as at now the number dead is 131..it is now expected to hit 230. 40 fires are still burning. I live in adelaide..and we'd copped worse weather than vic. It's mindblowing we didnt get these fires in previous 2 weeks. WE'd hit records of 46C.. We are going back into the heat come weekend..and we're at threat of fires. A former news presenter and his wife died. Stories of survival are incredible. one man had to crawl into a tunnel under a road,he ended catching fire and couldnt breathe. he doesnt know how he survived. A woman and her kids puts blankets over a wombat hole and huddled there. Even prime minister broke down on tv.
I'm back home (Central Vic near Bendigo) and there's nothing but eerily clear skies here. I'm surrounded by state forest, and am packed and ready to get out of here at any sign of trouble. I was living in the Dandenongs during Ash Wednesday in '83, and although I was only a kid, I can clearly remember the darkness, and the ash falling from the sky. It's one of the scariest things I've ever seen, and I never want to see it again. EDIT: ********** Photos. **********
I was reading about this about 13 hours ago on twitter. Check it out, ppl are still posting about it. http://search.twitter.com/search?q=brushfire
hey kerosene, If i was in your shoes i'd be leaving immediately. I've also heard that there has been another fire lit by two arsonists. I could rant all day about my thoughts on this. Current count for dead is at 181 now. Its expected to hit 300 before days end...
I seem to be in the only part of country Victoria that isn't on fire. I was in Eaglehawk yesterday, and even the relatively small fires they had there have done a huge amount of damage.
My part is relatively unscathed, but the problems are huge given that strong winds can blow the embers into new areas faster than even bush fires. I think the fire fighters only managed to control 12 km of the more than 100km of fire. The only thing that can clear up this mess is to borrow some rain from Queensland.
It's terrible to see how bad the bushfires have actually gotten. It's being covered by pretty much every major TV station and newspaper in Australia. I live in Sydney so I haven't felt the effects, but I can only imagine what some people are going through.
Yeah.. Its been real bad.. the toll has gone above 120 on last reports.. Hope everything gets back on track and the survivors get over the tragedy.. May the souls RIP..
Toll has reached 181 now, and they are expecting it could rise above 300. I can't believe someone burned down the house of one of the fire fighters when he went home to sleep. He was killed. There are some very sick people out there. I also am in Adelaide and am feeling so lucky that we didn't get fires like that during the hotest heat wave in years. It was a scortcher, and our hills are very similar to that of the landscape where the worst fires happened in VIC. My heart goes out to them, and i encourage everyone to dig deap and help out, even if in a small way. There are so many parents that have lost children and also orphaned kids. No amount of money will change that, but it will atleast help them rebuild some sort of life.
Its very sad one of my friends was caught in the middle of all this in Melbourne, and she was horrified to say the least, she says the flames could easily be 100 feet high, it was so intense. It may be all natural you know, as some channels are reporting it could be set by terrorist. Fires destroy resources, cause pollution and kill people the perfect disaster fro terrorist. She sent me this pic poor koala, I thought animals can sense natural fires
Animals can sense fires. But they can not outrun fires travelling at over 170KPH. No one or thing had a chance with this fire. It was brutal.
This is really great! http://www.theage.com.au/national/churchill-arson-suspect-charged-20090213-86o3.html I hope that that guy gets what he deserved and more!
webwowster, yea i agree..we are certainly most fortunate to not have had terrible bushfires during that heatwave of a week or two ago. Did you suffer any blackouts? luckily we didn't. Last sat or fri,i think it was the fri before the vic fires there was a fire about 30min drive north of here. It got so close to threatening suburban homes..(I'm in northern suburbs).I actually started to get panicky-we have no fire evacuation plan. We are right in suburbia but there is a paddock behind us. Anyway my point being is one can only wonder at the sheer terror those people endured. I can however empathise with those who have lost all possessions. In my past i witnessed domestic violence between parents and had to leave my cat and possessions with nothing except what was on our backs. I was only 13. I dont think i need to go into anymore detail. Basically i can understand how they're feeling at a loss of their personal items and somewhat of fear/shock. (even tho it different circumstances) It can take many years to adjust to realising that item 'x' isn't there. Even something as simple as certain kitchen utensil that you've owned for years and then go to get and its an 'oh its not really there'..can be hard initially. anyhoo i'm waffling..
We did experience blackouts which was very hard on my 2 young children when the airconditioning was out for hours...but really cant complain because we have it alot better than the vics...can't compare really. It certainly puts things into perspective that we shouldnt dwell on the small stuff. Sorry to hear about your childhood, must have been very traumatic. Atleast it has given you compassion and empathy for other people. I am in eastern suburbs, near the foot hills, but grew up in the hills and am worried about my friends and families up there, as it is perfect fire landscape.