In Victoria where The Green Man lives most of the population lives in suburbia and views itself as safe from bushfires which are a natural feature of the environment in which we live. Even though many live in areas where their feeling of security is quite unfounded they are protected by the management of fire by the government.

Unlike most of these people The Green Man knows both the necessity of fire to our ecosystem and also the terrifying experience of being confronted by a bush fire. The image of a bush fire that people have is typically a daylight one. This is because it is when the news cameras can get good footage. With even the simplest extension of the imagination however will realise that bushfires do not go out at night and magically restart the next day. They burn through the night and few things are more frightening than watching the approaching fire at night.

This is the view from The Green Mans balcony. Fortunately on this occasion it is a fuel reduction burn by Parks Victoria but the glow in the night sky, the smell of burning gum and the discoloured moon are disconcerting when you have experienced the real thing.