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Fires in Victoria, Australia.

5K views 43 replies 18 participants last post by  Spiritinthesky 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Who here on Jemsite falls under the following categories?

1. Are in Victoria and under threat from the fires.
2. Are in Victoria.
3. Have friends/family in Victoria under threat.
4. Are somewhere in Australia and aware of the situation or
5. Are not in Australia, but are aware of the situation?

For those of you who don't know, bushfires are engulfing the state of Victoria in south-eastern Australia. At least three towns have been completely destroyed and wiped out, at least 650 homes destroyed, and last time I heard the death toll is 50 people and counting. Many of those people are young children. Some were found in houses, others in burnt out shells of cars leaving the towns.

One scene that really opened me up to how quickly the fires were going was a scene of two cars turning a corner in a town, except they weren't moving. Instead, they were just burnt out shells. They were on the edge of leaving the town when the fire hit them. To see what is usually a normal scene of everyday life turned into that context was quite scary.

And worst of all, the authorities say many of the fires were deliberately lit.

To those of you who know the story of Ash Wednesday 30 years ago, this event has been described as far worse. :(
 
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#8 ·
I'm in Victoria, but not near the fires. It's crazy. Last I saw, the death toll was up to 84 (including newsreader Brian Naylor and his wife), 750 homes lost, entire small towns destroyed. The sky here in Melbourne had an eerie red glow this evening. As far as I know everyone's ok but I saw on Facebook that a former highschool classmate doesn't know if her home was destroyed.
 
#14 ·
131 dead so far, and these have only been the outer towns. Firefighters are starting ot venture a little deeper, and they say they expect the toll to rise well over 230. :(

Whoever is responsible for this should hope that the police who catch them have excellent self-control.
 
#19 ·
what a terrible tragedy still unfolding :(

One report says Temperatures in parts of Melbourne reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius) in the past few weeks which along with the icy weather here points to significant climate change that is no doubt man-made and needs to be addressed globally... glen
 
#20 ·
Yeah temperatures did reach 45 degrees celsius (not sure about 48 ) over the last few weeks, worst was during the Australian Open where some players had to retire due to the heat :(

Isnt it meant to be winter over there glen atm so shouldn't you expect some icy weather?, don't get me wrong it could be climate change, but here its summer and we expect long hot days, its been like that for as long as i can remember, the last two days here in Sydney have been raining, and i don't know about anywhere else in oz but i've noticed in Sydney it follows a cycle: a string on hot days followed by a few days of rain and then it repeats, ah the water cycle :mrgreen:
 
#23 ·
Not to sidetrack the terrible situation there...

Mike it is winter here but quite unusually cold for a long stretch just as your heat wave is unexpected and unusual. Correct me if i'm wrong but i don't believe 115-118 degrees F is remotely normal or expected over there for summer. It seems to be your record high where 28C is more normal. Maybe it's a cooincidence but the trends are really basic, ecology 101 where you are seeing extreme weather much like a desert (hot during the day and freezing at night due to the lack of any foliage, canopy or ground cover to offer stability). I mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize what is happening when we're losing perhaps 150 acres per minute of rain forest without interruption (due to humans). We've lost 40% of the world's forest in the last 50 years. Which sadly will make such disasters more commonplace over time :( .. glen
 
#24 ·
I understand, us humans are damaging such a beautiful world, and we are suffering the consequences :( Yeah it is unusual that you guys are experciencing bad cold snaps, and were experiencing heatwaves :| Anyway we should leave this climate stuff and keep this thread on the Victorian Bushfires :| sorry to sidetrack it.

Oh btw i heard that New Zealand and the UK are sending re-inforcements to help us fight these fires, thanks guys. And i hope these arsonists pay :x
 
#27 ·
They are indeed learning more about the arsonists.

The Australian Army has landed in Victoria and has set up tents in a large clearing to offer accomodation to those affected.

The firefighters are working on shifts, and when one group returns, there are always memebers of the public who have made soup and tea for them.

It's strange that there are heatwaves and fires in Victoria while there is rain and even flooding furter north.

But arsonists are also responsible for that.

It's great to see all these posts from all of you on Jemsite supporting the state of Victoria. :)
 
#32 ·
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25043709-421,00.html

Victoria fires: Two men arrested in bushfire zone

POLICE investigating the Victoria fires have arrested two suspected arsonists.

Two men were arrested near Taggerty after reports of "suspicious behaviour between Seymour and Yea in relation to the fires", a police spokeswoman said.

"The investigation is in its initial stages. Two people are assisting police."

No further information was available immediately. It was not clear which fires the arrests were related to or whether they caused any deaths.

But police did confirm the pair was arrested this morning.

A fire in Gippsland that was part of the Saturday firestorm has been confirmed as deliberately lit. Twenty-one people died in that region.

The fire in Marsyville is also being investigated as possible arson because of its ferocity, it has been reported. So far eight deaths have been confirmed in the town but it is feared up to 100 of the town's 519 people might have died.
 
#33 ·
The only fitting punishment for these firebug's in my eye's is the Brazen bull!
Over 181 people burnt to death!! Let them see how it feel's!

It's been bloody hot down here as normal,but 7+ days in a row of 40 degrees+ is nearly unbearable! I work in hot injection moulding and believe me,46 degrees and a 12 hour shift made me want to die.

Best country in the world though,beautiful! Cant believe i did'nt want to move here at first!!!! Born and raised Coventry city,UK.
 
#34 ·
At first I didn't realise how bad it was.... then I heard the death toll on the news... did a bit of research on the suburbs affected. Then I started to panic... my best mates brother moved out to new gisborne which is fairly close to the fires. My sister in law teaches at a school out past craigieburn way and several of her students are missing. It is truly horrible.
 
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