You’re right, it is scary. 
Some more stats below for Canberra in 2019:
Adelaide, by comparison, in regards to temps:
So yes, Canberra is still cooler than Adelaide (& Sydney) generally. 
Although nothing in comparison to what’s going on in the fire fronts, Canberra is shrouded in the worst smoke so far. Literally seeping into the house and making eyes water. Had to leave friends house early, and the city is eerily quiet.
I was there a few days ago, and it just suddenly appeared within 15 minutes while I was up on Black Mountain. It’s quite confronting.
The smoke onset is very sudden in Canberra because it gets blown in on the evening easterly. There is basically a wall of fire on the South Coast at the moment, so unfortunately smoky evenings and mornings will be a feature in the nation’s capital for some time.
‘MONSTROUS LINES’: Incredible scenes as tens of thousands try to flee:
BBC News - Australia fires: NSW declares week-long state of emergency
Gladys Berejiklian declares a state of emergency
Foreign media reported it before local media did.
This has got to be the biggest mass evacuation effort in Australia’s history. I’m shocked by the sheer amount of populated area that’s under direct threat, and how many people are effectively trapped. There are runs on supermarkets with two Woolworths closing, IGAs operating out of darkness and, most importantly, petrol stations running out of any fuel!
If this is a time to use the military for support, it’s now. They need to get fuel and food down there pronto.
The government should have already been acting on this.
The prime minister should be ensuring that there is action and support in all the affected areas and be seen doing so. By all means, thank the volunteers but I saw him on the news today doing a visit with his wife, as if he is on the campaign trail.
Gladys Berejiklian shows up every single day. Empathetic, straight and professional. Information and fact is what the Premier arms herself with. Scott Morrison though, by his own admission, has made mistakes.
He needs to be seen to a be a leader who can handle this disaster. People are looking for someone to blame, and at the moment he’s a good candidate.
Not to mention the reception for the cricketers yesterday, which looked like a party at Kirribilli House.
A Current Affair reporter Dimity Clancey summed it up pretty concisely on Today.
“Don’t have lavish parties in your mansion with the cricketers. You know, people don’t want to see that. That is not a good look. You should be down there with (volunteers), thanking them,” she said.
“The anger for the PM is huge. People saying, you know, if you’ve got time to thank the cricketers, go down and thank the people on the frontline.
“I don’t think he should be having parties. I don’t think receptions. Yes, the cricket does have to go ahead, that is the very heart of Australian spirit, and god forbid if it can give somebody in a disaster zone who’s sitting in an evacuation centre to watch for half an hour a little bit of a distraction. That has to go ahead.
“But I think the reception – I think the cricketers would expect, you’re not going to be here to thank us, you need to be down there.”
Bomaderry, which is the terminus for South Coast railway line, is just outside the leave zone.
The Guardian Australia’s political editor Katharine Murphy has launched a scathing attack on PM Scott Morrison over his lack of leadership in the current bushfires.
Long way off. Darwin after cyclone Tracey and when Japan entered the war before the bombings.
The areas affected are: East Gippsland Shire, Mansfield Shire, Wellington Shire, Wangaratta Rural Shire, Towong Shire, Alpine Shire, Mount Butler, Mount Hotham and Mount Stirling Alpine Resorts.
That’s literally the eastern third of Victoria. So the Victorian Government is thinking the three Alpine resorts could be in fire danger as well.
Think it has a lot to do with there being only one road out of the resorts, with the Great Alpine Road closed past Ensay on the Omeo side of Mount Hotham. Going via the Kiewa Valley only puts you at the bottom of the Corryong fire (through Tallangatta, Dartmouth etc); at least from Myrtleford there are a few different routes towards the Hume Freeway.
Have had family holidaying in the region pack up and return home middle of Thursday. The smoke in places like Bright is now unbearable, despite it being unlikely that a fire would impact the town proper.
Certainly would be a bigger evac than the start of WWII - Darwin only had 3000 population in 1938. Darwin had a population of 40,000 in 1971 a few years prior to Tracey.
Eurobodalla and Bega Valley LGAs have populations of 60,000+ combined in total, with most of those areas being under leave orders - and that’s not including Milton-Ulladulla which are part of Shoalhaven LGA which are also under leave orders.
Those images of people evacuated to the beaches are frightening, and the situation is exacerbated by the fact that each town usually only has one or two roads leading in and out, some of which are blocked by fire.
OK, seems I’ve missed the bit about the NSW South Coast being evacuated. Can any of that be done by road? The problem at Malacoota is the road is not an option.
Well, yes - but the road is intermittently being blocked by the fires. There are tailbacks for miles in Milton-Ulladulla from people along the coast trying to get out (people calling on radio say they’ve been there for 12 hours!), but the road towards Nowra and Sydney is blocked by fires.
People further south in Bega can access the Snowy Mountains Highway to get to the relative safety of Cooma and then onto Canberra.
From what I understand the huge fire at Batemans Bay is totally blocking the Princes Highway for towns south of Moruya to Bega, so their only way out is south via the Snowy Mountains Highway. Plus the King’s Highway (the direct route to Canberra from Batemans Bay) is completely closed off due to the fires.
A very anxious wait for those in cars. I wouldn’t want to be caught in that traffic, that’s for sure.
Latest update on Victorian bushfires: