Heatwave in SE Australia
We're having a decent heat wave in SE Australia. In Adelaide today it got to 42 degrees and Melbourne wasn't far behind with 37. The next four days for Melbourne are forecast to reach or exceed 40 degrees on each of the four days. If it happens, it will be the first time that Melbourne has had four days in a row over 40 degrees since 1908. Adelaide's forecast is similar.
The
ABC weather forecast also had a little fun in the seven-day forecast by finding some heat-related words starting with S, so the weather forecast for the next four days was presented as Sweltering, Scorching, Searing and Stifling instead of the more usual Hot, Sunny etc. With the impending heatwave being the major news of the day, not much more needed to be said.
If you're a fan of the tennis, this scorcher of a heat wave is coinciding with the last week of the Australian Open. Fortunately, there's not a lot of matches left and Centre Court has a retractable roof. I suspect that the retractable roof will spend a fair bit of time closed during the next four days.
Another concern with the heat and dryness - Victoria has recorded almost no rain since January 3rd - is the high risk of bushfire. Hot days after dry weather are prime fire weather.
I'm not a tennis fan, but I heard on 5 Live (BBC sports station that the radio in the bathroom is tuned into) about someone quitting a match halfway through because of the heat. I was shampooing, so am vague on the details :)
We sent my cousin a photo of Dad scraping frost off the car this week, because she couldn't get over how funny it sounded. I mean of course she knows there is cold weather in the world, but it weirds her out to think her own Uncle would have to do that in England. They live in Brisbane, but I was talking to my Aunt just yesterday (lots of family business going on at the mo) and she asked whether we'd been hearing about their (Australia's) weather.
We get much more coverage here than in America because of the historical and familial links, but even I feel I hear more in the Cellar than on the news. Then again, isn't that always the way!
Have they started using the word, "Scorchio!" yet? Don't know if you got The Fast Show over there... Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
I've been feeling sorry for the southerners lately, although we've had incredibly high humidity (94%) up here which has made me wonder if I might be better off with gills than lungs. Our temps haven't been that high though. Low to mid 30's mostly.
I hope Vic doesn't get bushfires. I really hope all those idiots behave themselves and smokers keep their butts in the car.
I'll trade your 40 degrees for my -40.
I can't imagine living in such a cold climate. I just don't think I could do it having lived in a warm climate all my life.
The first time I met my future inlaws we went out to see them in Bullhead City, Arizona in August. No clouds, only a blue sky and huge sun with afternoon temps around 125F (about 52C) in the shade. They had no air conditioning, just a thing called a swamp cooler that had a fan blow over a coil with water dripping down it. I remember telling them that you could put your head in the kitchen oven and it would seem cooler!
Oh, and they don't usually have brush fires in that area since all of the brush dried up long ago, it's mostly just dirt and rocks outside.
I'm soooo glad I am not working at the moment, the heat would be awful in the yard.
What we have to look forward to....
41°C | 27°C Thu
41°C | 21°C Fri
44°C | 27°C Sat
43°C | 23°C Sun
Keeping the kids indoors is proving to be difficult.
Adelaide got to 45.7 degrees today, the hottest day for 70 years and 0.4 degrees shy of Adelaide's record of 46.1.
Melbourne got to 42 degrees today.
The hottest temperature today was 47 degrees in NSW.
The forecasts:
Adelaide
Thursday: 44
Friday: 41
Saturday: 40
Sunday: 40
Monday: 39
Tuesday: 38
Wednesday: 38
Yep, coming down at least, but 38 degrees after a stinking hot week is much the same as 42 or 43 degrees once the house heats up.
Melbourne
Thursday: 43 and windy.
Friday: 43
Saturday: 35
Sunday: 31
Monday: 34
Tuesday: 29
Wednesday: 29
Relief on the way on Saturday.
However, tomorrow's forecast is ominous. Hot and windy after almost a month of zero rainfall. It is conditions like these that give bushfires. Dangerous bushfires. Already it's been compared to the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983 when 73 lives were lost.
Hey, Kingswood, thanks for posting all the details for me. Saved me the trouble.
Man, this sucks.
On the bright side I am back at work this week, being paid to sit inside an air-conditioned building.
On the crappy side, I left work at 5 pm and walked in as much shade as possible to the train station, to find my line was closed because the tracks had buckled in the heat. Free water and a free bus later I got home at about at 6pm, which was not too bad really, except that the temperature was still 44.5.
Tonight's forecast minimum is 32.
The bushfires are a real worry. Tomorrow will be a very high risk day, and there are several serial arsonists lighting fires around the city/country transition. Fuckers.
ETA: last summer we had a record 16 days in a row over 35 - most were well over it.
And wow, that's my 3,000th post.
Ducks, I was looking at the right hand column and thinking, "Okay, too hot for comfort but I could handle it." Bwahahahahaha - didn't realise that was the LOW!
You poor babbas, I would have melted by now.
Just come in from a walk just wearing a light jumper and the in this house made me reel! Well, Dad being in his 70th year now, it just doesn't seem as hot to him. The temperature I was knocked back by? 16 degrees :)
Uh ... it snowed here last night ...
Ha Sundae, I remember you dont like the warm heat, let alone our shitty hot heat.
We tend to get Adelaide's weather 2 days after them...its too hot to even go to the river or the pool.
I feel sorry for you guys down there. I think I'd be dead by now.
45.7? Thats 114 Fahrenheit.
No wonder everyone down there goes to the beach.
We're having a decent heat wave in SE Australia.
Well according to Al Gore it is all related to Ali's pregnancy. Really. Hormones and all do that to them.
One...... hot........... box........... :D
Ali, you know you are the best. eva.
lol...so I've been told. ;)
An update:
Today:
Melbourne: minimum 27.2 maximum 44.2 (Hottest day for six years, since 44 was reached in 2003. I think it's in the top 5 of hottest days for Melbourne, but I'm not sure. It's the first time Melbourne has had two days in a row over 43 since the 1870's. Some suburbs of Melbourne had record high temperatures today (including the official weather station nearest to my home), with some suburbs as high as 46)
Adelaide: minimum 33.9 (all-time record for Adelaide) maximum 43.0
Tomorrow:
Melbourne: minimum 27 maximum 43 (if this is reached, will be the first time Melbourne has had 3 days in a row 43 or more)
Adelaide: minimum 30 maximum 42
Today I bought icecream cones to go with the icecream I have. It's the first time I've bought cones for more than ten years. If I must put up with the drawbacks of summer, then I'm having the benefits as well.
For those who still use Fahrenheit thermometers, it's easy to remember:
temperate twenties: 20C = 68F 25C = 77F
thermal thirties: 30C = 86F 35C = 95F
flaming forties: 40C = 104F 45C = 113F
33.9 - a new record for the hottest minimum for Adelaide. Yay us. :right: That was just after midnight. It was 36 by 6 am.
We had minor train troubles - a (different) buckled tack caused a few cancellations, but most lines were moving slowly (since the drivers had to keep a sharp lookout for fresh buckles) and the timetable became purely nominal. The "five fifteen" left at 5.30 or so. Then stopped just outside the yard for five minutes for no apparent reason.
Still, this weather resolves my usual nightly dilemma of whether to have chocolate icecream or mango gelati for dessert. Tonight? Both. :yum:
Are the trains air-conditioned?
Are the trains air-conditioned?
They are in both cities.
The trouble is, the trains are sealed tight, with widows that do not open. If the airconditioning is not working in a carriage of a packed train, it's unpleasantly like being in a sardine can while they're cooking the fish in the can. Yuck.
So in Melbourne they cancel trains on hot days if the aircon isn't working.
The trouble is, in Melbourne they cancelled
200 trains yesterday. Some train lines were shut down due to lack of trains and power to run them (they ran buses instead), other trains could not run because the tracks buckled, or for other reasons.
Some country trains did not run yesterday because the bush near the tracks is tinder-dry and sparks from the trains have been known to start bushfires.
Melbourne got to 45.1 today. That's the second-hottest day ever recorded in Melbourne; the record is 45.6.
We tried frying an egg in a frying pan on the concrete outside in the middle of the day. The butter melted pretty quickly but it wasn't quite hot enough to fry the egg, which just sort of dried out instead over the space of two hours.
During the afternoon we lost the electricity in my suburb. I had no idea how long it was going to be out for, so I quickly rushed out to buy some ice, took everything out of the freezer and put it in a big esky, then covered it with ice. Then I went shopping, taking a few ice lollies with me (the kind that come in plastic tubes and are then frozen before being eaten). I was going to a small but friendly bookshop and I knew that the chap running the shop had only a tiny fan to keep cool. I gave him one of the ice lollies that managed to stay frozen, it was much appreciated.
When I got home the power was back on, so I took everything out of the esky and put it back in the fridge. The ice was still mostly frozen, which was a good sign. I guess I could have left everything in the fridge but I was taking no chances.
I wasn't alone with the power blackouts. Other parts of Melbourne lost power as well, some to "load shedding" where they cut the power to reduce demand (this is the kind that I got), others due to the heat itself (this is the kind that caused a lot of disruption to Melbourne's trains this evening.
More info on the blackouts:
Melbourne blackout causes chaos
Now things are not so bad in Melbourne because a weak cool change came through late in the afternoon, dropping temperatures by 10 degrees. It's cooled down further to below 30 degrees, although it's going to take a while for my home to cool down as well. It is much more pleasant now, compared to the swelter of the last three days. Right now, 27 degrees feels quite cool.
Tomorrow's forecast for Melbourne is 35 degrees. Still warm, but not as scorchingly hot as it has been for the last three days.
Adelaide got to about 43 today and is going to get to 40 tomorrow. For both cities, the weather is still going to be hot for the next week, but maximum temperatures between 30 and 35 degrees (Melbourne) and between 35 and 40 degrees (Adelaide) aren't as bad as temperatures in the mid forties.
There are some serious
bushfires in eastern Victoria. 17 homes have been destroyed. I think Kingswood and Ducks are safe.
In Adelaide, Friday was the day of the
Big Day Out, an annual concert festival. 30,000 people rocking outdoors in 40+ heat.
It's been big news here.
Mum & Dad are feeling the cold at the moment and were aware of the irony that we are being advised to check on elderly neighbours over the next week (heavy snow expected) while you are advised to check on them due to the hear.
It is just starting to hit the headlines here. Crazy weather everywhere. Al Gore's fault.
Al Gore? It is obviously Obama's fault. He is in charge now.
Yeah, but weather is messed up here too. Its actually above freezing. The past two years it was -30 to -40 windchills at this moment.
I, for one, am not complaining.
We've had a big spike in sudden deaths among the elderly. It is hard to say for sure but it seems about 20 people have died who probably would have gone on for a few months or years were it not for the heat. Hell, we even had an ambulance catch fire while transporting a patient.
We are all good in my neck of the woods :) Tired of being sweaty, but safe.
My brother, not so lucky...this will be the 2nd time in 3ish years he has had flames licking on the outskirts of his property.
My thoughts are with you for what it's worth.
Tell your brother to move!!!
The heatwave is nearly over here - just 33 today and tomorrow, 40 again on Friday, then a change coming through sometime on Saturday, high in mid thirties, then highs in the mid twenties for the rest of next week. :) Melbourne will not get the change until Sunday and so Saturday there will be well over 40.
33 is nice; we're calling it the new 25.
Meanwhile...
[ATTACH]21722[/ATTACH]
They lied to me.
Friday is aiming for 43, and Saturday's cool change looks like coming in later, and so 40 to 44 is expected. They're expecting Sydney to go over 40 this weeekend too.
pump some of that heat this way.....the cold is soaking up through the floor into my feet and legs here.
We havent had a day under 40 for over a week, and the heat at nite is unpleasant.
Things are on the improve though....
Friday 16 / 41
Saturday 21 / 43
Sunday 20 / 33
Monday 12 / 27
No rain forecast for the next 3 months....:(
Its 40 degrees here today. If I didn't have a 25 minute walk to work at seven in the morning, around 5 degrees at that time, I would consider wearing shorts.
2C here today and yesterday (35.6F apparently)
I went into town yesterday just wearing a jumper (sweater).
My Dad had gone to the supermarket - naughty, naughty on a day when only essential travel was advised!
He was coming off the roundabout and saw someone dressed in pink.
He told Mum when he got home, "I knew it had to be Cherry, no-one else would be out without a coat in this weather" adding, "anyway, I could see her smile from the top of Elmhurst Road."
Which made me very happy.
Its 40 degrees here today. If I didn't have a 25 minute walk to work at seven in the morning, around 5 degrees at that time, I would consider wearing shorts.
WTF??? Minnesota? February? Are you talking centigrade or farenheit?
Melbourne's had a respite from the heat for a week as the heat retreated north, but it is back with a vengeance today. 44C is forecast ahead of a cool change. The forecast is notable for being higher than the record maximum for Melbourne for February. The record maximum for February is (I think) 43.2 set on February 8, 1983. That day brought us a dust storm:
Outside, my thermometer is reading 44C in the shade.
Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. Rainfall in the Melbourne rain gauge since January 4th: 0. If we're lucky, the 35-day dry spell will be broken this evening with a few light showers. For Melbourne, the record for the most number of consecutive days without rain is 40 days.
The heat wave has had many consequences:
Melbourne morgue full after heatwave deaths
The fire conditions are rated as the
'the worst ever' according to some.
A bushfire east of Melbourne in the Bunyip State Park has
broken containment lines and threatens homes.
Melbourne has just broken the all-time heat record, reaching 46C at 2.28pm. Some suburbs have reached 47C. I can tell you that's bloody hot.
The previous record was 45.6C set on January 13, 1939.
Holy snapping frog shit batman! That's farking hot!!!
I feel sorry for you lot. I hope it eases very soon.
we are covered in smoke and kinda concerned if they don't get the fires under control before the wind change this evening.
we don't want another ash wednesday, I would link to those fires, but im posting on my mobile phone.
Holy snapping frog shit batman! That's farking hot!!!
I feel sorry for you lot. I hope it eases very soon.
There's a cool change on the way, due within the hour.
The peak was 46.4 at about 3 pm. I had to go out at that time for a few minutes to bring in my washing and it felt really hot. With a relative humidity below 10%, it was a very dry heat. My washing felt quite hot to the touch, like it had just been removed from a tumble dryer.
The thing I noticed most wasn't the heat, or the strong winds. It was the sky. Instead of the blue that I am used to, it was almost devoid of colour. It is unusual to see a grey, yet almost cloudless sky.
We get skies like that up here, but usually that's on days when the humidity is really high.
Must be dust and smoke particles in the air.
Did you know that according to the BOM it was 47.9 at Avalon today? You wouldn't think it could get that high.
we are covered in smoke and kinda concerned if they don't get the fires under control before the wind change this evening.
we don't want another ash wednesday, I would link to those fires, but im posting on my mobile phone.
Ducks...are you getting out of the area? Don't stay if you're in danger...not with the kids to think of. It's just not worth it, but you know that.
I hope you're all ok. Check in and let us know how you're going huh?
Minor news first. In Adelaide the heatwave is over for now, the southerly change is in, it feels bloody great and the nasty bushfire north of the city is under control. It will reach Melbourne soon.
I was just thinking with relief that we had had a lucky escape from a major fire disaster.
Wrong.
Fourteen people are dead and at least 100 homes have been destroyed as fires burn over tens of thousands of hectares in Victoria and New South Wales.
Six have been killed at Kinglake, four at Wandong, three at Strathewen and one at Clonbinane. Police fear up to 40 people may have died.
Much more detail
here including:
[ATTACH]21783[/ATTACH]
A fire burning from Kilmore to Yarra Glen, north of Melbourne has turned into a massive blaze of around 10,000 hectares that officials say is almost impossible to control.
Fires are becoming so big that they are creating their own weather.
Senior weather forecaster, Terry Ryan, says thunderstorms are forming over fire-affected parts of west Gippsland.
"We call it pyrocumulus, where all the ash coming out of the fire causes lifting and convection, and can cause a thunderstorm-looking top," he said.
"You can get thunderstorms and lightning coming out of the top of the fire basically, and that can add to the fire's effect, a bit of a nasty feedback effect that can occasionally happen."
DucksNuts, Kingswood, Alphajerk, please report in.
ETA:
Six people are known to have died at Kinglake, north of Melbourne, when fire swept through the entire town.
Local resident Peter Mitchell told ABC Local Radio that buildings all around him were on fire as he sheltered at the fire station.
"The whole of Kinglake is ablaze, I live a couple of [kilometres] out of town, I heard explosions, by the time I got to the road there were fires everywhere," he said.
"[There is] flame everywhere, trees exploding, gas tanks exploding, buildings on fire, it's very, very, very serious.
"I can't quite see down into the main stretch of town, but there's a lot of flame coming up from there, so I presume most of the town is going up.
WTF??? Minnesota? February? Are you talking centigrade or farenheit?
Haha, if it was 40 degrees centigrade here in February we would have broke the temperature record by 50-60 degrees F or 35 degrees C.
Though 40 degrees is still very warm for here. We tied the high temperature record with 46 degrees F or so last Saturday. Not as warm this week but still a good 10 degrees above average.
I am welcoming it fully.
Updated information
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485317.htm.
It is pretty much normal each summer to have scrub and forest burn.
It is not unusual to lose sheds, fences, livestock, and maybe a few isolated farmhouses.
In this fire we are losing whole towns. This is very rare - not since the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 have we seen the like, although the Canberra fires of 2003 came close.
Raylene Kincaide from Narbethong north-east of Melbourne says her home has been destroyed and there is little left of the town.
"Everyone we know has lost everything they had - it's not nice," she said. "I've been in Ash Wednesday but this is probably worse."
ABC Local Radio caller Georgina, whose husband battled to save the town of Strathewen with CFA volunteers, says the town has been devastated by the devastating fires.
She fears many of the town's residents may have lost their lives.
"It's just absolute devastation and people have seen things today that have been absolutely horrific," she said.
"There's a lot of families in Strathewen that we haven't been able to account for.
"The school's gone, the hall's gone... some people left it too late. We've lost friends, and we're just waiting for more - children, loved ones."
She says the town is largely inaccessible as fallen logs and debris block the main roads, but has urged trapped residents to remain optimistic.
"They're just so cut off out there and we just wait for daylight now and hope that there's nothing out there left to burn," she said.
"They're calling out to houses and they can't hear people answering. Hang in there anybody that's listening and still cut off because they're coming."
The Country Fire Authority says there is "possibly one building left standing" in Marysville, after relentless bushfires engulfed the town, north of Melbourne.
Fuck.
My two nephews who live in Kinglake are safe but the news I have so far is that one of my nephews has lost his house to the fires. I have no word yet on the state of the other house but it is very likely that has gone as well. Almost every house in Kinglake has been burnt.
I am still waiting on news from other people I know living in the district.
Glad you're ok, Kingswood, thanks for checking in.
Ducks?
Alpha?
I would say "Fuck" is an understatement! :eek:
Present and accounted for.
We are still a little way North of the trouble area. We are having huge issues with asthma sufferers because of the smoke and my parents (who are a bit closer) are on flying ember alert.
My friends have lost their beautiful home and valley property at Kinglake, but they are safe and thats the main thing.
Glad you're ok Ducks...you too kingswood.
Isn't Alpha in Melb city?
Alpha is in Mt Evelyn, which is on the eastern edge of Melbourne (37 km from CBD) nestled into the Dandenong ranges. Sounds like a lovely place but could be dodgy in a fire.
I have emailed him via the cellar page, asking him to visit this thread.
Oh yeah...the Dandenong ranges are beautiful, but you're right. Not too many roads in or out really.
Maybe we should leave some bacon out for him. That might bring him sniffing around.
Wow. We travelled in and around Marysville last year. It's very pretty country, nice people too. This is really terrible. They're reporting 84 dead, but it's sure to rise.
Hundreds of homes have already been destroyed and at least 200,000 hectares of land has been burnt out in more than 400 fires in every part of the state over the weekend.
There are 84 confirmed dead, and there are many in hospital with burns, including several "not expected to live". More than 700 houses have been lost, and the fires are not under control yet.
At least some of these were the work of arsonists.
So sorry to hear all this.
Happy to hear no Cellar casualities - selfish when other people are suffering, but the way I feel.
Much luck to you all, may you and yours continue to be safe.
I watched this all on the news last night and couldn't help letting the tears fall down my face.
It's horrific. I just can't imagine dealing with that sort of tragedy.
Wow...this is huge. I've been reading this thread, and seeing stuff on the news. It becomes even more of a human experience to me when I know people in the midst (not that I don't care otherwise, it's just easier to compartmentalize.)
I'm glad you Aussies are all well and safe.
Over 170 dead and the number is still rising with 30 fires still raging across Victoria.
I don't know what else to say about this. It really leaves me speachless.
Over 170 dead and the number is still rising with 30 fires still raging across Victoria.
Why so many dead so quickly? Major fires normally do not have these kind of death numbers. Are too many people staying to fight the fire? Is the fire moving too quickly for warnings? Are people ignoring the warnings? Are the roads that bad or difficult that people cannot get out fast enough? How fast are these fires moving? All questions not answered by press reports. Why are these fires so deadly compared to other equivalent fires?
I was wondering, when Ducks said her parents were in a flying ember alert: what do you do? I'm not trying to be funny, I mean do you have to pretty much keep an eye on your house at all times, or try to wet it down? Seriously, that would be hard to sleep, or not be completely on edge all the time, if you don't know if an ember could land and catch your house on fire.
deliberately set? WOW. That is not cool.
WHITTLESEA, Australia (AP) - Suspicions that some of Australia's worst wildfires ever were deliberately set led police to declare crime scenes in incinerated towns on Monday, and a clearly emotional prime minister likened the alleged arson to mass murder. The death toll stood at 131.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090209/D9681TKG0.htmlWow. Saw some of the devestation on tonights news----wow, this is soooo not cool. It's so horrific...those poor people!
Have we heard from Ducks recently????? *worry*
Why so many dead so quickly? Major fires normally do not have these kind of death numbers. Are too many people staying to fight the fire? Is the fire moving too quickly for warnings? Are people ignoring the warnings? Are the roads that bad or difficult that people cannot get out fast enough? How fast are these fires moving? All questions not answered by press reports. Why are these fires so deadly compared to other equivalent fires?
Some people elected to stay and fight, thinking these fires were just normal speed bushfires, but they weren't. There has been normal rainfall for the couple of months up till Jan in those areas, and then nothing for a month, then the heatwave and strong winds simply consumed all the fuel that was just waiting there. It was like nothing anyone had seen before.
A lot of people have been killed in their cars trying to escape because there are so many fires, people just couldn't outrun them fast enough. In general the roads are pretty standard country roads. Nothing too terrible from what I've seen on reports.
Ducks and Kingswood have checked in, Alphajerk hasn't lately, but he's an occasional poster anyway.
TW, there are many factors and each case has different combinations of them. You've already listed most of the factors.
These fires have come at the end of a drought, everthing is tinder-dry. The record-breaking heatwave primed everything. Strong hot dry winds drove the fires like a bellows until the fires got big enough to create their own weather and become self-sustaining, creating even stronger winds and even lightning. The direct radiant heat becomes so intense that volatile chemicals are boiled out of pine and eucalyptus trees in advance of the fire front and the air itself can become explosive. Hell, the trees can explode. The fire front moves at varying speeds but uphill and down wind 60kph is not unknown. The upwinds throw burning embers several kilometers away from the main fire.The fires are so intense that survival is very unlikely - you need some kind of concrete bunker or similar. Even brick homes get blasted to the ground - bricks shatter with the sudden burst of heat.
The number and size of the fires (30+ fires, burning on hundreds of kilometers of fronts with a total area already in the 250,000+ hectare range) means that firefighting resources are stretched thin.
Human factors are also big. People have settled into hills and gullies with poor access roads, built homes amongst trees, and allowed trees to get too close to houses and drop leaves and twigs all over them. Many of these towns are heavily treed throughout (and so have no refuge within them) and have only two roads out, one each direction, which are easily cut.
Many people were not adequately prepared to fight - no independent water supply or pump, wrong clothing, no plan, not enough people, etc. Many whose plan was to leave did indeed not leave in time - it is not yet clear how much of that was through poor warnings, or complacency. Others planned to stay and fight and got overwhelmed by a fire much fiercer than they were prepared for. Worst is those who changed from staying to fleeing at the last minute. One fallen tree blocking a road leads to a four car pile up with no escape.
Some people may have not heeded warnings on the first day, but I'll bet they are now.
These are the main factors which appear in various combinations. A Royal Commission (major judicial investigation) has been announced which should answer your questions properly (and damn good questions they are) but it will take a long time.
In short, this was not a regular bushfire, but a firestorm, a huge intense fire, moving very fast through difficult country full of ill-prepared humans.
I was wondering, when Ducks said her parents were in a flying ember alert: what do you do? I'm not trying to be funny, I mean do you have to pretty much keep an eye on your house at all times, or try to wet it down? Seriously, that would be hard to sleep, or not be completely on edge all the time, if you don't know if an ember could land and catch your house on fire.
Yep, you basically put the hose on the roof and leave it there if there are embers in the air. You're also meant to make sure your gutters are empty of debris such as leaves and sticks and it's always a good idea to get rid of trees and large shrubs close to the house although it's not a rule, just a suggestion.
With regard to the fire laws in Victoria, they differ from those in NSW were you're not allowed to have large trees or shrubs growing close to a dwelling if you're in a fire danger area. There are calls now for some of these laws to be implimented in Vic and some are laying the blame on forrestry for not clearing more area around townships.
The problem is though, that many people like to live in a natural environment and are against clearing land to live on. These are the risks you take when you choose that lifestyle. It also puts others at risk when a disaster like this occurs.
I hope they catch the arsehole/s who lit these fires. If they're charged, under Victorian law, the sentance can be up to 25 years in prison per charge where a death is a direct result of the fire.
Yep, you basically put the hose on the roof and leave it there if there are embers in the air. You're also meant to make sure your gutters are empty of debris such as leaves and sticks and it's always a good idea to get rid of trees and large shrubs close to the house although it's not a rule, just a suggestion.
Yikes. I'd probably sit outside with a wet mop or something, and constantly be looking around.
Some people tried to defend their homes this way and only survived by jumping into their damn as the flames passed over.
There are so many stories.
Human factors are also big. People have settled into hills and gullies with poor access roads, built homes amongst trees, and allowed trees to get too close to houses and drop leaves and twigs all over them.
Sounds like the idiots in Californication that built in the mountain hillsides only to have their homes burn up every year for failure to maintain an appropriate fire break. I wouldn't wish that on anyone but there is a certain amount of personal responsibility that has to be taken into account.
In the meantime, our prayers are with you.
I've been watching on the news. My God, what a nightmare. Survivors describe walls of flame, four stories high, moving so terribly fast.
To hear that some of them may have been deliberately started is so shocking.
I'm just glad our Aussie-dwellars are ok. I must admit, when I first saw reports coming in, my stomach sank.
The pictures coming out of there are amazing. It's horrific.
It never ceases to amaze me how so many people that live in fire prone areas don't understand the simple concept of defensible space. Clearing ANYTHING flammable in at least 100 feet in all directions from the structure is one of the most important preventative measures you can take to protect your house. The other very important thing you can do is LEAVE. It's true fires can move quickly, but it's not a sustained speed and direction. A front can be creeping along and then a sudden increase on one side of the fire triangle (fuel, oxygen, heat) or a sudden change in the fire environment triangle (terrain, fuel, weather) and a front can leap by 600 meters in a matter of seconds. So fast that you can't outrun it even in a vehicle. People mistakenly think that they can defend their homes by themselves and tragedies occur. The best thing you can do is set sprinklers on your roof and deck and them LEAVE as soon as possible. Staying behind only puts your life in danger and complicates the efforts of fire crews who have more important things to do than babysit your property because you refused to leave creating a life threatening situation. /rant
If we cut everything flammable within 100 feet of our house, I'd be over the fence in the neighbor's yard. Our house has cedar siding, but we did replace our plastic skylights with glass and had a new roof installed last summer that's supposed to be fire-resistant (but I haven't tested it yet).
There are rumours that emergency services have found over 100 more bodies in the wreckage.
The police are also in possession of the licence plate of a trailbike ridden by a teenager who was 'behaving suspiciously' on Saturday morning.
There's a good chance that whoever started these fires may have perished also. That thought brings me little comfort, but it might do something for the survivors of this tragedy.
I'm not sure if this is appropriate or not, but if anyone wants to donate, you can do so via credit card at
www.redcross.org.au
Please don't think I'm trying to guilt anyone into anything. It's just that I know there are people out there who might want to do something for these poor people and this was something that came to my mind just now. We donated what we could yesterday, but it just doesn't seem like enough when I'm sitting here in my nice house with all my pictures and special things around me.
I am sorry this is happening to your countryfolk, Ali. Such a tragic event is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. thank you for keeping us informed of the situation and of your safety.
As far as i know all the dwellars are fine. I had a text (sms) from ducks yesterday arvo, but so far I don't think anyone's heard from Alpha, so I hope he's ok.
I'm not in any danger where I am. I'm right in between the fires and the other natural disaster hitting Australia at the moment being massive flooding in the northern part of my state.
I'm not sure if this is appropriate or not, but if anyone wants to donate, you can do so via credit card at www.redcross.org.au
Please don't think I'm trying to guilt anyone into anything. It's just that I know there are people out there who might want to do something for these poor people and this was something that came to my mind just now. We donated what we could yesterday, but it just doesn't seem like enough when I'm sitting here in my nice house with all my pictures and special things around me.
Contribution made. Thanks for the link.
Thanks Merc...and to anyone else who contributes or those who wish they could. On behalf of all of us on this side of the pond, I say thankyou. A very heartfelt thankyou.
I feel it is the least I can do for a group of people and a country that I think Americans, and I for one of them, have a special place in my heart. Cheers.
What Bullit said.
There are some real dopes out there. There are also some very able and well prepared people. TV news showed some interviews last night - one fool with a bucket hoping to fend off a thin line of ground-only burn, several hundred meters long, creeping down a heavily wooded hilllside towards his house.
Reporter: "Are you worried you might not have enough resources to stop this fire?"
Man: " Ohhh ..... err ..... ahh .... yeah." [looks at bucket hopefully].
His wife explained that they would definitely evacuate if the flames got within ten meters of the house.
Next story was three adults describing how they had used thier own pump, hoses and water supply to keep a mist screen over their house until they were forced into their concrete/brick cellar to escape the heat, then got back out once the front had passed and kept fighting.
Some folks have got it, some folks haven't.
On the donations, some people in North Queenslad have been given $1,000 per adult as emergency flood relief. More than one immediately donated the lot to the bushfire appeal.
The death toll may never be established for certain. They are talking about bodies having been vapourised, effectively cremated, but the fires.
Sent a little your way Ali - wish I could do more, but times are tough...
Every little bit helps classic. You're giving something to people who now have nothing. Less than nothing in some ways. Thankyou.
I got some good news last night. Some people we know have turned up.
My nephew whose house we didn't know about? The house survived.
Here is a
gallery of images.
Great stuff. And Great link! Thanks.
Some really cool pics.
As tragic as this situation is, it makes me proud to be an Australian right now.
So far, in public donations there has been over $40 million. That's $2 from every single man woman and child in the country. 'Refugee' camps are being overwhelmed with donations of clothes and toys and general household goods.
Good on you Australia. Bloody good onya!
Australians are tough mothers! No way could I take that heat.
Just found out my paternal uncle and his family are somewhere in Victoria at the moment. Thus far Dad's not had any contact from them.
Are they travelling Dana?
Chances are they're somewhere else I'm sure. Try not to worry too much. If there's anything we over here can do to help let me know ok?
Here is a video report describing Charley Richardson who has now personally fought three of the worst five bushfires in Australian history, in 1939, 1944, and 2009.
He survived, but lost his house this time. He is, after all, 97.
Thanks for the offer Ali. Much appreciated.
Good news is we've heard from my uncle. They're all fine. They were quite a way from the danger areas, and are now on their way back from Oz *smiles*
I'm so glad. Dad's best mate died a couple of days ago, it would have been too, too awful if something had happened to his kid brother in the same week.
I'm glad they're all fine Dana. :)
How are things on your end this evening (or whatever time it is there) Ali?
I wonder if the
Doc Rat webcomic fans internationally might be tapped for a collection for fire relief and wildlife clinics? It's Australian, it's funny-animals, and medical, soo...
I'm not sure if this is appropriate or not, but if anyone wants to donate, you can do so via credit card at www.redcross.org.au
As I expected, on the Boeing internal web, employees can donate by credit card or payroll deduction and Boeing will match dollar for dollar until the 27th.
They're also set up for the floods in the northwest US, and the tornado in Dacca India, if one chooses.
How are things on your end this evening (or whatever time it is there) Ali?
Things are not too bad by the looks of things mate. It's good that they're making progress with some arrests although not all have led to charges being laid.
There's also a class action against a power company over faulty power lines starting one of the fires. I'm not sure how I feel about that considering the extreme conditions. I think they might have a hard time proving negligence under the circumstances. Time will tell though.
Sign of the times I think. Nobody makes mistakes that affect themselves, accidents and shit never just happen, so someone must be sued to prove it's true.
Well, I guess it's a human reaction to want to blame someone for the losses suffered. I just don't know if it'll make them feel better in the end whether they win or lose. I suspect that nothing but time will heal these wounds.
Things are not too bad by the looks of things mate. It's good that they're making progress with some arrests although not all have led to charges being laid.
There's also a class action against a power company over faulty power lines starting one of the fires. I'm not sure how I feel about that considering the extreme conditions. I think they might have a hard time proving negligence under the circumstances. Time will tell though.
Hadn't heard from you in a couple days and was worried, then saw a post saying you would be missing for a couple days.
Absolutely it's good to find arsonists...but in the grand scheme this is just huge tragedy for your country. My thoughts are with you.
Glad to hear things may be improving.
Hadn't heard from you in a couple days and was worried, then saw a post saying you would be missing for a couple days.
Absolutely it's good to find arsonists...but in the grand scheme this is just huge tragedy for your country. My thoughts are with you.
I was just away with Dazza for the weekend. Our last little break for probably at least a year. lol I'm nowhere near the bushfires (or floods), but it's nice to know that people care. :)
Ooh of course - your retreat into the treehouses.
Very glad it wasn't in your neck of the woods (which isn't to say I'm glad it was in other people's!)
Was talking to my Aunt in Brisbane just this morning.
She said that everyone seems to know someone who was at risk in some way, but no-one who has actually lost anything (everyone among her friends and colleagues I mean). She made me realise that no matter how huge Australia is, you still have a relatively small population - it must be a real shock to the national consciousness - shock as in traumatic occurrence rather than surprise.
How about Cooper Phoenix McPhee in recognition ;)
That name has a nice ring to it SG, but I think we're set on Max now. :)
It's true what you say about our population. With only just over 20 million people, we're pretty small in comparison to just about everywhere. It has shocked us all.
I don't know if I ever told you, but when I was in HS I really wanted to move to Australia. I'd had a dream about it. Weird, but it just seems like a beautiful place. I wrote a really bad poem about it, even. :)
Does you poem include the word "girt"? If not, it isn't as bad as our national anthem.
The weather here is mild - moist south-easterly winds in the fire areas, but at least five fires are still uncontained and out of control.
This
link goes to the bushfire stories page of Four Corners, the best current Affairs show in Australia, which has now done a "what the hell just happened" review and explanation of the fires.
The main story is
here but it is 45 minutes and needs broadband. There are plenty of other stories at the first link.
One significant point: we have a bushfire weather index, that considers heat, wind strength and direction, humidity, drought etc. anything over 50 is rated as extreme.
Everwhere in Victoria went OVER 150 that day - three times the "extreme" figure. It isn't mentioned in the program but a firefighter I know says one place got to 265. These figures were all the highest ever recorded.
Death toll has been revised to an even 200.
In other news I'm looking forward to tomorrow's forecast - late showers! 2009 has been so dry that in some parts it's the driest start to the year on record. Melbourne's at 2.2 mm total for 2009.
Here is a map that contrasts the wet weather of the north with the dry to the south.
2.2 mm? LUXURY!
Over here we're on 1.8mm so far this year.
ETA: ... and "something" has gone wrong with the weir holding Lake Torrens, the city's central garden water feature, resulting in our (usually very stagnant and always unswimmable) showpiece looking like this, with little chance of any inflow until we get some half-decent rain.
[ATTACH]21896[/ATTACH]
It wont stop raining in Qld.
Flooding Down Under has made the TV news up here. The scenes look like around the Mississippi during a wet season. Everyone thinks it's a durn shame the floods can't move over to the fires.
I like girt. Of course, I do use words like "hauberk" and "eftsoons" in almost-daily conversation.
There are a couple of communities up north which have been cut off for a month now, and one is expected to be cut off for at least 2 more. It's a bit rough, but when you choose to live in an area that is affected by monsoonal rains (even though they haven't come through properly for about 10years), it's one of the things you have to live with from time to time.
The gov is sending supplies up there, and besides, most people who live in Karumba don't usually make plans to travel during the wet season anyway.
Dazza and I have a theory that the people making the complaints are those who've moved to the area during the dry spell and just aren't prepared for the big wet they're having now.
Also, the council needs to build a bridge over the river there and they wouldn't be cut off at all...except by all the other flood waters they'd have to get through to get anywhere.
2.2 mm? LUXURY!
Over here we're on 1.8mm so far this year.
Much of southern Australia is in the grip of a record dry spell, so I'm not surprised.
I'm not looking forward to Friday. Forecast of 38 degrees, but with the amount of rain we've had since Christmas (record lows) that's a pretty ominous forecast.
Some of those Black Saturday fires are still burning. A decent dump of rain will put them out, so that shows how bone dry it's been.
This weekend looks quite nasty. Hot and windy - not so bad as last time, but the firefronts that are now burning total over 1,100 km. in length. On the other hand, the public complacency is mostly gone, and much of the ingnorance too.
In SA several rural schools have closed for the day for fear of fires, merely as a precaution - there are no fires, but the schools abut dangerous bushland growths.
Sandypossom posted a link to fire maps in the Icelandic Elf House IOtD.