Australian Bushfires

haydos25
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1/1/2020 5:37pm Edited Date/Time 1/23/2020 10:01am
Happy New Year all. Just want to send out well wishes to any Aussie Vitards that may have been affected by the crisis going on at the minute. The worst bushfire season in history and it is seriously heart breaking to see some of the pictures coming out.

Point of reference for the overseas members.

2019 California fires 253,214 acres lost
2019 Amazon Fires 2.24 million acres lost
2019 NSW (one state of Australia only) 9.9 million acres lost
2019 All of Australia 12.35 million acres lost and almost half a billion animals killed, 1,300 homes wiped out and 18 people killed

We are only 1 month into our summer down here and traditionally January and February are our worst months for fires.

Keep those affected in your thoughts (and prayers if you that way inclined), especially the volunteer fire fighters, many of whom have missed out on festive season celebrations with their families to try and save those in need. True heroes.
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scott_nz
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1/1/2020 5:48pm
It’s pretty bad as We are getting the smoke over here now. And I can’t ever remember that happening , thinking of our mates across the Tasman , esp the fire fighters fighting them
borg
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1/1/2020 5:53pm
haydos25 wrote:
Happy New Year all. Just want to send out well wishes to any Aussie Vitards that may have been affected by the crisis going on at...
Happy New Year all. Just want to send out well wishes to any Aussie Vitards that may have been affected by the crisis going on at the minute. The worst bushfire season in history and it is seriously heart breaking to see some of the pictures coming out.

Point of reference for the overseas members.

2019 California fires 253,214 acres lost
2019 Amazon Fires 2.24 million acres lost
2019 NSW (one state of Australia only) 9.9 million acres lost
2019 All of Australia 12.35 million acres lost and almost half a billion animals killed, 1,300 homes wiped out and 18 people killed

We are only 1 month into our summer down here and traditionally January and February are our worst months for fires.

Keep those affected in your thoughts (and prayers if you that way inclined), especially the volunteer fire fighters, many of whom have missed out on festive season celebrations with their families to try and save those in need. True heroes.
Holy shit. Those are some amazing stats. I will look further into it. Thanks.
APLMAN99
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1/1/2020 6:12pm
Those are crazy numbers.

The California acreage is always deceiving to me, though. With the way the population is there, they can have not as many acres burned in a year but have massive losses of homes, and then the next year a lot of acres and drastically fewer homes.

We have some bad fire years up here, but our population is so relatively sparse that our homes lost is thankfully always small compared to there.

Are the biggest fires in Australia mostly staying away from big population centers? 1300 homes is obviously a lot, but for that kind of acreage it sounds like quite a bit less than I would imagine in California.
jemcee
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1/1/2020 6:19pm
Man I just came in to start a thread myself haha It's been some scary shit! I'm fairly safe where I am on the far north coast but I was closer than I'll ever wanna be again! Had a number of fires in places 20 or 30 mins away and one night could see a glow in the sky just over a hill near mine and it's so eerie.. My sister very nearly lost her house but was lucky to have a crew of RFS around to stop what came through but flames still came in her yard.. Freaky shit
I was just on youtube to find some vids to share

The Shop

jemcee
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1/1/2020 6:25pm
You'll have to try your best to ignore the lovely Karina haha


Fuck these guys and girls are absolute heros
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haydos25
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1/1/2020 6:42pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
Those are crazy numbers. The California acreage is always deceiving to me, though. With the way the population is there, they can have not as many...
Those are crazy numbers.

The California acreage is always deceiving to me, though. With the way the population is there, they can have not as many acres burned in a year but have massive losses of homes, and then the next year a lot of acres and drastically fewer homes.

We have some bad fire years up here, but our population is so relatively sparse that our homes lost is thankfully always small compared to there.

Are the biggest fires in Australia mostly staying away from big population centers? 1300 homes is obviously a lot, but for that kind of acreage it sounds like quite a bit less than I would imagine in California.
The below link gives you a good idea on where the fires are located. Keep in mind roughly 90% of Australias population is located on the east coast between Brisbane in the north and Melbourne in the south.
https://myfirewatch.landgate.wa.gov.au/

The other issue we're facing at the moment is 99.5% of New South Wales is in drought, the worst drought this century. There is just so much fuel on the ground that literally one spark can set the whole country on fire, with no rain in site its not a good time down here right now. The country is hurting big time.
motogrady
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1/1/2020 6:45pm
Ya, been watching it on the evening news.
Made me think of the book The Thornbirds.
Freakin fires can move so fast if you're caught off guard out there in the open, there's no way to outrun them.

Hope u guys down there in OZ take care.

APLMAN99
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1/1/2020 6:49pm
haydos25 wrote:
The below link gives you a good idea on where the fires are located. Keep in mind roughly 90% of Australias population is located on the...
The below link gives you a good idea on where the fires are located. Keep in mind roughly 90% of Australias population is located on the east coast between Brisbane in the north and Melbourne in the south.
https://myfirewatch.landgate.wa.gov.au/

The other issue we're facing at the moment is 99.5% of New South Wales is in drought, the worst drought this century. There is just so much fuel on the ground that literally one spark can set the whole country on fire, with no rain in site its not a good time down here right now. The country is hurting big time.
My eyes and lungs hurt just looking at that map. Must seem like Dante's Inferno down there right now.
jemcee
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1/1/2020 6:51pm
One of the firies got killed when a 'firenado' picked up and flipped the 8 tonne firetruck he was in.. The fires are starting to create their own weather systems
jemcee
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1/1/2020 6:58pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
My eyes and lungs hurt just looking at that map. Must seem like Dante's Inferno down there right now.
As I said above the fires around me were a couple of weeks ago now and I was pretty far away from them but there was so much smoke I didn't see the sky for about 10 days and yeah watery eyes and just constant smokey smell and taste..
I have no idea how the people closer to them dealt with it! My sister is done and keen to move and I don't blame her
jemcee
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1/1/2020 7:10pm
Ffffarken intense
Deja New
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1/1/2020 8:00pm
So dry out our way I live in the bush on a few acres and all the dams are empty never seen it before. It’s rain season here and we have had like 5mm.
I’m lucky my side of the street is cleared but across the road is all bush land and we’ve had a few dry lightning storms start fire but the boys have put them out like the hero’s they are.
Scary stuff for so many thoughts go out to all affected.
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APLMAN99
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1/1/2020 8:10pm
jemcee wrote:
One of the firies got killed when a 'firenado' picked up and flipped the 8 tonne firetruck he was in.. The fires are starting to create...
One of the firies got killed when a 'firenado' picked up and flipped the 8 tonne firetruck he was in.. The fires are starting to create their own weather systems
I haven't seen a whirlwind that big, but during a large local fire in 1994 I saw funnels lifting up trees and throwing them like flares.

Some of the scariest shit I've ever seen and we were well over a mile a way and downhill.

haydos25
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1/1/2020 8:19pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
I haven't seen a whirlwind that big, but during a large local fire in 1994 I saw funnels lifting up trees and throwing them like flares...
I haven't seen a whirlwind that big, but during a large local fire in 1994 I saw funnels lifting up trees and throwing them like flares.

Some of the scariest shit I've ever seen and we were well over a mile a way and downhill.

It's absolutely crazy some of the stories that you here. These fires are that ferocious they literally generate there own weather. Lightning, whirlwind, air literally exploding due to the heat and sending embers 100 of metres ahead of the actual fire front and kickstarting completely separate blazes.

Its a whole other world that these firies are dealing with, and to think they are doing it purely out of the kindness and dedication of their own heart with zero monetary benefit to themselves. Heroes is an overused term these days but not when referencing these guys and girls.
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jemcee
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1/1/2020 8:28pm
This pic is both heart warming and Heart wrenching all at the same time.. Wild Koalas will rarely just sit next to a human although they're not exactly scared of anything but I reckon it's just so tired and appreciating the cold shower given by the legend firey

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ocscottie
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1/1/2020 8:37pm Edited Date/Time 1/1/2020 8:41pm
jemcee wrote:
Ffffarken intense
Ffffarken intense
Johnny, glad you are safe, i was watching vid from a dude i subscribe on youtube (Cleetus McFarland) and he is in AUS and they were driving down smokey roads and it looked EXACTLY like the roads here, it was a trip man. Made me think of you and that Ezza cunt and Patrick. Hope you are all stay safe, we were once evacuated a few years back and it was so surreal, cop cars driving down the street with loudspeakers blaring, "GET OUT NOW!!" I was trippin balls, like a scene from a movie.

Stay safe mate!
3
APLMAN99
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1/1/2020 8:39pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
I haven't seen a whirlwind that big, but during a large local fire in 1994 I saw funnels lifting up trees and throwing them like flares...
I haven't seen a whirlwind that big, but during a large local fire in 1994 I saw funnels lifting up trees and throwing them like flares.

Some of the scariest shit I've ever seen and we were well over a mile a way and downhill.

haydos25 wrote:
It's absolutely crazy some of the stories that you here. These fires are that ferocious they literally generate there own weather. Lightning, whirlwind, air literally exploding...
It's absolutely crazy some of the stories that you here. These fires are that ferocious they literally generate there own weather. Lightning, whirlwind, air literally exploding due to the heat and sending embers 100 of metres ahead of the actual fire front and kickstarting completely separate blazes.

Its a whole other world that these firies are dealing with, and to think they are doing it purely out of the kindness and dedication of their own heart with zero monetary benefit to themselves. Heroes is an overused term these days but not when referencing these guys and girls.
Firies = volunteers?

We have small volunteer local fire departments, but any time that we get big wildfires the firefighters are paid, and paid well because of the inherent danger.
haydos25
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1/1/2020 8:45pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
Firies = volunteers? We have small volunteer local fire departments, but any time that we get big wildfires the firefighters are paid, and paid well because...
Firies = volunteers?

We have small volunteer local fire departments, but any time that we get big wildfires the firefighters are paid, and paid well because of the inherent danger.
The RFS (Rural Fire Service) who are largely responsible for the mojority of hazard reduction burning and fighting bushfires is a volunteer organisation.

Not only are they not getting paid for this, they are also foregoing their regular line of work. So many are actually much worse off financially for what they do. Not to mention some of them also have homes that are in fire affected areas. Heard a few stories this season of guys who were on the fire ground saving homes whilst elsewhere their own homes were under threat or even wiped out.

They're a special breed those blokes and hundreds of thousands of people owe them a debt of gratitude.
4
APLMAN99
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1/1/2020 8:52pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
Firies = volunteers? We have small volunteer local fire departments, but any time that we get big wildfires the firefighters are paid, and paid well because...
Firies = volunteers?

We have small volunteer local fire departments, but any time that we get big wildfires the firefighters are paid, and paid well because of the inherent danger.
haydos25 wrote:
The RFS (Rural Fire Service) who are largely responsible for the mojority of hazard reduction burning and fighting bushfires is a volunteer organisation. Not only are...
The RFS (Rural Fire Service) who are largely responsible for the mojority of hazard reduction burning and fighting bushfires is a volunteer organisation.

Not only are they not getting paid for this, they are also foregoing their regular line of work. So many are actually much worse off financially for what they do. Not to mention some of them also have homes that are in fire affected areas. Heard a few stories this season of guys who were on the fire ground saving homes whilst elsewhere their own homes were under threat or even wiped out.

They're a special breed those blokes and hundreds of thousands of people owe them a debt of gratitude.
That is definitely crazy!

At least in our area, as soon as the jurisdiction moves from the local fire department to the state or federal level, I'm told that the volunteers start getting paid prevailing rate. But for us, that's very few of the people actually fighting the fire. The majority are Forest Service employees, contractors, etc.
jemcee
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1/1/2020 10:17pm
jemcee wrote:
Ffffarken intense
Ffffarken intense
ocscottie wrote:
Johnny, glad you are safe, i was watching vid from a dude i subscribe on youtube (Cleetus McFarland) and he is in AUS and they were...
Johnny, glad you are safe, i was watching vid from a dude i subscribe on youtube (Cleetus McFarland) and he is in AUS and they were driving down smokey roads and it looked EXACTLY like the roads here, it was a trip man. Made me think of you and that Ezza cunt and Patrick. Hope you are all stay safe, we were once evacuated a few years back and it was so surreal, cop cars driving down the street with loudspeakers blaring, "GET OUT NOW!!" I was trippin balls, like a scene from a movie.

Stay safe mate!
Oh man the only thing worse than the evacuation orders would be the 'it's too late to leave now' orders! Fires are fucken full on.. Like I said I'm all good now but I was a little worried when it was so fucken dry and so fucken hot and windy the slightest spark or ember woulda lit the place up, plus I'm in an old farm house so I was feeling a little vulnerable haha But we've gotten a little bit of rain and ol mother nature has bounced back pretty well! Still way too dry but not as bad as it was.. Dad reckons it was easily the driest he's ever seen it it was all dusty and shitty
Deja New
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1/2/2020 12:36am
jemcee wrote:
Ffffarken intense
Ffffarken intense
ocscottie wrote:
Johnny, glad you are safe, i was watching vid from a dude i subscribe on youtube (Cleetus McFarland) and he is in AUS and they were...
Johnny, glad you are safe, i was watching vid from a dude i subscribe on youtube (Cleetus McFarland) and he is in AUS and they were driving down smokey roads and it looked EXACTLY like the roads here, it was a trip man. Made me think of you and that Ezza cunt and Patrick. Hope you are all stay safe, we were once evacuated a few years back and it was so surreal, cop cars driving down the street with loudspeakers blaring, "GET OUT NOW!!" I was trippin balls, like a scene from a movie.

Stay safe mate!
jemcee wrote:
Oh man the only thing worse than the evacuation orders would be the 'it's too late to leave now' orders! Fires are fucken full on.. Like...
Oh man the only thing worse than the evacuation orders would be the 'it's too late to leave now' orders! Fires are fucken full on.. Like I said I'm all good now but I was a little worried when it was so fucken dry and so fucken hot and windy the slightest spark or ember woulda lit the place up, plus I'm in an old farm house so I was feeling a little vulnerable haha But we've gotten a little bit of rain and ol mother nature has bounced back pretty well! Still way too dry but not as bad as it was.. Dad reckons it was easily the driest he's ever seen it it was all dusty and shitty
I’m up in QLD and been at my house for 15 years I’ve never seen anything like it the cows are eating thistles just to get something as there is no grass left. Just dead grass n dirt even some of the deciduous plants haven got leaves yet as we’ve had no fucking rain. Watch helicopters go back n forth last week at midnight putting fires out in the state forests.
jemcee
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1/2/2020 1:03am
Deja New wrote:
I’m up in QLD and been at my house for 15 years I’ve never seen anything like it the cows are eating thistles just to get...
I’m up in QLD and been at my house for 15 years I’ve never seen anything like it the cows are eating thistles just to get something as there is no grass left. Just dead grass n dirt even some of the deciduous plants haven got leaves yet as we’ve had no fucking rain. Watch helicopters go back n forth last week at midnight putting fires out in the state forests.
Yeah it's fucken horrible can't even imagine being in the really drought affected areas..
A couple of gums close to the house died.. fucken camphors are goin strong though haha pricks of things
Deja New
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1/2/2020 2:07am
Northern NSW is littered with camphors looks green but it’s all trees that make native birds fucked up. I got a few dear gums and pines on the property.
jemcee
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1/2/2020 2:24am
Deja New wrote:
Northern NSW is littered with camphors looks green but it’s all trees that make native birds fucked up. I got a few dear gums and pines...
Northern NSW is littered with camphors looks green but it’s all trees that make native birds fucked up. I got a few dear gums and pines on the property.
Yep they also crowd other trees and take all their good nutrients they're taking over like a fucken noxious weed
Deja New
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1/2/2020 2:26am
Deja New wrote:
Northern NSW is littered with camphors looks green but it’s all trees that make native birds fucked up. I got a few dear gums and pines...
Northern NSW is littered with camphors looks green but it’s all trees that make native birds fucked up. I got a few dear gums and pines on the property.
jemcee wrote:
Yep they also crowd other trees and take all their good nutrients they're taking over like a fucken noxious weed
I thought they were classed as a noxious weed.
jemcee
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1/2/2020 3:05am Edited Date/Time 1/2/2020 3:08am
Deja New wrote:
I thought they were classed as a noxious weed.
Oh they prob are! If not they should be haha

Edit: Just googled it 'currently declared a noxious weed' So you were onto it
Moto Norcal
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1/2/2020 11:09pm
Stay safe our Aussie friends! This shit is completely insane. It's crazy how fast these fires move when it's dry and they have some wind.
Crush
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1/5/2020 2:53am
APLMAN99 wrote:
Those are crazy numbers. The California acreage is always deceiving to me, though. With the way the population is there, they can have not as many...
Those are crazy numbers.

The California acreage is always deceiving to me, though. With the way the population is there, they can have not as many acres burned in a year but have massive losses of homes, and then the next year a lot of acres and drastically fewer homes.

We have some bad fire years up here, but our population is so relatively sparse that our homes lost is thankfully always small compared to there.

Are the biggest fires in Australia mostly staying away from big population centers? 1300 homes is obviously a lot, but for that kind of acreage it sounds like quite a bit less than I would imagine in California.
There’s more people in LA than all of Australia... an area basically the same size as the US.
Crush
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1/5/2020 2:58am
Deja New wrote:
I’m up in QLD and been at my house for 15 years I’ve never seen anything like it the cows are eating thistles just to get...
I’m up in QLD and been at my house for 15 years I’ve never seen anything like it the cows are eating thistles just to get something as there is no grass left. Just dead grass n dirt even some of the deciduous plants haven got leaves yet as we’ve had no fucking rain. Watch helicopters go back n forth last week at midnight putting fires out in the state forests.
jemcee wrote:
Yeah it's fucken horrible can't even imagine being in the really drought affected areas.. A couple of gums close to the house died.. fucken camphors are...
Yeah it's fucken horrible can't even imagine being in the really drought affected areas..
A couple of gums close to the house died.. fucken camphors are goin strong though haha pricks of things
Went back to the olds in the central west. I remember our front paddock was dirt and shit grass when we were kids, the 80/81 drought killed the place and before my parents bought it it wasn’t well looked after.

It’s back to that now, but worse. The grass is all dead or gone. No green. It all looks like straw or it’s dirt. So fucked.

I do think there is a cost to human atmospheric inputs, of course climate cycles and patterns repeat, but for all our sakes it’d be nice if it was a hoax, as we should be back to good rain soon... right? Right?
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