Fire Problem
 

Not a good couple of days for my southern neighbours in the state of victoria

Just north of melbourne has seen more than 700 homes destroyed, and whats worse, more than 65 people killed.

You northerners hear anything about it?

Very dry and windy conditions from what i've been reading. Are you in any danger Baggy?

Yeh what a mess, poor bastards, seeing the news certainly brought tears to my eyes.:cry:

A mate of mine and his family have lost their home last night in the fires around Marysville. Luckily they are all OK but I can't imagine the rebuilding process they are about to start.:o

I'm still trying to get hold of another good friend who lives near Bendigo who I've not been able to contact. I hope he and his family are all safe.

I saw this on the news yesterday and thought to myself that it was a drastic state of affairs.... I am keeping my fingers crossed for the people down under.

My thoughts and prayers mate!:oops::yep:

Not wrong... we had a thread a week or so about how there was a few days of temps over 100. Melbourne way ended up with a few of about 110+, as well as hot dry winds coming straight in off of the desert... Bound to happen somewhere. But thats the way this country is.. there've been massive bushfires every year for nearly a hundred thousand years if not more...

Not this time round mate, cheers for the concern. lived through the fire in Canberra in 2003, took out more than 500 homes in the capital city. This one's worse although not as large in terms of area, 700+ homes... lives....

I tell you, if it was an arsonist they oughta bring back burning at the stake when they catch him

Fingers crossed for ya mate. Dont worry too much, most mobile towers and phonelines have been, well from images i saw earlier, vapourised.

Cheers mate. It's been a terrible day down there with 76 now confirmed dead and the toll likely to rise as rescue and fire crews move into areas they have not been able to get to yet, making this disaster worse than Ash Wednesday in 1983.

Sorry to hear about all that. I think this is the highest death toll to bushfires that I can remember.:cry::nope:

I offer my hopes and prayers for the victims of this disaster. I feel a bit useless just doing that, though. I really wish that I had something else to contribute.

One of my employees (also a volunteer firey) is ready to board his truck and head down there now. Indeed, five of his colleagues have just left for Beechworth (as part of the 90 that the ACT have so far sent).

Hope they catch the b@stard(s) that lit some of the fires. :nope:

84 deaths now and still climbing.

Still waiting to hear back from friends in Doreen (near Hurstbridge); not sure if they're in the fire line.

Wow, our TV has been out of action for a few days so this is the first I've even heard of it.

:nope:

Terrible yet needless deaths
 

Terrible news. Having experienced bush fires for myself back around Christmas/New Years 2002 at our property at Colo Heights (2 hours NW of Sydney centre) I know what it is like. However I do not know what it is like to loose your house or loved ones. Really depressing stuff. :cry:

Looking from afar over here in the UK I have seen many of the scenes and footage on BBC and Sky News. And from what I have seen I am not surprised by the high number of fatalities.

It looks like many people either weren't prepared or panicked and tried to escape the fires when it was too late. People need to make a clear decision. Either stay to protect your property or get out at least 24 hours before the fire comes through your area.

Secondly I have to question the bushfire preparedness of many of the residents in the areas effected. My father lives in Lancefield which is near to many of the areas in country Victoria that have been devastated by the bushfires. The last time I was home downunder we spent much time out on the golfcourses around these areas. I was amazed just how many of the houses and properties that were closely surrounded by lush gardens, dense vegetation, and overhanging gum trees. :damn: I remember Dad commenting that these peoples homes were ticking time bombs if we had a hot summer with those nasty strong northerly winds.

On the tv I have seen scenes of residents and homeowners fighting fires wearing synthetic clothing, in thongs (flip flops), shorts, and t-shirt. This is just plain crazy stuff. :nope: I would hasten to bet that many of these people are city slickers who have moved to these country areas as has been the trend in both Melbourne and Sydney. Perhaps the Country Fire Authority (CFA) should have been more proactive in providing advise to such newcomer residents.

The terrible fires that we experienced at Colo Heights, NSW in late 2002 were intense. I remember standing in the middle of one of the paddocks watching as the fire raged along our property fence line. Our property borders the Parr State Conservation Area which is rough and hilly Aussie bush coutry. That moment standing in the middle of the paddock was both awe inspiring and terrifying. The fire was racing through the canopy and at ground level consuming everything. And the heat radiated from it was immense. I was at least 75 to 100 metres away yet my eyebrowse were starting to singe from the intense heat. If only I could of told of my experience to the clowns wearing shorts, t-shirt and thongs. Back to our experience we were as best prepared as we could be and because of that all we lost was the perimeter property and some paddock fencing being about 6 kilometres in length which was a little costly to replace. But then again this was nothing compared to loosing ones house or worse ones life.

In short I am extremely saddened and also very angry. Too many people lost their lives and in my view many of these deaths were avoidable if both homeowners and local authorities had of been more proactive and responsible. Such a terrible tragedy and waste. :down:

P.S. Sorry for my rant but I just had to get it off my chest.