Weather across southern and central Australia has been very hot of late with temperature in many places topping 47-48°C (116-118°F). One location in South Australia reached 51.2°C (124°F), only 0.2° below the all time Australian record. Today in Melbourne was a lot less hot than yesterday, when it got to 43°C, but it's predicted to go back above 40°C for the next five days or so and there is a good chance the Australian record high temperature may be exceeded in some inland locations.
There have already been some fairly severe bushfires, especially in Tasmania where a couple of towns have been badly effected in scenes reminiscent of the fires in Victoria on Black Saturday in 2009. Fortunately, at the moment there have been no confirmed fatalities. Last night approximately 1,000 people were evacuated by sea from the Tasman Peninsular as the fires had completely cut off the peninsular at Eaglehawk Neck. However, news reports to hand indicate that the main highway has just recently been re-opened. The fire services across Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and southern New South Wales are bracing for the next few days. There is a large pool of very hot air over the continent at the moment and in southern regions strong, hot and dry northerly winds are forecast. The country has dried out after a couple of years of strong vegetation growth due to substantial rains and so now it is much like the clichéd tinder box. The potential for very bad fires is frighteningly real. Lets just hope we can get through this without anything further happening. But I wouldn't be betting on it...
Ouch! As I said in another thread, fire seems the scariest of all weather threats. I don't know how true that is as I have no direct experience of the worst weather effects as the UK so far has minimal events, though the recent flooding is bad enough, I think there's been just 1 person killed. I hope you get through this unscathed.
Scary! I do hope you get some decent rain, Blue, as soon as possible. We'll be thinking about you.
Good luck, mate!
I come from a fire-ecology area (the Kelowna fires a couple of years back were bad, but nowhere near Aussie levels), but 43°C is about the top-out here. That kind of heat itself can be life-threatening, never mind the fires. Add those it, and it's interesting times indeed. :P
Scary! We've been watching the Tasmanian fires on the telly. Good luck, Bob, may it stay well away from you.
Well, it's unlikely that Casa del Blue will come under any threat but I can't say the same for many of my fellow countrymen. Keeping my fingers, arms legs and eyes crossed...
Only 27 degrees in Sydney according to my spies.
Yeah, temperatures for Melbourne have also been a bit lower than originally expected, 32 today, 35 tomorrow and low 30s down to mid 20s for the rest of this week. However, north and west of here is still reckoned to reach at least the mid 40s, so we're no where out of the woods yet. Sydney seems to missing out on most of it this time, no doubt they'll get their turn later on in the season.
We've been in the high 30's to the mid 40's hereabouts, with an occasional spike into the 50's.
And then... it hit me... you're using Celsius, not Fahrenheit... and .. wow, that's hot. :(
I thought Oklahomer summers were bad enough at 115+ (F) in the shade... but our humidity is always over-the-top, so dryness isn't a big deal in the north-west part of my state (where I live). However, out west, the humidity has been consistently low, and many farmers are quitting the business due to crop failure year after year--no rain.
As already said? Interesting Times.
Yeesh! I think I'd prefer mundane times.
Indeed, Opsa-- the older I get, the more mundane I like it.
I was in an eatery the other day, and ran across a policeman, and we were chatting it up about the weather (which has been weird, for January). As he left, I wished for him to have an uneventful evening. He grinned really big, and said with genuine enthusiasm, "thank you. I hope so too".
:)
I like that!
Saw some footage of awful fires in Australia on the news. I hope Blue and everyone are safe.
Hi guys, yes, we're all OK. As for the rest of the country, so far there have been no fatalities that I am aware of. There have been quite a lot of homes destroyed including one very historic homestead here in Victoria. The Clan Blue has not been effected by any of the fires, of which there have been a great number. My aunt is a volunteer for the New South Wales State Emergency Service and has been working in the control room for the fires on the south coast of NSW. The SES provide support for the emergency services such as running the communications systems, and other support to the front line. Apparently it was pretty hectic there a couple of days ago with some large out of control fires threatening the town of Sussex Inlet. A pretty little place that I spent a lot of time at as a kid. The fire has not yet been brought under control but changes in the weather have reduced the threat.
Here is a photo from the fire in question:
(http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201301/r1056759_12335134.jpg)
Those kinds of pictures always amaze me, Blue; the reports on how much acreage burned are always amazing as well. Bravo for your aunt! Keep safe and keep us updated.
Well a large proportion of the country is gearing up for another shocker of a day tomorrow. There are still a lot of quite large out of control fires pretty much across the whole country. Extremely high temperatures and up to gale force winds are forecast. I'll keep you guys informed what's going on, but if you don't hear from me over the next few days, don't panic - I'm going to be very busy with work and getting ready for a BBQ for the day after Blue Jr's wedding on the 25th. I'll do my best to pop in as time allows.
Okay, thanks, and good luck.
We'll keep our collective [virtual] fingers crossed, just in case.
Happy Weddings, by the way! :D
Congrats to the Blue family for the wedding.
Hi Sibs, The Blue Clan is preparing for the day. Lots of work to do around here to get ready. Fun! (not)
As for the fire situation, there are still a lot of fires around the country. The situation in Tasmania has been largely brought under control. The main concern at the moment is for New South Wales where according to reports last night there are still about 130 fires. Most of the current concern is for the large fire in the Warrumbungle National Park which is not yet under control - this is the fire that destroyed the accommodation block at the Anglo-Australian Observatory at Siding Springs. Friday is shaping up as the next extreme weather event and as much as is possible is being done to try to prevent this fire and others getting away again.
Overall, there has been no loss of life due to fire, although one Victorian fire-fighter unfortunately lost his life working on identifying possible control lines for one of the fires in Tasmania, but this is reported to be due to natural causes. Still sad, however.
On the positive side, it does seem that some of the lessons from the Black Saturday fires and other previous fires have been applied. For example, at Siding Springs as a result of the destruction of the Mt Stromlo Observatory in the fires near Canberra in 2009, action was taken to reduce vegetation near the observatory, to use fire retardant paint on the buildings and other measures. As a result, none of the instruments were damaged, although as I mentioned the accommodation block was burned down. Most encouragingly of all, seems to be that improved warning systems and people taking notice and action on them so far seems to have resulted in only property losses. Not to understate the devastation that this has undoubtedly caused many people, for example one farmer I heard interviewed on the radio has lost an entire blood line of Marino sheep that his family had developed over generations. So, let's hope that the lack of fatalities continues and with luck the next peak in fire danger due at the end of the week passes by without too much happening.
On the gripping hand, it is only early in the fire season. No telling what the fire gods have in store for us yet...
Thanks for checking in with an update.
Stay safe and hope you have a wonderful event!
Hope alls well all round.
I am sorry to hear about the loss of the fireman's life and the whole merino sheep strain. Very sad.
I hope a good rainy season comes sooner than planned.
Thanks guys, the rains are a few months off yet, it is still early in the season, the peak fire risk usually occurs in February and extends into the first half of March. Long way to go now.
The Warrumbungle fire in NSW is the main concern today and tomorrow which is shaping up as very hot and windy (bad combination), although the forecast is not as bad as first thought. It has already burned over 40,000 hectares (≈100,000 acres) and has a perimeter of around 240 km. Properties on the outskirts of the township of Coonabarabran are at risk if the fire continues to burn in its current (and likely near future) direction but there have not been reports as yet that the town itself is under threat.
I'll keep you posted.
Blimey! Good luck, Aussies!
Well, about time for another update.
The situation has not been great lately. There are several fires burning in my home State of Victoria that are causing a lot of concern, in fact one fire has claimed the life of an unfortunate gentleman who was found deceased in a burnt out car. A quite large fire is burning east of Melbourne in the Gippsland area and although nowhere near a threat around here, we have had a lot of smoke haze lately and yesterday you could smell the smoke, not very pleasant. Still expecting warmer times later this week then a cooler change on Friiday. Not much rain forecast, so we have to hope nothing gets really out of control. The firefighters, both paid and volunteer are doing a fantastic job and the authorities are rotating people in and out of the fire grounds to help manage fatigue, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who must be pretty knackered after a two or three weeks of this, not to mention we've still got a long way to go. In NSW the big fire in the Warrumbungle National Park is still burning and only about 3/4 of the perimeter is under some sort of control. A wrong change of wind and it could be off again. I heard yesterday that NSW currently has about 140 fires burning with only about half under control. Add to that the fact that lightening has been igniting new fires all the time and often in very rough country, which only makes things worse.
I'll keep you more or less up to date as things progress, but as I said, I'm a bit distracted with No1 son's wedding on Friday. No doubt things will settle down at Casa del Blue after the weekend. :mrgreen:
Blimey! Again, all the best, Aussies.
Oh no , not again.
Seeing those poor wee kaola bears thirsting breaks my heart. :-[
I know. They are so special.
Thank goodness that wedding cakes don't require candles!
I hope the wedding goes swimmingly and send our congratulations to all involved. :-*
Thanks Opsa, will do.
Woke up this morning to the news that a fire in the high country has become very serious. Yesterday I heard that about 30 hikers were airlifted out by helicopter from Mount Feathertop and today the towns of Bright and Harrietville are under threat. This is in a lovely part of the State with a great deal of European deciduous trees that were planted by the early settlers to the area and which put on a great show in the autumn. Not quite the vast panorama of autumn colour you north American types are probably used to, but it is pretty nevertheless. After what happened to Marysville during the Black Saturday fires, this development is quite worrying. At least the fire is not as fast moving as on Black Saturday so hopefully people will be able to heed the warnings and get out, but it would be devastating if those gorgeous little towns are badly effected. I need all your Toadfish good vibes to help protect this picturesque area!
:goodvibes:
(http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/jobs/fireman-smiley-emoticon.gif)
:goodvibes:
:eraser: < Let there be umbrellas!
:goodvibes: :goodvibes: :goodvibes:
¡RAIN MOJO! (http://www.rainymood.com/)
:goodvibes:
:goodvibes: :goodvibes:
And now, this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwrKKbaClME (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwrKKbaClME)
[youtube=425,350]NwrKKbaClME[/youtube]
Thanks guys.
We have been enduring the smell of smoke the last day or two, last night was the worst so far, we woke up this morning to the stench of it right through the house. Bear in mind that the majority of these fire are 100-200 km away from here. Today is going to be very hot and windy and a number of the fires in Victoria are being tightly watched. Apparently the fire fighters have been spending the last few days establishing strong control lines around the main fires to protect towns and so on, but if it really gets going there will be not much they can do. Many people in places like Harrietville have evacuated, which is a reflection in the change in the way the authorities have been talking about how to deal with fire. Previously the message was much more encouraging to people to stay and try to defend their property. Now the message about what makes a property defensible is much more explicitly laid out and only the most well prepared and situated properties are considered OK to stay in. Also, since Black Saturday, many people have built fire refuge bunkers and there has been established an official building code for these. We are as prepared as we can be, now it remains to see just what nature has in store for us.
To reiterate, my place is nowhere near under any threat, but I really do feel for my fellow countrymen who are facing potential disaster. We have still got another couple of months to go of this until the fire season is over. I just hope it's not another apocalypse.
Quote from: Bluenose on January 23, 2013, 09:22:12 PM
........ we woke up this morning to the stench of it right through the house. Bear in mind that the majority of these fire are 100-200 km away from here.
We are (apparently) suffering some ghastly smells (bad eggs, cabbage water, etc) from a leak in Rouen, France, which has now been named Le Pong. It has not penetrated my defence systems.
I tried asking my son in Sydney about the fires, and he more or less said, what fires. I have no idea if he was being ironic; he is hard to read. Or maybe he just doesn't listen to the news.
I guess the fires in New South Wales are not really near Sydney, the Warrumbungles National Park is a long way north west of that city and as well, in my experience, Sydney-siders generally don't seem to have as an acute awareness of fires in the way Melbournians do. This is probably because of the extreme fire risk that some of Melbourne's outskirts are often under with for example the Dandenong ranges, which are just east of the metropolitan boundary, being rated as the equal worst fire risk areas in the world on a par with worst fire risk areas of California. The fires in Victoria, although not particularly near the Melbourne certainly are on our collective mind. The smell of smoke no doubt assists with this, plus a lot of people in the outer parts of Melbourne live in or adjacent to bad fire risk areas and are either members or know people who are members of the CFA (Country Fire Authority) which is a largely voluntary fire fighting organisation. In this State there are three main fire departments, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade which looks after most of Melbourne, the CFA which looks after country areas and outer suburbs of Melbourne and the Department of Sustainability and Environment which looks after public lands (National Parks, State forests and other crown land areas). The MFB is entirely paid professional fire fighters, the DSE is likewise staffed by paid employees whereas the CFA has some paid fire fighters, especially in outer Melbourne but is mostly comprised of volunteers as I said earlier. The three services coordinate their efforts and it is not that uncommon for members from different services working side by side. Add to the mix there is the State Emergency Service, another volunteer organisation, which provides logistical support to the fire fighting effort, for example manning the radio services and providing assistance in clearing up burnt out properties and conducting recovery operations to assist the police after fires, car crashes and so on. In country areas most people are members of one volunteer organisation or another (and there a lot more than just those I have mentioned), all having their part to play in disaster situations.
It's hard to imagine that anyone in the country would not be aware of the fires, although when I lived in Sydney, I did find that the city is much more parochial than I was used to. It is not all that uncommon for those living there to simply assume that Sydney equates with the rest of the country and if it does not happen in Sydney it does not happen. Obviously this is a huge generalisation and no doubt everywhere has people like that, but I have found it more noticeable there.
Quote from: Bluenose on January 24, 2013, 01:46:31 AMIt's hard to imagine that anyone in the country would not be aware of the fires, .........
Thanks for explaining. Since the fires have been on our national news, it is hard to see how someone living in Australia would not know about them!!
Well, I am better informed about US than German politics too ;)
But then who will explain German politics to us? ??? :P
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Blue, the only thing I can think is this:
:goodvibes:
Quote from: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on January 24, 2013, 06:28:42 PM
But then who will explain German politics to us? ??? :P
It's so boring, you would not want to have it explained (if there is any explanation)
Sorry for going :offtopic:
Quote from: Swatopluk on January 24, 2013, 09:21:23 PM
Sorry for going :offtopic:
Well, this IS the Toadfish Monastery. After all, we're the all time champion thread drifters, so nothing new then... ;D
BTW, the cool change has come early today and it seems that this has resulted in much less likelihood of a breakout of the two main fires. Keep those toadfish fins crossed that it stays that way.
Blue, do you hire seasonal firefighters to specifically battle wildfires? This is the way it's handled here.
There are occasional rumours of fires being set in low-activity years by seasonal firefighters who aren't getting enough employment (hopefully not true).
The forests are big business here, and quite a bit of money is spent protecting them.
Keep fanning your fins, Siblings!!!
Quote from: Aggie on January 25, 2013, 06:04:16 AM
Blue, do you hire seasonal firefighters to specifically battle wildfires? This is the way it's handled here.
There are occasional rumours of fires being set in low-activity years by seasonal firefighters who aren't getting enough employment (hopefully not true).
The forests are big business here, and quite a bit of money is spent protecting them.
No, the only paid fire-fighters are the metropolitan fire brigade members and the employees of the Department of Sustainability and Environment, roughly equivalent to park rangers, I suppose. There are paid members of the various volunteer fire fighting organisations but they mostly are back office people. The overwhelming majority of fire-fighters in the bush are volunteers.
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Well the wedding has been and gone, number one son has been married off and is now on his honeymoon in Thailand with his bride. Lucky bastard...
We had a heap of people here the next day for a brunch BBQ - bacon & egg rolls, fresh fruit, orange juice and tea & coffee. It went very well, got a real chance to chat with people in a relaxing setting. The weather was mild and it was very pleasant sitting around outside and getting to know everyone.
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Now, the fires are not so bad, a few days of cooler weather has made all the difference. The main fires are not yet under control but are no longer threatening property so that is good. OTOH, the flooding as the remnants of ex tropical cyclone Oswald makes its way down the eastern seaboard are causing much misery to people recovering from similar flooding only a couple of years ago. So far 4 people have lost their lives in the flood, the latest was a little 3 year old boy who died in hospital last night from injuries sustained when a tree that had been undermined by the flood waters fell on him. So sad. These floods have arisen after enormous amounts of rain - one area has received over 1.2 metres (4 feet) of rain in just 36 hours. This truly is, as Dorithea McKellar put it, "a land of drought and flooding rains".
Quote from: Bluenose on January 29, 2013, 06:06:09 AM
Well the wedding has been and gone, number one son has been married off and is now on his honeymoon in Thailand with his bride. Lucky bastard...
My elder son went to Thailand for his honeymoon. They had a five star package........ got ferried around by their own personal driver........ yes talk about lucky......
:offtopic: :mrgreen:
I am glad to hear that the wedding went well, and I hope the weather becomes kinder to our Ozzie friends.
* throws non-flammable rice *
Fire in the high country still burning after several weeks and today claimed the lives of two Department of Sustainability fire-fighters when a tree fell on their vehicle. Several other fires are still burning around the state and have threatened a few towns on the way.
I find myself feeling a bit low about the two casualties today. I didn't know them, I have no particular association with the Mount Hotham area where it is burning, but it does seem to have hit me for some reason. Maybe I'm just tired, I think I might go to bed soon.
See you tomorrow, Siblings.
Aw Bluenose, who wouldn't feel bad for them? The whole thing has been exhausting and now this. Sending good vibes and hopes that the fires will be put out. :goodvibes: :cry_blanket:
Thanks Opsa, much appreciated
I think it's hard when disasters hit the headlines, but when they go on and on, they become non-news. I always feel sad about such events long after they are never remarked on again. I guess it matches chronic illness - people just forget you exist.
So sorry, Blue. It must be so demoralizing for their teammates and so horrible for their families.
The authorities have not released names yet but the victims were a 35 YO male and a "teenager" (probably 18 or 19) female. Sad does not begin to express how I feel about it. Must be male menopause...
No, it is a human response to the loss of someone doing a tough job.
Not male menapuase to feel for such tragedy, the ending of young lives, the loss of their families, all struck down by nature.
This would wear out even the hardiest soul.
Quote from: Bluenose on January 05, 2013, 11:29:14 AM
Weather across southern and central Australia has been very hot of late with temperature in many places topping 47-48°C (116-118°F). One location in South Australia reached 51.2°C (124°F), only 0.2° below the all time Australian record. Today in Melbourne was a lot less hot than yesterday, when it got to 43°C, but it's predicted to go back above 40°C for the next five days or so and there is a good chance the Australian record high temperature may be exceeded in some inland locations.
There have already been some fairly severe bushfires, especially in Tasmania where a couple of towns have been badly effected in scenes reminiscent of the fires in Victoria on Black Saturday in 2009. Fortunately, at the moment there have been no confirmed fatalities. Last night approximately 1,000 people were evacuated by sea from the Tasman Peninsular as the fires had completely cut off the peninsular at Eaglehawk Neck. However, news reports to hand indicate that the main highway has just recently been re-opened. The fire services across Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and southern New South Wales are bracing for the next few days. There is a large pool of very hot air over the continent at the moment and in southern regions strong, aftermarket parts (http://www.robustbuy.com/car-accessories-c-492.html) hot and dry northerly winds are forecast. The country has dried out after a couple of years of strong vegetation growth due to substantial rains and so now it is much like the clichéd tinder box. The potential for very bad fires is frighteningly real. Lets just hope we can get through this without anything further happening. But I wouldn't be betting on it...
This is too hot and here we are facing -5 degree just opposite. Freezy outside
Hey, Ranchao, we'd love to show you around the monastery. Please come and say hi in our introduction thread by clicking here (http://toadfishmonastery.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=32&topic=27.0).