so that attachments would be automatically viewed. I'm gonna have another go at that setting...

Argh I came here to get away from the news about the frigging fires...every summer its the same..

Here's a photo I took 2 days ago of the smoke within the Sydney CBD:
http://wolvie.org/misc/files/0112/DSC00174.JPG

And here's a nice one from the Sydney Morning Herald, who have many more good photos of the fires linked off this page:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0112/26/graphics/fsnap2.jpg

NBC News had a great shot of the actual skyline earlier tonight, but I couldn't find a copy of it.

This pic is from the ABC.

Sorry jag. Truth be told, I don't think we really have a city here in the US that is so close as to be hit by something like this (forest fire, bush fire, etc.). At least not that I can think of off the top of my head. Forest fires are generally common here during our summer, particularly in the western US. Actually, last summer, a forest fire in New Mexico threatened Los Alamos.

wow. it would be cool if, in california, the hills didn't block my view of the horizon or the sky. or if i could even see the sky without all of the clouds. or if there wasn't so much light pollution at night so i could see the stars.

sycamore: Are those PEOPLE on top of the bridge? Maintainance people? Or are mere mortals allowed to go up there?

-B

I always thought you were allowed to walk over it.

It is a shame that kids are mostly starting these fires... or so I've been told...

9 to 16 year olds

If I understand correctly, you can pay to walk on top of the bridge. Sportscaster Ahmad Rashad did it for NBC when the Olympics were there in 2000.

But what if they fell? Isn't the city (or whoever owns the bridge) worried about all the lawsuits? I mean, it's "dangerous" to allow people to choose to risk their own lives like that! They should prevent them from doing things like that for their own good! Oh, wait... that's NOT in the U.S.... Never mind.

yeah, i too heard that the US was the only country worried about deaths and resulting lawsuits.

A company runs daily tours over the top of the bridge, obviously you have guides iwth you and are strapped to the bridge itself rock-climbing style so you can't drop off.