[wisconsin_cur]

BBC

The death toll from bush fires in southern Australia has reached 76, the worst in the country's history.

Thousands of firefighters are battling several major fires, and the number of dead is expected to rise as rescue workers reach areas ravaged by fire.

Victoria Premier John Brumby said he had accepted an offer from the federal government to send in the army.

Entire towns have been destroyed in the fires, fanned by extremely high temperatures and unpredictable winds.

Temperatures are dropping now, but officials fear they will not be able to get the fires under control until there is substantial rain.

'Absolutely horrific'

Firefighters have been battling against what are described as the worst conditions in the state's history.

Kevin Rudd: "It's an appalling tragedy for the nation"

Witnesses described seeing walls of flames four storeys high, trees exploding and the skies raining ash, as fires tore across 30,000 hectares (115 sq miles) of forests, farmland and towns.

[dunny]

Yep, terrible. Many people seem to have planned to stay and defend their property and then made the decision to leave at a very late stage.

So sad.

Mick.

[dorlomin]

Deepest condolences to those who have lost people. Been hearing about those fires for a few days now, but this seems pretty awful.

Edited to add: 47 C heat and 80kmh winds apparently. That does sound like an utterly terrifying combination in bushfire country.

[pedalling_faster]

loosely lumping arson in the category of "crazy behavior" ... it turns out that a lot of those fires are the result of arson.

i'm not aware that Australia has any mortal enemies, or that there are any financial incentives for setting fires, as there are in Brazil, where the rain forest is burned to create land for cattle-grazing.

so ... why are people starting fires in Australia ? i don't understand the motivation. but, it's happening.

[kiwichick]

hi guys
we had 46 C on Saturday with strong northerlies but no fires near us thankfully

latest #s on lives lost ; 108

over 700 homes lost

hundreds of thousands of hectares burnt

currently 20 fires burning out of control

[coyote]

Here is a link to a late news story:

108 killed in Australia's worst wildfires

[Micki]

loosely lumping arson in the category of "crazy behavior" ... it turns out that a lot of those fires are the result of arson.

i'm not aware that Australia has any mortal enemies, or that there are any financial incentives for setting fires, as there are in Brazil, where the rain forest is burned to create land for cattle-grazing.

so ... why are people starting fires in Australia ? i don't understand the motivation. but, it's happening.

Arsonists don't have to act for a bigger purpose thant the fact that they like fire.
Word locally is that some kids had been seen playing with fire around the place where the fires started.

On the radio this morning they interviewed some locals that got away alive.
One account described how the fire had been moving faster than he could drive. Great balls of fire had jumped above the tree tops.
A lot of the places where the bushfires ravaged also have just one road in/out. If you get cut-off you are lost.
Local rumor (passed on by a colleague who lives very near the affected areas) is that 400 or more are still missing. During the weekend he had seen several empty burnt out cars and motorcycles along the roads.

Forty degree days are nothing unusual in Victoria and forest fires seem to happen every year.
But this one gors to the history books as one of the bad ones.

[Graeme]

Australia fire toll 'to increase'

Australian officials have warned that the death toll from wildfires that have already killed 126 people in the state of Victoria is likely to rise further.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the numbers were "numbing" and warned the nation to prepare for more bad news.

Troops and emergency crews are still battling about 25 fires - two of which are threatening urban areas.

Some towns have been almost completely destroyed by the fires, with arson suspected in some cases.

An area of 3,000 sq km (1,200 sq miles) has been affected.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7878106.stm

[Somebody]

This is serious stuff - worst bushfire in Australia's history. There is word the death toll may eventually reach 200

I was at Wandong (Google it) in October taking some photos and didn't think the town would be largely burnt to the ground so soon.

[Graeme]

Just heard on news, official toll now 131.

[Graeme]

170

[Graeme]

Police net closing on Victoria firebug

Police are closing in on a suspected arsonist they believe lit one of Victoria's bushfires, as fears grow that as many as 300 people may have perished.


Crime Department Assistant Commissioner Dannye Moloney is close to releasing an identikit picture of a suspected arsonist who is believed to have been in the Churchill area of Gippsland just days before last Saturday's inferno.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4842656a12.html

[Ainan]

My deepest condolences to those souls who have been lost in this monsterious attrocity.

Is it possible the following news story is related in any way?

http://www.theage.com.au/national/islam-group-urges-forest-fire-jihad-20080906-4b53.html?page=-1

[Arsenal]

My condolences to everyone down there. This is one example of needing a Bug Out Bag even if you are prepped to the hilt at your doomstead. You never know what will be thrown at you.

[yeahbut]

My heart goes out to all our Australian cuzzies across the ditch affected by this horrible event. To give a sense of scale of just how massive these fires are, thick smoke haze has been reported across the lower South Island of New Zealand for several days now- over 2000 k's away

[Micki]

My deepest condolences to those souls who have been lost in this monsterious attrocity.

Is it possible the following news story is related in any way?

http://www.theage.com.au/national/islam-group-urges-forest-fire-jihad-20080906-4b53.html?page=-1

Who knows. There are plenty of crazies around. Muslims and non-muslims. A few years ago we had a voluntary fireman running around starting fires as he wanted to be a hero.
Police is treating Marysville town as a crimescene and will also investigate some of the other fires to see if they were started by firebugs.

[Graeme]

How Global Warming May Be Fueling Australia's Fires

Although the wildfires caught so many victims by surprise last weekend, there have been no shortage of distant early warning signs. The 11th chapter of the second working group of the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for example, warned that fires in Australia were "virtually certain to increase in intensity and frequency," thanks to steadily warming temperatures over the next several decades. Research published in 2007 by the Australian government's own Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) reported that by 2020 there could be up to 65% more "extreme" fire danger days compared with 1990, and that by 2050, under the most severe warming scenarios, there could be a 300% increase in such days. "[The fires] are a sobering reminder of the need for this nation and the whole world to act and put at a priority the need to tackle climate change," Australian Green Party leader Bob Brown told the Sky News. (See pictures of Australia's wildfires.)

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1878220,00.html?xid=rss-health

[SeaGypsy]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... 485989.htm

173 gone 100's more in hospital.

I have lived many years in fire prone parts of Australia Before I migrated last year I noticed the latest fire safety campaigns were pushing the idea that 'Staying to fight the fire' is often safer than fleeing; also that people should wait for evacuation orders from authorities.

Anyone who has seen a mega fire in Australia will attest: forget fighting it! Get out of the way! Any preparation should be well in advance.
Roof sprinklers; keeping vegetation back and gutters clean all help.
But when it's a mega fire don't wait to be told, just get the hell out of the way.

Heads will roll over those 'fire safety' commercials. .

[sparky]

.

The state of Victoria got hit by really bad bushfires Sunday , every hours since the toll has mounted , from 67 it has relentlesly climbed to 194
In U.S. population term it would be 4500 victims

more bodies are found as rescuers shift through the rubble , look around the houses and the cars .
Most bodies are impossible to identify , whole familly got done , three townships are cinders

some thought staying was the best idea , some that driving away would be better , no option was a sure thing
quite a lot got trapped on the road amongst fallen burning trees , other roasted while fleeing their burning house only to
found themselves in a wall of flame
the wind was above 60miles per hours and all reported it was like being in a cyclone but the raindrops were flying ambers
typical of the reaction was a bloke holding his wife and kids who said ,

" the house is gone ,the car is gone , we only got the clothes on our back but we are together , I've lost nothing "

No prayers , there will be a time for that later




.

[SeaGypsy]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... 485989.htm

173 gone 100's more in hospital.

I have lived many years in fire prone parts of Australia Before I migrated last year I noticed the latest fire safety campaigns were pushing the idea that 'Staying to fight the fire' is often safer than fleeing; also that people should wait for evacuation orders from authorities.

Anyone who has seen a mega fire in Australia will attest: forget fighting it! Get out of the way! Any preparation should be well in advance.
Roof sprinklers; keeping vegetation back and gutters clean all help.
But when it's a mega fire don't wait to be told, just get the hell out of the way.

Heads will roll over those 'fire safety' commercials. .