Pollyana

At present the only homes destroyed are in Scamander which is on the east coast.
Tas fire say -
"Anyone wishing to enquire about property or persons involved in the fires at Scamander / St Marys on the East Coast may contact the Evacuation & Recovery Centre on 03 6376 1289. This phone will be manned by Government representatives throughout the duration of the emergency"

http://www.fire.tas.gov.au/mysite/Sh...hfireSummaries

From the Uk that will be 00613 6376 1289

Lots of phones are out though, all up the coast.

geordie mandy

Thanks Polly, ive passed the number on to my parents. their freinds are near Preston so with not knowing the geography , im assuming they should be okay.
Mandy

Pollyana

Well away from it - Preston is in the north-west, near Ulverston and Sheffield (!!) well safe, lets hope it stays that way.

Pollyana

Pics from the firestorm that hit Scamander, then moved to Four Mile Creek and Cornwall. Terrifying, 80 feet walls of flame, fireballs sweeping over houses, and families sheltering on the beach.
My beautiful island burning.

www.themercury.news.com.au

geordie mandy

OMG :scared:

That just doesn't bare thinking about
Mandy

Clippy

Jesus!

Vash the Stampede

Bloody hell!

Poor old Tassie. She just doesn't deserve this kind of abuse!

mark 'n' joe

Must be devastating. Hope everyone is safe.

jx

Kapri

This is just awful.
I know I will sound very ignorant now but hopefully one of you will enlighten me.
Why does Victoria get the bush fires when it is the coolest state in Australia?

Hels Bells

I think one of the big reasons Vic cops it quite alot is because of the extremes we get here. If we have a good winter, followed by a really dry summer, there is lots to burn. When there isnt fires for a few years, it builds up.

Did you know, that alot of the Australian native plants actually NEED fire to regenerate? Fire isnt always a bad thing in Australia. Its only when it comes near homes and it effects the animal population.

Australia has always had fires, always will have fires and alot of the time needs the fires.

jad n rich

Vic might have a cooler average over the year, but remember temps in winter can be quite low and in summer they can go very high. Its been 42 recently, so the cool average is a bit misleading, summer can be very hot at times.

Plus around jan and feb when its at its hottest its usually dry, the combination of V high temps and dry windy weather makes it burn easier than states that get their rain in summer.

Plus this year you have to factor in the drought a lot of victoria is brown as a crisp right now, which is probably why the fire seasons started early.

Vash the Stampede

Not to mention the fact that Victoria ("the garden state") is one of Australia's greenest states and is therefore brimming with bushfire fuel.

Kapri

This makes sense. I was in California a few years ago and a ranger in Yosemite said the same thing. Thet used to try and prevent fires until they realised they helped the plants regenerate. now they just try to control them.
Thanks for your replies guys.

Bordy

Its just so unbelievable that a lot of these fires are started deliberately.
The big fire in Gippsland, Victoria where they have lost quite a few propertys & one guy killed, the police are looking for two teenagers who possibly started it.

One of the big fires over in WA they have arrested a 58 year old guy for starting it.

Personally I'd bring back hanging for these bastards.

moneypenny20

Get them involved in the post mortum on the burnt bodies. That might teach them something.