Australia Fires
 

Watching the news and thinking about our friends down under. Remarkable damage and loss of life. Hope it ends soon, and be safe until than.

Re: Australia Fires
 

amen to that

Re: Australia Fires
 

From down under. I thank you for your thoughts. Thankfully I have not been effected as I live well north from the area where the fires are. The devastation and suffering that is being experienced is unbelievable, the cost of human life and property is extremely high. Help is pooring In from all over Australia and indeed from all our international friends. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Re: Australia Fires
 

Some of our Northern Calif firefighters who know fires are being dispatched to help, but what you have seems to be way beyond what we had, and I did not think that possible. Best Wishes. Hey, keep the A's safe. (-: )

Re: Australia Fires
 

Here's a very popular web page. A week ago if someone was looking at their phone, it was at this. "Fires Near Me" an app from the fire service. The dark green with the outline are the burnt bits. The green areas are rain forest near the coast, and high country inland south (bottom). The white areas are usually farm land.
http://google.org/crisismap/australia
The fires before Christmas were mainly around Sydney, and then south ones (bottom on map) started. We were in the bottom coastal bit until Christmas day and it was fine then. Today is cool and calm but still smoky and looks like being that way for a few days at least. We are about 70km down wind from a "mega fire", a new term created by three large fires joining together. We have yet to see how well it travels over farm land on a hot, windy day...

Re: Australia Fires
 

In tonight's news, another firefighter dies and a total of 2130 homes destroyed. It's not over by a long shot.

Re: Australia Fires
 

In the past couple of days, firefighters have had an opportunity to try to make containment lines but when a change of wind came through, they were breached AGAIN. The easing of conditions was due to a band of light rain (no where near enough) that came through which originated from a cyclone off the NW corner of the continent. To relate that to what you guys in the US might understand, it is like people in California getting some relief out of a hurricane in Florida.
The worst of the fires in my State (Victoria) are a couple of hundred miles to our east. The sky this morning has an eerie red glow yet again.
I hope this experience is a game changer for those who deny.

Re: Australia Fires
 

An update. There is another cyclone forming off the NW coast. They say this time, we could get up to 50mm of the wet stuff out of it. That would be WONDERFUL!

Re: Australia Fires
 

That is great news...Hope it happens!

Pluck

Re: Australia Fires
 

A couple years back wildfires ravaged Okla. A good friend near me lost everything; I know what devastation looks like. Don't wish it on anyone.

Hopefully the forecast weather will provide relief. Godspeed, Oz.

Re: Australia Fires
 

I've lived in SoCal all my life, and have been too close to a couple of them so know what they can do! My prayers are with you.

Re: Australia Fires
 

The forecast for rain was repeated this morning so it's looking better by the hour but it won't get to a large area affected by fires. Pretty much the whole SW quarter of the country will miss out this time.
Air quality is extremely bad today - hope the rain will help that too. The frist drops will fall as mud.

Re: Australia Fires
 

Some of the fires are in the same region where I live, East Gippsland. Luckily for me, the most we got was a lot of smoke, which is still lingering. Unfortunately, bushfires are a part of the Australian landscape. We have had worse, and bounced back, so these ones won't be any different. It is good to see our international friends coming to help. There are emergency web pages by the various states if you're interested in looking at where and how big the fires are.

Re: Australia Fires
 

Taken about an hour ago behind our house. Getting closer.
This was started by the landing lights on an army helicopter. Doesn't take much.

Re: Australia Fires
 

4 days of plus 40c forecast. Hope you have prepared gutter and yard. Hope you stay safe and good luck, cheers, gary

Re: Australia Fires
 

Yes, time to batten down the hatches again. More extreme heat on the way and there are still fires from the beginning of November burning out of control. We have had some very bad fires over the years and people have learned how to survive them. If this were happening even 10 years ago, the death toll would be many times what is is - and it is bad enough. Wildlife and livestock have been decimated in the worst areas which cover more area than most can imagine.

Re: Australia Fires
 

Yep, just about to throw out the Christmas tree.

It was so dry this year that a 6 foot Christmas tree only made it to 5 foot.

Re: Australia Fires
 

We lost a plane and three of our guys down there. This should be a wakeup to some of the doubters. things are getting hotter and drier.

Re: Australia Fires
 

Yes, that wasn't far from here. It was very nasty. It's bad enough to lose our own people, let alone those who come to help.
When we do gardening we use a pick. The farmers around here will tell you the ground is hydrophobic. So it no longer absorbs moisture properly.

Re: Australia Fires
 

After being so dry for so long, the soil actually repels water so it takes a slow rain for several days to get the soil used to absorbing water again. It hasn't happened yet this season and won't for a couple or three months yet, IMO.