I hope all other Aussie members, friends & families are safe and not effected by our current bush-fire emergencies.
My heart goes out to all the affected people and families that have lost everything. Also the loss of live stock and animals is also devastating. Bush fires destroy everything it touches, usually very little is salvageable. I just hope there is no more loss of life. Stay safe. Pete
New South Wales and Queensland have declared States of Emergency. We are a nation of 24m people and 6m will be in areas of great fire danger today. For residents of NSW: NSW RFS - NSW Rural Fire Service For Queensland: State of Fire Emergency Declared There are fires in other regions as well and we haven’t hit summer yet. @ROBBO55 I know that country around you. I hope you’re in the clear. Tony
@Tony Press No fires near us at present but the temp is rising and the winds are starting to strengthen. We have spent the last couple of days clearing and getting ready. Hoses are out and the generator is ready to power the pumps. Hopefully they won't be needed.
To all our Aussie mates....hope you and your families and friends stay safe during this dangerous and disturbing bush fire outbreak.
NSW Rural Fire Service says bushfires have combined to create 60km 'mega fire' north of Sydney - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) An update - The nearest bush fire to me is about 90kms away. It can’t come in this direction due to the types of land use in between, so we are very lucky in that regard. A relatively insignificant impact, we may cancel our family Christmas this year as the location requires family to drive through areas expected to be burning in three weeks time. Everyone is safe, but some family do have a farm close to the current fire front.
The bush fires here, on the Darling Downs are heartbreakingly devastating as they are in NSW and the other States. Our volunteer fire fighters are doing a heroic job of protecting life and property. We are very indebted to their service. I hope that you all that are affected are safe. Pete
Graham The situation in New South Wales is very grim indeed: 648 homes destroyed and 250 damaged; 2000 thousand outbuildings destroyed; one fire complex has burned over 300,000 ha (750,000 acres) and yesterday had a 60 kilometre fire front approaching heavily populated areas. The best the firefighters can do at these scales is to save lives and reduce property loss. The fires won’t be extinguished without substantial rain, and that rain is a long way away. Last night I was talking to a friend in the Blue Mountains. He’s packing up precious things to take to safety in Sydney. He’s including a Gloria 400 in the list. My thanks to all the firefighters and emergency services personnel battling this calamity. Tony
Blimey...as close as the Blue Mountains. I used to drive to to the pie shop in Katoomba. I hope you folks will be ok. We're thinking of you all over here in pom.
@Tony Press Yeah ....... bit bloody grim. The firerys and emergency workers are truely amazing and selfless. They battle the fires with little or no rest moving from one fire outbreak to another. We need a good soaking rain, however it’s a drought and rain ain’t on the cards. Cheers Pete
Just an update seeing I posted earlier. Found this taken 2 hrs ago. These are the fires just north of Sydney, NSW. I'm in the lower RH corner of the map. The main movement of th fires has been in a north east direction but have also been moving at a slower rate in a western and southerly direction. The section known as "3 mile" is now roughly 14km (8 1/2miles) from my place. I have been preparing and now it is a matter of wait'n'see. NSW Rural Fire Service Fires Near Me
@ROBBO55 Hey Martin, be safe and make sure you exercise you bush fire plan in plenty of time. Thinking of you mate. Cheers Pete
@ROBBO55 Too many fires close , near you. See some are still not controlled. Take great care. Iain PS on Nov 10th flew back from Brisbane to Melbourne on a jet and for just under the first hour continuous fire front appeared on east side. Terrible but gives some perspective.
Hope things don't get out of hand on your side, Martin. Same here, stay safe as you can, all Aussie members. Its rather dry and windy there. Any bush fires would be really tough to control. The odds are: there isn't going to be enough water to fight all of them at the moment. They might have to resort to other means and work fast. Perhaps creating some discontinuity on the vegetation coverage by clearing them and trenching. The number of firefighters are rather limited for fires of such scale. Assistance from able-bodied volunteers from the communities there could tremendously improve the situation if appropriately managed.
Nasty stuff these fires. We’re getting a hammering here on the Darling Downs in Queensland. I fear and see that our friends in NSW are getting it worse. Stay safe everyone and remember goods and possessions can be replaced, lives can’t. Cheers Pete
I haven’t got Queensland info but extreme temperatures and dry lightning are forecast for parts of the east of Australia today. Tony
We have a few fires burning in East Gippsland. The link below is a "Live" map showing current incidents (not just fires) across the state of Victoria. Incidents and Warnings - VicEmergency
These fires are not looking like ending any time soon, we have forecasts of temperatures to 47 deg C in some areas in next few days. NSW information(Fires Near Me) looked earlier tonight 115 incident active , some of these are over 100 thousand hectares. good luck and stay safe
Special report by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/statements/scs72.pdf Tony
Not looking too good over there, it seems. The rain clouds are currently over at Southeast Asia, my area at least. Its wet here, day and night.
A summary of events: NSW bushfires burn an area greater than Wales, the result of an exceptional spring - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
