Results tagged “bushfire” from Oh Susanna

This morning it was 12 degrees when I was driving to work, hard to believe just under four weeks ago it almost made 48 degrees in  Melbourne. Snow flurries in the Alps today, but good news continues, in that only two bush fires remain to be contained.

Cooler weather means that cats like knees even more than usual. The two little ones find room on one pair of knees, and Coco takes over the other set. Whether or not one wants a warm knee is not at question, it is what must happen.

Mille has now been with us for nearly four weeks, and she and Mischa spend a lot of time chasing each other around the house. That, and sleeping. I would say that Coco tolerates the two babies, but would prefer on the whole to be left to solitude. She has realised that first in is best dressed, though. We've had some enquiries about Millie but noone has yet been keen enough to come and have a look. In the meantime, she is happy, which is a good thing.

Meanwhile, at work, many of the people in our team have enrolled in a 10,000 step a day walking program. The idea is that one determines a base level of activity, which is what we are doing this week, then work on increasing our steps until we are doing at least the target number a day, using pedometers to measure the steps we are taking. I may need to do some shopping trips, because I don't seem to notice the extra steps when out and about thinking about other things. The program lasts for 10 weeks, so we should all notice a big level of improvement in fitness over coming weeks.

In the meantime, it is a source of wonder that some can sit, unmoving for hours and only tally up 200 steps by lunch time, and for others doing 17,000 can be done with relative ease. There have been arguments about what should be done when the pedometer does not mention steps accurately when running, and whether running uses the same number of kilojoules per kilometre travelled. It doesn't really matter, I guess, because if we are doing more then we will be improving fitness.

Whether the extremes of fire weather experienced this season are a symptom of global climate change or not, it is somewhat disconcerting for the average person, who reads an SMS message from their national telephone provider this afternoon, from Victoria Police:

Msg from Vic Police:Extreme weather in Vic expected Mon night & Tues. High wind & fire risk. Listen to local ABC Radio for emergeny updates. Do not reply to this.

On my way to work this morning: a sign on the Freeway cautioned with a similar message.

There are spot fires even in today's milder conditions which are breaking out ahead of the fire fronts, and it is expected that with the winds tonight and tomorrow, burning cinders may float up to a hundred kilometres or more, before coming to earth without warning to start yet another fire front.

It will be a matter of protection only under these circumstances- the only thing that can stop the currently slumbering menace is substantial rain.

Melbournians were shocked yesterday with the realisation that despite 17 days passing since Black Saturday on 7^th February, the fires are still burning, and even a moderately hot day combined with ignition of dry fuel and wind puts homes and lives at risk once again. This time, the danger was much closer to the city; in urban fringe of Upwey and Belgrave.

The smoke was visible from our office, and nervous souls living in the general region of the fire left work early, unable to wait until normal departure time. A call from one, describing flames seen in the distance makes the threat seem even more real.

Fortunately, with temperatures only in the mid 30's, and a strong contingent of fire appliances and fire fighters, the area burnt was limited to round 300 hectares, with just one house lost. In the area of Daylesford, North West of Melbourne, another fire still burns, last I heard, still out of control.

Yesterday afternoon, residents to the East of the city voted with their feet, their fire plans consisting of one word (in the words of one caller to the ABC); GO. The mass exodus lead to more than one car accident and traffic jams on Burwood Highway inbound; and outbound on the Monash, Wellington Road, Ferntree Gully Road, as just as many people headed Eastwards towards their homes. Strange, as  there must have been a conjunction of all that traffic at some point.

Lucky that the temperature was something like 11-12 degrees cooler than Black Saturday, and the danger, while real, was not as great as that earlier, horrific day.

Now, we wait for Friday with some trepidation, as temperatures are predicted to be in the high 30's, with stronger winds.

Melbournians were shocked yesterday with the realisation that despite 17 days passing since Black Saturday on 7^th February, the fires are still burning, and even a moderately hot day combined with ignition of dry fuel and wind puts homes and lives at risk once again. This time, the danger was much closer to the city; in urban fringe of Upwey and Belgrave.

The smoke was visible from our office, and nervous souls living in the general region of the fire left work early, unable to wait until normal departure time. A call from one, describing flames seen in the distance makes the threat seem even more real.

Fortunately, with temperatures only in the mid 30's, and a strong contingent of fire appliances and fire fighters, the area burnt was limited to round 300 hectares, with just one house lost. In the area of Daylesford, North West of Melbourne, another fire still burns, last I heard, still out of control.

Yesterday afternoon, residents to the East of the city voted with their feet, their fire plans consisting of one word (in the words of one caller to the ABC); GO. The mass exodus lead to more than one car accident and traffic jams on Burwood Highway inbound; and outbound on the Monash, Wellington Road, Ferntree Gully Road, as just as many people headed Eastwards towards their homes. Strange, as  there must have been a conjunction of all that traffic at some point.

Lucky that the temperature was something like 11-12 degrees cooler than Black Saturday, and the danger, while real, was not as great as that earlier, horrific day.

Now, we wait for Friday with some trepidation, as temperatures are predicted to be in the high 30's, with stronger winds.

Happy Valentine's day!

I'm not into giving of Valentine's day gifts, but this one is one worth doing. If you haven't yet made a donation to the Australian Red Cross appeal for the Victorian bush fire victims, perhaps you might like to do that, instead of buying roses, chocolates or something else for your Valentine.

The crisis is still not over, this morning there have been threat alerts broadcast for the town of Healesville, at the top end of the Yarra Valley. The difference between today and last Saturday/ Sunday is that today is much cooler, so that the intensity of attack will be less, but still frightening, as we now know how dangerous these fires can be.

The smell of smoke pervades the city, and the rising sun glowed orange in the sky as I drove to work this morning. Even Port Philip Bay in the early morning light had an apricot tinge to it, as the smoke haze filled orange sky was reflected in the water.

Today has been declared a national day of mourning.

As each day passes, we hear of more connections with the lost. While I personally don't know anyone directly affected, there are many people who do. The scale of this tragedy is such that not a day has gone past where I have not heard, read or seen something that has affected me emotionally. Even the good news.

nb The animals from the Healesville Sanctuary have already been evacuated, a few days ago

It's now almost four days since the beginning of the conflagrations that have wreaked such havoc and despair in what we used to call the garden state. There are some communities still under direct threat from fire. Stories abound on television, radio and in newspapers, of bravery and desolation, fear and relief. Television footage of families torn apart on the one hand, and reunited on the other. One couple had been separately admitted to Hospital, and neither realised that the other was even alive, let alone just a few metres away in a hospital bed.

It seems somehow awful to be recounting the number of lives lost: the count is now at 181, with many more missing expected to be added to the list. 5000 homeless, hundreds injured and some of the hospitalised expected not to live, such is the severity of their burns.

Heartwarming is the response of the global community with more than 31 million dollars (AUD) already raised towards bushfire relief.

Sheer exhaustion lines the faces of firefighters who have refused to go home while a threat remains, and helplessness for the bereft. Fund raising will certainly help, but nothing can take away the pain of losing loved ones.

Even for us, who have long lived with the fear of fire in our rural community, the extent of this tragedy is hard to comprehend. The paradigms we had placed our trust in need to be reviewed for such extreme conditions: but the magnitude of the task of keeping people safe relies on them taking responsibility for themselves. It is just not possible to have an organised evacuation of half a million people or more, even when conditions are so extreme.

There will be recriminations, justifications and eventually we hope that a balance can be found. In the meantime, we can only take sensible precautions.

A new day arrived, and yet the human toll in bushfires continues to climb, at last count 130, and now expected to top 200, or perhaps more. Stories of miraculous survival, and terror and relentless flames and white blow-torched landscapes on our television screens bring the horror home to all of us

The atmosphere in the office has been somewhat subdued, as one colleague is not at work today as her parent's home is in the threatened area in the North East of the State, and other people are not at work either. Another colleague's wife had a work colleague receive a phone call from her boyfriend, telling her that he loved her, he told her this was the last thing he would be able to do (he did not survive)

We all wonder about friends, colleagues and friends of friends and colleagues who live in the fire areas and the seriousness of the situation makes us think about how precious life is. We can replace things, but we can't replace people.

There are lots of places that you can get updates about what has happened in Victoria over the last forty eight hours. The Age. ABC news

So far, it has been announced that 76 people have died and as many as 1000 homes lost. It is expected that as the days progress, more people will be found to have perished,  in isolated areas where it has not yet been safe to travel, as fires still rage, and tree lined roads are dangerous to pass. The fire fight goes on with hundreds of thousands of hectares burnt. Exhausted people collapsed at the refuge areas, and the evidence of very hot flames clearly visible in the photos on the web sites above.

Time will tell whether there is anything that could be done, but it seems quite clear that last minute dashes to safety with a fire of cataclysmic proportions bearing down on towns deep in the bush is the wrong decision to take.

The nation has rallied, with strike teams coming from South Australia and New South Wales. The defence forces will provide practical aid to get through the weeks ahead.

Possessions can be replaced, but loved ones cannot... and tears will continue to fall

I had an appointment at the hairdresser's at 9 this morning, and with a temperature forecast of 44, revised upwards from 43 degrees overnight, it seemed like a good plan to spend the rest of the day at home. Particularly after a night out last night at the cricket, when the Aussies lost their fifth one day match in a row, to the Black Caps.

Today's temperature and forecast high winds before a strong south westerly change later in the day, with extremely low humidity lead to bush and grass fires across Victoria in the hottest day on record. Melbourne reached 46.4, and 47 degrees was a common high across the state. When you get a combination of hot weather and strong winds like this, fighting fires becomes extremely dangerous: lessons learnt in past battles have lead to the safety of fire fighters as the first priority, with protection of homes as a secondary aim, and other assets coming a distant third. On a normal hot day, tankers can drive along the flank of a fire, dousing the flames, and while extremely uncomfortable, can be fought directly. Just to go outside for a few minutes during this afternoon was horrendous, I can only imagine how dreadful it was to be involved in this battle.

Today's extreme conditions have been so dangerous, that authorities can't even tell us how many houses have been lost. Noone knows at this stage whether lives have been lost, as may isolated properties are still unable to be checked. What we do know, is that more than eleven homes have been lost, a farmer has been hospitalised with 50% burns to his body and fires still rage in Gippsland and to the North of Melbourne.

Behind the scenes, thousands of volunteers give up hours of their time, to man fire stations, tankers and radios. Each time the fire network radio crackles, breaths are held, wondering: Is this the big one that we've all been waiting for.

In a strange kind of fatalism, those of us who have lived in regional Victoria understand the truth, that the thin veneer of civilisation and control over our Australian environment can be broken by a tiny spark. For years, we lived in the false, naive belief that our modern equipment and techniques could protect our homes and our lives from the ravages of bushfire, provided we were well prepared.

We now know that there are days when we are completely helpless, and that life is far more precious than possessions. Planning will, and must be done; for the thought of having done nothing cannot be countenanced. The ABC News website has more details.