spouse of scouse

I can't even imagine how traumatic it was for them to be burned out and lose everything. The bush can be such a harsh place to live.

I feel sorry for the man who stayed to defend his property, he obviously thought he had it covered but what a terrible price he and his family have paid. It's just not worth it is it quoll :-(

mikelincs

One British family caught up in the fires said they had warnings but everything seemed to be OK, shops were open, people going about their normal things, then they realised it was really bad and they should have heeded the warnings, but by this time all the roads were closed, so they are having to sit it out.

Pollyana

Emergency Services use to advise that anyone in a bushfire area should have a plan and should stick to it. Now we are increasingly revising that advice to say EVERYONE should have a plan, as more and more fires are moving into suburban and even urban areas.

The most important part of that plan is knowing whether you plan to stay and defend, or evacuate. If the latter, then you should go as soon as you are warned to by the Emergency Services. You cannot (to quote Queensland Fire) expect a firefighter at your door telling you to leave, but all States send out Emergency Alert messages and all of them have active Media Units broadcasting updates on official Facebook pages and websites. Learn your local information sources and monitor them, keep your eyes and ears open, and if you get a message telling you to Leave Now, then do just that. Unless you are sufficiently prepared to defend your home, get out as soon as you can.

For those unfamiliar with Emergency Alert - voice messages are sent to landlines and text messages to mobile phones in the areas concerned. They go to all phones regardless of service provider, and will also be received on international mobiles as long as the mobile is within reach of the relevant towers here, doesn't matter what country the phone is registered in. You cannot opt out of this, and you will get the messages without opting in or signing up. Text messages come from numbers prefixed with 0444. If you get these messages they will usually contain the name of the State fire service (eg QFES in Queensland), they are official communications and are only sent when necessary, so please don't ignore them!

More info here - Emergency Alert. Be Warned. Be Informed.

scrubbedexpat091

So sad, fire is one natural disaster I understand very well, my whole life has been in fire prone regions of the world for the most part and its not something one can ever get used to.

Gordon Barlow

I've just received this email from a cousin of mine who lives in Victoria:

Dreamy

Unfortunately, the back burning (they probably mean hazard reduction, as back burning is what is undertaken to create containment lines) being stopped due to the minority party of the Greens is often repeated rubbish.

Our local RFS here in NSW do as many hazard reduction burns as the weather allows them to do. Unfortunately, it's been very, very dry over the winter, with an abundance of high wind events, which has meant that the hazard reduction program was severely curtailed. Nothing to do with Greens, hippies, tree huggers or the like. Our fire season started in August, with a substantial number of fires already burning across the state, after an extended fire season the previous year.

But no, let's blame the Greens, who are obviously way more influential than even they would think.

Tom Sawyer

I suggest that you get them to change their "news" sources as this is a line constantly put out by Rupert's Rags in particular. Get them to have a look at this https://greens.org.au/bushfires

Secondly, in which councils do the Greens hold such sway they have control. From what I know, not one. They 58 councilors on 32 local councils in NSW, so an average of 1.8 per council - not really enough to hold such mighty power. The Greens (as they are getting the blame) also do not have a "no burning" policy.

Thirdly, they need to get their terminology correct. Back burning is a defensive measure during an actual bushfire. Hazard reductions burns are the controlled fires used to get rid of fuel out of bushfire season, which is now a smaller window. Hazard reduction burns have actually increased by Ha, but the current drought/drier weather patterns due to climate change have prevented more taking place.

By the way.....I'm not some raving, inner city, latte sipping Greenie. I just don't like fake news which hides the truth.

Dreamy

You're obviously a male version of me

It really bugs me beyond all comprehension that the line about the Greens is still being trotted out. When we moved to the Blue Mountains 10 years ago, our neighbour told me then that the Greens had stopped any proper hazard reduction burns for the previous 10 years. It's that magical 10 year period, apparently.

Gordon Barlow

Ah, well, I shall tell my cousin that the brains trust says he's got it wrong. That's all I can do. The Greens obviously need a better p-r advisor.

carcajou

I live in regional WA and have a bigger rainwater tank and no, nothing treated or done to remove impurities. That is pretty standard here.

If you run dry, which does happen from time to time, you pay a delivery service to top you up.

ozzieeagle

Yes well they have got it wrong, they aren't in power, they hardly have any representation that can lead to decision making. I personally dislike green politics as well, from the worker's point of view, in as much as a lot of their policies could lead to job cuts. However, to lay the reasons behind the bushfires solely at their feet is disingenious.

carcajou

Yes, and something I have found very frustrating is the number of warnings that went out over a period of several days that went unheeded, particularly about the Princes Highway and the potential for closures and strandings. One of the newspapers even ran a lead story about fire warnings being ignored and people having a "wait and see" attitude . . . which the warnings precisely tell you not to do. "Wait and see" attitudes are deadly.

There is a high degree of lack of understanding about bushfires. They can outrun cars, and they will kill you before the flames arrive due to the radiant heat. Ember attack means your property can go up in flames way before the actual fire wall gets anywhere near you. In recent years I've personally seen a bushfire (the smoke from one) start off in the distance from my workplace window - and within 2 hours a town 50 kms away was under threat and under an evacuation order. A few years prior to that I saw another one start from a lightning strike and within a day towns 100 kms away were under threat. I do know people committed to actively defending but they are longstanding farmers with millions of litres of water at their disposal and the proper equipment and experience (ie, people who know what they are doing). It is not something you do on your 5-acre lifestyle block with a couple of garden hoses.

It does not take much for one of these to start. In WA last year a massive one started because of sparks from a malfunctioning piece of farm equipment. Some have started because of welders and power tools gone screwy. Plus, yes, arsonists do get active at this time of year and far from the "Rupert Papers" it is DFES itself saying it. There have been arsonists involved in numerous amounts of the current fires.

This is not a new phenomenon in Australia, nor is the intensity particularly outsized. Black Saturday, which killed 173, was in 2009. Canberra was in 2003. The Wingello Seven were in 1998. There are examples of bushfires with substantial death tolls going back to time immemorial. No excuse for people in this country to be unprepared.

Bushfire plans are easy. Here, let me provide a template: "We will pack up the kids, pets and important documents, and leave as soon as it gets to Watch and Act, so we are out of harm's way and do not get in the way of the fireys or the first responders."

Merseygirl

paulry

Lots of warnings going out about this weekend where we're expecting 40 degree temps and wind, etc.

....Meanwhile, just in case Canberra isn't smoky enough:


Stay safe, everyone.

moneypenny20

Colleague of the husband was packing his family up and heading down to Kosciuszko NP for Christmas and New Year - camping. The husband was a bit horrified and suggested it possibly wasn't the best place to go given the fires. Colleague - he has always been a moron- said they'd be fine and if they did find themselves in trouble he'd just drive through the fires mate. Hahaha. - He thought the media coverage and warnings were over the top and he knows the cou try mate. I have no clue if he went down or even if he got back. Frankly he's such a ****wit at the best of times I don't have it in me to really care. Hope his family are ok though.