We have those fires in California most years it just doesn't get reported because we are 12,000 miles away.
I love opal mining and when dad was younger spent our holidays at Cooper Pedy opal mining.
The bushfires here are terrible and the fire crews have warned it too late to leave and prepare to defend yourselves. I've very worried that lives will be lost. This is normal here as it gets very hot and the northern winds fan the bushfires.