Melbourne Fires

[Renee]

I guess not all Koalas are vicious:

http://player.video.news.com.au/news..._TGucgz0BnnYkO

BTW - If anyone wants to make a donation, please visit this site: http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melb...s.php?id=17770

So far 181 people have been killed and over 1000 homes have been burnt down..

Although I'm nowhere near the fires (about 1000kms away) its still pretty upsetting.. I remember a few years ago I went on a cruise over Christmas and came back to fires in Sydney. We had no idea about them while we were away and it was extremely devastating.. This seems to be much worse. I know where my prayers have been. They've been lucky that it has been semi-coldish over the last couple of days there to get a lot under control, so fingers crossed they get the fires under control before the weekend, since it's supposed to get really hot again.

[bb1web]

Hi Renee,

do you know if Aussie has a long history of these types of fires?

I guess that sort of thing doesn't make world news but I did read about it and I thought I wrote you about it or mentioned it in a correspondence.

if not, I probably had my machine shut down on me in mid-type because I remember writing about it.

when I read the article I believe they claimed OVER 200 lives had been lost (this was fairly recent) but I didnt' see anything in respect to whether this was a usual happening or unusual?

[Renee]

In my life I can remember this happening only twice..

The truth is, there are always fires in summer because it just gets so bloody hot here.. but these ones were deliberately lit during a heat wave (47 Celsius), and that's why they are so out of control..

Last i heard it was 181 lives.. could be more.. the fires are still going.

[jarvi]

Steve, the last REALLY bad ones were back in 1983. That's for Victoria, not sure about the rest of the country, although as Renee mentioned, Sydney has some a few year back. A couple of years ago there were some shockers here, but not nearly the devastation. I think I posted some photos of the smoke in my street. The problem this year is so much dry undergrowth because we have been in a drought situation for a number of years now. No rain and strong winds is a recipe for disaster. As Renee said and the Californian residents would probably agree, fires happen each year, it just depends on the weather conditions at the time. The extreme heat we had leading up to them this year was probably a major factor.

The official death toll is under 200 however, there are still some townships that the investigators haven't been through and lots of people unaccounted for. They expect it to be close to 300. Around 5000 people have lost their homes now. Melbourne is a city of 3m plus people (I think) and pretty much everyone I have spoken to in the last week or so know some-one affected by it. Only a couple of days ago a guy came to pickup something I sold on ebay and we got talking about it. He had a couple of friends that were missing.

I live about 14km from the CBD close the the Yarra River (main river in Melbourne) and this afternoon it was like living in New York City. Sirens going past every five minutes. Turns out there was a fire a few minutes drive up the road from my house. Burnt through four hectares in minutes as there was a strong wind too. Fortunately they had the waterbombing helicopters there pretty quickly. Was only a couple of hundred metres from houses.

[AmCan]

From what i've heard, the biggest problem has been people getting trapped by fast moving fires and dying when the escape routes they planned to use were blocked by fires or trees/utility poles that had fallen.

It sounds like the people out there had fire escape plans, which would be key to surviving, but the speed at which the fires were moving cut off lots of people trying to get away. I can't think of much worse than knowing/seeing your friends and family meet their end in such a horrific way while trying to escape.

I know that even from thousands of miles away, it's very sad, i can't imagine what it's like for Jarvi and his neighbors. Keep hanging in there and look after your families, friends and fellow citizens, while we all hope for a break in the weather.

[Renee]

Yeah I think thats the main thing too..

Actually i heard on the radio the other day that the government has a warning system for fires in place that they haven't bothered implementing yet.. it could have saved most of those lives, if not all of them by warning people before the fires got out of control. Like they have in the states for tornadoes etc.

I'm actually flying down to melbourne for the weekend so ill be interested to see what its like..

[jarvi]

Was just reading that it's now over 1800 homes destroyed and still 31 fires burning out of control with some getting within a few kilometres of another township, Healesville. Today the wind is blowing the smoke toward the suburbs where I live.

Many people have moved from grief to anger now. Hence the comments about the lack of action by governments. Some is probably true, some is probably just the media beating up a story because they are running out of new items to talk about. Not that this justifies any delay by the federal, state and local governments.

Hope you have a good weekend down here Renee. Try and sit on the left side of the plane for a better view although flight paths might be a bit different at the moment.

[Renee]

That's terrible... I hope its not too bad and doesn't leave soot in your place.

Is the smoke affecting Melbourne CBD areas?

Unfortunately I've already got my seat chosen and it's on the right side.. I'm sure I'll see it anyway though..

[Captain]

Hi Renee,
Did you know that my daughter Jessica had the same midle name as you?

[Captain]

I am very sad for the people lost. Very sad

[Renee]

Hi Renee,
Did you know that my daughter Jessica had the same midle name as you?

No I didnt.. it's not a very common name though.. Unless you're in France i guess :P

I am very sad for the people lost. Very sad

Ditto.. I just hope they catch the assholes that did it.

[Captain]

I hope so to Renee and what has happen to the world. People need love formost of all. People need to love!

[jarvi]

That's terrible... I hope its not too bad and doesn't leave soot in your place.

Is the smoke affecting Melbourne CBD areas?

Unfortunately I've already got my seat chosen and it's on the right side.. I'm sure I'll see it anyway though..

Not affecting the CBD at the moment. Just looks a bit overcast and hazy that's all. Nothing like a year or so ago. Not much wind today so fingers crossed.