Australian Bushfires
This is Australian Broadcasting’s Main Bushfire Page.
Update: Australia’s worst bushfire disaster
The death toll from horrific bushfires across Victoria this weekend has reached 96, surpassing the number of people who perished in the 1983 Ash Wednesday blazes.
More than 700 homes have been lost in what is being described as ‘Hell on Earth’, and it is feared the death toll will pass 100.
…Twenty-six fires continue to burn across Victoria; 12 of those are out of control. Authorities suspect arsonists are responsible for some fires.
The Kinglake Complex blaze continues to burn out of control and so far has burnt through more than 220,000 hectares [850 miles²].
Wikipedia has a current event page up: 2009 Victorian bushfires.
Maps: Busy, but good idea of how many fires there are, also useful links in the left sidebar.
Here’s a cleaner view based on official reporting that is updated. The green tags for “safe” areas are usually due to the lack of anything else to burn.
The fires are continuing even with a drop in temperatures, and dry lightning is in the forecast, so more may start. The latest from Australian Broadcasting is 35 confirmed dead and the towns of Marysville and Kinglake, in the state of Victoria, may have been totally destroyed.
Obviously New Zealand and the BBC have coverage, but Canada has been joined by CNN with their own coverage. The US networks, like NBC, are using Associated Press reporting.
You would think that conglomerates with a global reach could afford a few stringers around the world. They could find new locations for cheap reality shows when they weren’t reporting the news.
16 comments
The confirmed toll is currently 84. It’s expected to rise over 100.
Australia’s worst bushfire disaster
2009 Victorian bushfires
Locals say that 98% of the town of Marysville is gone, and over 90% of the town of Kinglake. Several fires have merged creating large fire complexes and 26 fires continue to burn with 12 of those still out of control in Victoria. Fires also continue to burn in NSW. Water resources are becoming a severe problem. Meanwhile, Queensland continues to flood.
I just updated first thing, and it looks like over 100 is almost certain. The BBC link is semi-permanent, with new information added all along.
They’ll probably shift to seawater for aerial drops before long. It’s not a great solution, but you do what you have to do.
I checked first thing too. This is a tragedy beyond description. And it hits so much harder when it’s places you’ve visited and loved.
According to the news articles Main Street Marysville, the heart of the town, no longer exists. However, the bakery survived. Everything else was gone. A small bright spot in the devastation.
The bakery was probably built with fire prevention in mind because of the ovens, and would have had commercial fire suppression capabilities for a kitchen fire.
When you have clear memories of what was lost, it is much harder to ignore the news.
Just horrific…horrific. In one way, I can say I know the fear Australians are facing…but in another way, their situation is just so much more “over the top” than what we’ve faced here in CA. We have the drought, sure, but we didn’t have the incredible heat. We also don’t have the thought instilled in us that we should stay and fight the fires ourselves…we just assume (incorrectly) that the fire department will come and make it all better. I think that the death tolls will rise..and rise.
Just horrific. My heart goes out to Australians.
cookie jill´s last blog post.."wiped off the map"
There is a google map showing all the fires and their current status. It gives a better idea how widespread this is. And of the damage.
It is a rural area, Jill, and the same rules apply. I could call 911 and see a deputy in a few minutes, or it could take more than hour, there’s no way of knowing. We have good fire protection, but other areas of the county are dependent on volunteer firefighters, so there’s no way of telling when they’ll get there if you live in an unincorporated area of the North County. You learn to make do.
I’m adding that link, Lady Min, and another that’s a larger version of what Jill posted at skippy’s.
Firstly, on behalf of us all here, I’d like to say thank you to all of you who are supporting us and making people aware of what is happening here. It means a lot.
What Jill said about the fighting spirit here is true. 🙂 Aussies just don’t know how to give up, some would say we don’t know when to quit. 😉 Ask any nation that’s ever had to face us in battle! 😉 That ANZAC spirit (as I’ve stated before) is very real. 🙂
It turns out that my housemate, whose daughter recently married, married a farmer who knows many people in Marysville also, and is a member of the CFA (Country Fire Authority). He said that he and many others will give everyone who has lost everything two weeks to come to grips with it and then they will help them rebuild Marysville. I plan to help with that also. He knows the owner of a local sawmill and he has agreed to help, as have many others, even from other devastated area. Marysvill was the hub and an important part of the much wider community. Loosing Marysville was a severe blow. But she will be rebuilt. 🙂
It’s strange in a way that the bakery survived. I loved that place. It was the first place I took LadyMin when we went there! I hope the owners survived too! 🙂 And we’ll need the bakery if a couple hundred of us are going to rebuild Marysville. 😉 Can’t work on an empty stomach. 🙂
I was in shock yesterday. Today I am still sad and angry of course, but dealing with it now. Thanks again friends. 🙂
If you have ever been through a disaster, be it hurricane, flood, earthquake, wildfire, etc., you know the shock that other people feel. You understand what it’s like to lose everything that was familiar, and what is really important. Things can be replaced; friends and family are truly irreplaceable.
Some people want to forget, and others want to remember. There is no one “right” answer. If you weren’t directly affected, the best you can do is ease the load after the decision is made.
Rebuilding will be necessary to overcome the tragedy, and to help the wider area rebuild itself.
Thanks aren’t necessary. The last time I checked we are all humans here, and worrying about others is built-in.
Sorry Bryan, thanks *ARE* necessary. Otherwise, we take each other for granted. That’s something I will never do. 🙂 It’s the way I and many here have been raised. 🙂 So you’ll have to get used to it. 😉
And yes, we will rebuild and it IS necessary! For so many reasons, some personal. LadyMin will understand what drives me in this. 🙂
And seriously my friend, thanks, for many things. You have a great community here, it makes my life better.
Cookie Jill, this statement sum’s it up better than I could. 🙂
Amen to that. 🙂
Well, in that case, you’re welcome, Kryten.
After hurricane Ivan my power was restored by workers from New Jersey. We have a lot of mutual assistance agreements in place. One of the reasons I have good fire protection is that anyone of three different departments may respond, depending on what is going on in the south end of the county. Unfortunately, I have to wait for a Sheriff deputy because I live in their jurisdiction and am a half block outside of the crossover zone between the Sheriff and the police in the neighboring city.
The LATimes had a huge article they ran about the time of one of our fires (we’ve had three massive ones lately…can’t remember which one…) discussing the difference between the Aussies and SoCalifornians in regard to fire responses of homeowners. I remember it distinctly because there were many who blogged here locally saying that folks should not be forced to evacuate if they don’t want to…that they should be able to stand and fight the fire around their homes themselves. It was, shall we say, a “heated” discussion on why folks were evacuated here.
cookie jill´s last blog post..Fabio Viviani
There are things you can do, if you plan in advance that will improve your survival chances. During the Mission Valley fire while I was in San Diego and number of people succeeded in defending their homes with sprinklers and the water in their pool. The sprinklers not only stopped the advance of the fire up the side of the canyon, but extinguished the embers.
Their efforts were assisted by a fire break of ice plant instead of brush near the top of the canyon, but sprinkling was necessary because too many still had cedar shake roofing.
Very true Bryan. Sadly for the People of Kinglake and Marysville, even though the residents knew there were fires in the area and were preparing, they had no chance against the helish fires that engulfed them. Survivors are reporting that one moment they thought they had a few hours to get things together and leave, the next moment the sky was black and thick with smoke and the fire was roaring towards them. They simply ran out of time.
I’m proud of the people of Australia today. The Red Cross began a donations appeal this morning, and have so far collected about $8.7 million. The Salvo’s (Salvation Army) has raised over $2 million. The five banks and some major companies have donated $1million each, and some have pledged to add $1 for every $ donated by their staff. Coco-Cola Amatil is leading the charge to get beverage and food companies to donate whatever they can and have shipped pallets of water and other items as fast as they can (amazing, I know!) One of our biggest canneries, SPC (they can fruit and vegetables, mainly) are shipping all the food they can. Insurance companies even have pledged to farstrack insurance claims and to help people who have lost everything even their ID and papers. Lawyers are offering their services for free to help with insurance claims and other legal settlements etc. The army has unloaded bivouacs (tent villages), Bulldozers, comm’s systems and tracked APC’s (to get into hotspots and give forward scouting and comm’s relays to the fire services and to evacuate people in hotspots), and field hospitals. It truly is like a war zone. Would you believe, Bryan, they there was even the discussion of using a fuel-air bomb where the biggest fire is still burning to suck up all the oxygen and extinguish the fire? Thankfully, it’s not really possible for several reasons and the plan was quickly rejected. *shaking head*
The official death toll was 131 about two hours ago, and is now expected to top 200.
Vic bushfires death toll ‘could top 200’
It is so very difficult to comprehend the conditions Saturday that precipitated this disaster. Remember that Victoria is the furthest State in mainland Australia South. The only *State* further towards the antarctic is the Island state of Tasmania. Saturday the temp in the city of Melbourne (the capital) rose to 46.6C (116 F), and in other parts of the State it rose to 48.8C (120F)! And remember, these temp’s are recorded in the shade. One recording made in the direct sunlight in Melbourne was 54.3C (130F)! It has now been confirmed that these are the hottest temperatures for any City or State ever in our History, even hotter than the Northern territory and Darwin (the furthest City North in Australia). It was very dry and the hot southerly wind was gusting to 90km/h.
A researcher (Bushfire Scientist) predicted this could happen.
Victoria’s bushfires compared to Hiroshima
And just guess who is responsible for lobbying for the reduction in burn backs? Idiots.
Who needs nukes when you have tunnel visioned, narrow-minded greenies pushing their agenda’s.
The military are the only people who do regular burns in my area. We have pine forests clogged with debris from the hurricanes as well as the normal needle fall from the trees, and they don’t get burned except during our bushfires.
Needless to say, the volunteers who staff the rural fire departments are not trained to deal with wild fires and don’t have the necessary off-road equipment. Every time there’s a cold spell the humidity drops below 35% and there is a fire warning posted.
With the down turn, the forests are not going to be logged for paper or lumber, so it is going to get worse.
Controlled burning has only been recognized relatively recently as a fire control tool and a necessity in forest management.
After every disaster the government “discovers” they were warned, but ignored the problem.
I would note that the main reason that the military carries out controlled burns is so they can test weapons, like the MOAB fuel-air bomb, without starting a wildfire. I’m fairly certain that if the Pentagon could demonstrate an ability to “blow out” fires, they would market it as another reason to give them a bigger share of the budget. Explosives are used in oil well fire fighting, but those are rather contained as compared to fires measured in square miles.