Australia - New Zealand - Australian Bushfires

You all know about the Australian Bushfires, and some of you might know that my husband, Rowan, a frequent poster on BF, who lives northeast of Melbourne lost his house and most of his possessions in the "Black Saturday" fire that burned through Marysville and Buxton.

A huge area of Victoria has been burned in those fires, and the death count is currently at 210, but will very likely rise in the near future when they find the rest of the bodies.

Well ...... it's starting all over again ....


"The communities of Alexandra, Acheron, Taggerty, Thornton, Rubicon, Snob's creek, Eildon and Jerusalem Creek may also be affected once the wind change hits the fire area. It is expected to hit about midnight, with residents warned they may come under ember attack during the night.

...

Temperatures are set to reach the high 30s and low 40s across much of the state, with low humidity and a hot and dry north-northwesterly wind gusting up to 50km/h.

A strong southwesterly change will follow in the afternoon, potentially sending fires on a dangerously wide new front."

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25113504-661,00.html

And that's just Rowan's area ... there are a lot of fires burning in other areas as well.


They are also warning people from Melbourne to stay home and not go out into the country this weekend. Several tourists were killed in the "Black Saturday" fire. Some of these areas are popular with cyclists (like Lake Mountain), but cycling in these areas is not recommended at the moment.

Crikey! I didn't know that.
Is that the same Rowan who lived in Tassie a few years ago?

I hope this isn't jumping the gun, but today hasn't turned out as bad as feared, both fire and weather wise. Melbourne's temp only hit 33.2, instead of the forecast 36; and the guy on the 4pm news said there were currently no major fires causing concern in Vic, with a few thousand firefighters still on standby.

Crikey! I didn't know that.
Is that the same Rowan who lived in Tassie a few years ago?

I hope this isn't jumping the gun, but today hasn't turned out as bad as feared -- both fire and weather wise. Melbourne's temp only hit 33.2, instead of the forecast 36; and the guy on the 4pm news said there were currently no major fires causing concern in Vic, with a few thousand fire-fighters still on standby.

Yes, that's the same Rowan.

And there is currently a fire burning not far from where he lives, according to the CFA site. There were two others as well, but they have been contained.

It is good that the temps didn't get as warm as predicted.

Yes, that's the same Rowan.
.I thought so.

I hope you don't think I'm understating any potential problems. :)

Melb's temp wasn't as high as predicted, but I'm not sure about the rest of the state.

These links have up-to-date temps across Vic

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDV60800.shtml

This one is a map with clickable locations:

http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/vic/vic-observations-map.shtml

I hope there aren't any problems ... what happened 3 weeks ago was bad enough.

According to those sites the temp isn't too bad in Rowan's area ... and that's a very good thing both for Rowan and the fire situation. But I guess the big concern is the wind after midnight, and I was a bit surprised to see fires in the area already.

It's hard "watching" it all from the other side of the world.


BTW - Rowan's fire is the Kilmore East Murrindindi Complex North Fire.

I'm very sorry to hear about that. I'm an Aussie now living in Dubai and I have been regularly checking on friends and relatives back home potentially affected by floods in the north and fires in the south.
It's a tough country your hearts in.
Again, my sympathy.

Yeah, it's only 33 degrees at the moment, no way near the 38 that was forecast. And no big windy-winds either.

My friend lost part of his dwellings, sheds, cars and equipment in the Bendigo fires. I've been helping him clean up, dust mingled with ash is like talcum powder...it chokes your throat and blocks the nostrils and comes out black. Though we were not hit as hard as other areas, the potential for an even worse disaster was very close to happening because the fire stopped just before a heavy population suburb full of old weatherboard houses. The losses would have been unthinkable.
Our fire is believed to have been started by a mindless moron tossing a butt out a car window.

I hate to be the one to 'say it how it is', but there were a lot of silly people who lost their lives coz they thought they could stay with their homes and save everything with a rubber garden hose.

I know a girl from Marysville who ran up and down her street yelling at everyone to get the fark out of town, but they all said they'd be fine, and that they were gunna stay. Well, they're all dead, and she's the only from that street still alive coz she left.

I hate to be the one to 'say it how it is', but there were a lot of silly people who lost their lives coz they thought they could stay with their homes and save everything with a rubber garden hose.

I know a girl from Marysville who ran up and down her street yelling at everyone to get the fark out of town, but they all said they'd be fine, and that they were gunna stay. Well, they're all dead, and she's the only from that street still alive coz she left.

Before you make that kind of judgement, you have to keep in mind:

1. The official fire alarm system (the one that comes on over the radio and TV) was not used so the people would not have realized how serious the situation really was.

2. The Victoria fire policy is to make a decision whether you are going to stay and defend your property or leave. The stay and defend policy works if you have been allowed to maintain your property (keep green lawns, etc.), but the people in Marysville were discouraged from doing things like picking up the bark from the Eucalyptus trees because it looked more natural (or something like that) to leave all the debris all over the place. The stay and defend policy did work for houses nearer to Taggerty where the properties were well maintained.

3. In Marysville, it took 30 minutes from the time the fire hit the edge of town till the fire destroyed the town. There, and in other places, the fire was moving anywhere from 100 to 300 km/h. No one expected the speed or intensity of the fire. And some of the ones who did leave were burned in their cars.

Even Rowan was caught off guard. He suspected something was up and started making some preparations, including packing and trying to hose things down etc., and then the wind shifted a bit, and he emailed me that he thought everything was going to be fine. His next email was that he was leaving. It took him a while to tell me what happened next, but what happened next was that he put his stuff into a car, and there was still no sign of fire anywhere. Then he stepped into his house for one last look around, and in the 30 seconds he was in there, a 50 metre wall of fire appeared outside. He drove out through the flames. It was that fast.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/19/2496214.htm

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,25038005-2862,00.html

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25052404-2862,00.html

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,25097075-2862,00.html

My friend lost part of his dwellings, sheds, cars and equipment in the Bendigo fires. I've been helping him clean up, dust mingled with ash is like talcum powder...it chokes your throat and blocks the nostrils and comes out black. Though we were not hit as hard as other areas, the potential for an even worse disaster was very close to happening because the fire stopped just before a heavy population suburb full of old weatherboard houses. The losses would have been unthinkable.
Our fire is believed to have been started by a mindless moron tossing a butt out a car window.

Rowan has been working at the orchard where he is employed since a day or two after the fire. The orchard was partially destroyed by fire, but he has mentioned all the dust and ash everywhere.

Before you make that kind of judgement, you have to keep in mind:

yes, you're right, there was very little warning in the most devastated areas, but we were being told all week that it was gunna be the worst day for 25 years.

yes, you're right, there was very little warning in the most devastated areas, but we were being told all week that it was gunna be the worst day for 25 years.

Yes, and there was concern, but I think a lot of people had the impression that the fires, which were already burning, were a reasonable distance away and would stay there. I think they would have too, but that day (Black Saturday) there were winds of 90+ km/h in the valley where Rowan lived (and where Marysville was), and those winds sent embers flying everywhere. It also didn't help that not only was the Marysville fire part of the ember-ignited bushfire, but that some of that fire, and others, were deliberately set.

I've posted a few before and after shots here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14302884@N04/sets/72157611337191865/


And most of you would probably know this already, but there are a lot of closed roads out there:
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/NewsRoom/BushFiresRoadClosures/

I hope Rowan is getting things back together. I knew his area was affected, but I had no idea he was so close. I'm very, very relieved to hear he is OK.

I hope Rowan is getting things back together. I knew his area was affected, but I had no idea he was so close. I'm very, very relieved to hear he is OK.

Yes, he was close enough to lose his home, many of his things, and almost his life. He sent me one last email just before he left ... and then drove out through a wall of flame. I didn't hear from him again for two hours, and he entitled his next email "Escaped". I too, was very, very relieved to hear he was OK! :)

I've added some more photos to the set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14302884@N04/sets/72157611337191865/

As you can see from the last few, he is starting to get things back together. He is living in the camper trailer in those photos on the orchard property where he works.

I'll be moving there in the middle of June ... looking forward to it!!

Good luck with your move to Oz. I lived there for 8.5 years and really enjoyed it.