Results tagged “fires” from Oh Susanna

Heading for 43 or maybe more

Melbournians spend a lot of time talking about the weather, in my experience. Maybe one reason for this is the fluctuations in temperatures that you can experience, from one day to the next, and even in the proverbial "four seasons in one day".

We're now facing a predicted high temperature today of 43 degrees C, the hottest, and most extreme fire danger day we have had since Black Saturday, 7^th February, 2009, when 173 people lost their lives on one of the most dangerous days of fire danger since European settlement of this vast country.

Today is not expected to be as hot as Black Saturday, which according to the weather  bureau reached 46 degrees. Nor is the wind as strong. But it is bad enough, with campers and locals being asked to leave camping grounds in the Grampians, Little Desert, Wyperfeld National Park and other forested areas in the North West of the state where the fire danger has hit the new "catastrophic" rating. What does that mean? Click here to find out...

Here in our office, we hope that the morning "hissy' fit by the office air conditioning system will be rectified, as at is at least working on the upper floors of the building. Once again it seems a little petty to be complaining about air conditioning not working properly, when people are risking their lives fighting fires, even if there has been nothing catastrophic to date. Let's just hope it stays that way.

The hot conditions also threaten to play havoc with the public transport system. The thought of sitting in a train that is not going anywhere, with air conditioning not working, somehow does not appeal.

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