- Over 46C (116F) heat
- Galeforce winds
- Dry drought conditions (no significant rainfall for around a year)
Over 100 people have died. In their homes, defending their homes, trying to outrun or out drive the fire, or by protecting other peoples homes.
My two best real-life friends work in the CFA (Rural firefighting service). Paid, not volunteer. I know they are safe. Their home is safe, there are no fires where they live - but they were out coordinating logistics and fire fighting all weekend in the dangerous areas.
I personally don't know anyone who died as I'm fairly new to this State. But everyone I know who has lived here a while knows someone. A friend, a work colleague, a friend of the family ...
This is the saddest Google Map I have seen.
Its a quiet day at work today. Everyone is subdued.
It really does put petty issues in their place as insignificant.
For those wanting to help please donate at the Red Cross Website.
For those interested, I live in the o of Melbourne. Very inner city and away from all of the fires.
32 comments:
Keep safe - will be thinking of you...
I saw this on the news. I hope the weather cooperates with those fighting the fires and there is no further life lost.
The main problem is that the firestorm was so quick and so devastating we honestly wont know how many have already died. In one house they found only a skull - the rest of his body was gone. It was hot enough to incinerate bone.
There are over 200 missing. That is what is still making the body count increase - turning the missing into confirmed dead or alive.
And then there are the burns units at the two major hospitals in Melbourne ......
I just can't think of anything to say. I'm just in shock, even from across the Tasman it all seems very close. I want to have something useful or helpful to say, but I'm just speechless.
P.S. Is it inappropriate to be considering capital punishment for arsonists that set or relight bushfires?
According to the expert that had on TV last night arson is often a mental disease or a symptom of someone who is disaffected by society. She was focusing on rehabilitation and assisting them to be part of society. She said that in the US most arson was committed by either teenagers who were rebelling and didn't understand the full consequences of their actions or by adults with a mental illness (fascination by fire). She says each group needs to be helped.
They are talking about changing the laws here (one of the links above spells it out) so that if anyone is caught lighting a fire that kills people, then the arsonist is tried for manslaughter.
Of course the biggest issue is how do you catch them?
Intellectually, I can understand that. But as I sit here and watch the coverage on the news, I don't necessarily feel it, if you see what I mean.
I know exactly what you mean, and my heart completely agrees with you :(
One of the things I love about Aussies is our bluntness. Police Officer speaking to a town still under threat of fire today:
"If you are elderly, or of limited mobility, bugger off now."
According to the news reports tonight, the police will also be setting up a taskforce tomorrow to find the arsonists. One burnt out town is being listed as a crime scene - the whole town.
I'm lost for words.
I hope you stay safe and that there are no more casualties.
I've had to turn the news off. The media are ghouls!
One small township was evacuated (except for those who stayed to defend their homes) on Saturday. No-one was allowed back in until late this afternoon - mostly because access was cut off by the fire and then when rescuers could go in they had to "deal with grisly remains" before anyone else was allowed in.
The media took in a couple and filmed every second of watching their reaction to losing their township and then their own home. The bastard media gave them no privacy - they set up the whole thing deliberately to capture grief on film in its first horrifying minutes.
I can't watch any more.
There's a place in the world for the media - but that totally is not it. I would have had to turn it off too.
Good grief! Is nothing sacred?
I've had to turn the news off. The media are ghouls!
One small township was evacuated (except for those who stayed to defend their homes) on Saturday. No-one was allowed back in until late this afternoon - mostly because access was cut off by the fire and then when rescuers could go in they had to "deal with grisly remains" before anyone else was allowed in.
The media took in a couple and filmed every second of watching their reaction to losing their township and then their own home. The bastard media gave them no privacy - they set up the whole thing deliberately to capture grief on film in its first horrifying minutes.
I can't watch any more.
Hugs Mel. It's a cruel cruel world in which we live. We've had pretty extensive tv coverage of your fires here as well and it truly is a dire situation - then they were showing flooding in Ingham also. Stay safe and bugger off if anything gets too close!
I just read about this in the AOL news. Horrible, horrible tragedy. I sincerely they can get the fires under control before any more lives are lost.
Mel, you hit the nail on the head with one of your comments - catching an arsonist is the hardest thing to do. I've seen cases here where there were witnesses that saw a man carrying two gas cans up the driveway of a place that burned later that night... but because they couldn't prove that there was actually fuel in the cans, and that that was the person who actually lit the match, no one was actually convicted...
Been thinking of everyone in Victoria a lot - it's just a horrible thing to have to live through.
Such a horrible thing to have happening!! I hope they are able to get things under control very soon!
This article really describes how so many lives were lost in a country famous for its fire preparedness .... http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25026912-5018722,00.html
$15 million donated in the first 15 hours of the news of the devastation breaking: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,25030567-2,00.html
Photos in case anyone wants to see them. These photos are not just of the Victorian bushfires, but also of the one near Peats Ridge - scant kilometers away from where Alison lives ...
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/bushfires_in_victoria_australi.html
Oh, Mel! Saw this on the news at school this morning. Huge devastation. Keep yourself safe!!
Wow, the article by the man whose family survived by getting in the car was amazing.
More happy news: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1008311/Obama-offers-US-help-to-fight-Victoria-fires
I'm like Kerry - don't know a single thing to say, Mel! I can remember from back in South Africa, just how fast bush fires can pass!
Arson is horrid. While I can understand that some of it is down to some people with mental deficiencies we've had cases, especially in southern France in the 80s and 90s when protected forests were lit to burn for reasons of pure greed - people who wanted land open to construction. Couldn't get their grubby hands on it because it had protected forests and thought if these were gone they'd get closer to construct and earn more money :-( But rarely were there any populated areas concerned, so if these wild fires have been lit deliberately and destroyed so many lives (houses can be rebuilt after all!) it leaves one simply speechless.
Have been following the fires on the news and have to say I am very relieved that none of my Aussie friends have had their homes affected or their "lives"....I know they all know people who have been hit to some degree or other by this but not themselves directly which is a relief.
It's such a sad waste of lives.
I still ctry everynight wghen I get home. Dealing with this level of grief by so many peple all day at work and then been saturated with images of the police forensics team finding more bodies found, stories of looters, of thieves taking materials and money donated for the victims ....
I just weep as a stress outlet.
Tears are a wonderful stress outlet.
I honestly don't know how families deal with this kind of thing or rebuild...
They are getting so much government support and sympathy from the major companies. In some respects this is a hell of a lot easier on them than if they went through the same thing in just an isolated house fire.
I wonder if government support over rides insurance policies or if they get both? Just wondering.
Half the twits didn't have insurance policies :( Those that did get both. Also mortagage companies and banks are putting a freeze of their mortgages so they don't have to pay anything while the insurance is getting sorted out.
As I said - in some respects its a lot better than if this had happened in a series of isolated incidents .....
It's on the same scale that Katrina was here - but whereas the Katrina people had warning (and yet, did nothing), your folks had no warning, which makes it that much worse. The destruction of both events, I think, are equally devastating....
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