I was safely away from the fires

Luckily, I live in the city, a safe 7.8km from the nearest house that was burnt down. All that happened to me was the lights and some other electrical equipment in my flat flickered, and the power dipping caused my airconditioner to temporarily malfunction.
Being stuck in the heat fearing permanent damage to my airconditioner was nothing compared to the horror of losing irreplaceable items that the poor people in Canberra's south suffered in that dreadful bushfire.
What I saw from where I live was a huge black, later deep orange, cloud of smoke to the southwest, filling the sky. The colour of the outside lighting was really wierd. To the north was normal daylight but the south was a really rich orange colour. I still can't believe it was PITCH DARK in Kambah at 4.30pm in the afternoon!!