Bush Fires

[jimmybeersa]

To all of our friends down in "Oz"
Have been seeing what has been happening around Canbera on CNN. Devasateing !!!! We in SA know about drought and what it causes .
May the wind die down, and we wish Safety to all of you who are threatened

 

[Woodie]

thanks for that Jimmybeers. Yep. It's happpening again. It's getting worse by the hour. As I mentioned in the chat last night, about the heat that was expected over that area today. Well, it was not pretty. Some parts of Sydney hit 44C today, with Canberra up to 39C.

According to the news, more than 200 homes have been lost in Canberra so far today. Canberra is a city of about 300,000, settled and built since the 1920's. A very spread out place, with corridors of bush separating the suburbs, and backing on to houses. The wind is blowing burning embers miles from the fire fronts and starting many many fires in these corridors of bush. There just ain't enough people and equipment to attend to them all.

Once a fire like that starts, then no stopping it. No stopping it at all.

Canberra. The building in the foreground, is Parliament House.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

What a beautiful pic! I'm praying your winds die down and you get rain!

 

[MCL_RDG]

Forget about the heat- it's the cold what gets ya!

Forget about the heat- it's the cold/chill what gets ya!

-1 here...

...here in PA, USA (Pennsylvania, United States of America- that's for the Gauge members who wouldn't understand anything simpler or where they might wanna be).

 

[Woodie]

It's not shaping up very well today either. More heat and wind. They reckon more than 400 homes have gone up in Canberra now. No one is really sure. However the primary concern is lives. So far loss has been minimal (2 deaths). Looks like another bad day.

I've got a 10 hr drive in this 40C + heat too. Fires will probably spring up all over the state. They usually do at times like this.

Fires are just part of where we live.

Check this thread from this time last year. here

 

[Bill Stone]

We in California know what wildfires are like too.
Our thoughts are with you. Hope there's relief soon.
BillS

 

[Woodie]

Thanks guys. It's abated a bit now, but still could blow up again.

I drove through two fires on the way back from 5 days away, last night. (between Sydney & Queensland). They wre letting the traffic through, though.

These two fires aren't even rating a mention on any news, so they musn't have been that bad.

A friend just sent me this pic. It is (or was) the Mt Stromlo Observatory on the outskirts of Canberra. Friends live nearby, but they are OK.

When it's like this, there's nothing you can do to stop it. Nothing.

 

[Woodie]

All,

It's not all over yet. Need lots of crossed fingers this weekend. The fires are by no means out, and it's forecast to be even hotter and windier all over SE Australia this weekend. 42C for both Melbourne and Adelaide and 38C for Canberra, with 40's for parts of Sydney as well. 540 houses went in the Canberra fires a few days ago, and about another 50 have gone since, right through Victoria and Southern NSW and Tasmania. No lighting even a ciggie outdoors, all the fireworks for Australia Day have been cancelled, and, as the burning areas (mostly bush, in the last few days) are usually destinations for tourists on this holiday weekend, everyone has been asked to stay home. Last time conditions were like this following an extended drought, 2500 homes and 100 lives were lost. Here's crossing fingers that it doesn't happen again.

 

[jon-monon]

Woody, I as well as many others here, kkepin' my fingers, toes, and eyes crossed for ya. Also sayin' a lil prayer to the Great Master Modeler in the sky...

 

[Woodie]

Phew... well it was a stinker as predicted with 42C in Adelaide and 44.1C (112F) in Melbourne today, and the fires took off as predicted, but they managed to keep them in the bush. More than 200 fires are going, with one on a 250km front. No major catastrophies as yet. But tomorrow is predicted to be much of the same. More crossed fingers.