Bushfire Crisis

[Flameangel]

Carry on. Wild fires are part of Life. Without them there would be no flora/ecology as we know it. And the fires will burn out - until the next time ...

That is true, naturally caused by Lightning strikes and the like. Our Indigenous Australians looked after this land for thousands of years, and burning back the bush was part of it. But in recent times things are " policed " by the greens, you can't clear your land and effectively make fire breaks because you might be chopping down that 70 year old tree. You can't pick up and take that " log " home for firewood because it maybe a critter's home.
The Bush needs a certain amount of fire, fire can stimulate certain trees and flowers to release seed pods and help them pollenate but when there is too much " fuel " for a fire to burn it has more energy, becomes a beast engulfing and destroying everything and anything in it's path.

It's infuriating when you hear their not naturally occurring fires but started by the hands of Arsonists.

The majority of us carry on because it doesn't directly impact us, but it wouldn't be so if we were the Victims that died fighting to save our homes, or made the tragic mistake of fleeing too late to be incinerated in our cars. Or the loved ones of those recently lost or missing.

A third of the Koala population has been destroyed in Kangaroo Island, they may never recover, they are slow breeders and the population is has been dwindling for years, in my children's lifetime they may become extinct, I certainly hope not.

We don't want " Wildfires " which we have all over the country right now, we needed " bushfires " that could be contained, there's a difference.

 

[MerlintheMad]

We don't want " Wildfires " which we have all over the country right now, we needed " bushfires " that could be contained, there's a difference.

Controlled (bush) fires are preferable to be sure. But surely the fight by "greens" to keep land owners from clearing up detritus to reduce the danger is overstated. SJW make tons of noise. They're good at (out)rage. I think that if land is not being properly cleared it is mostly the fault of careless/lazy land owners. Much can be done without hazarding "endangered" wildlife. The benefit to a burned over district is that it is starting over. There is no buildup of "fuel", not for a long time. The problem with this "method" of course is the destruction to get there. I hope all you all work out your fire danger issues. Every wilderness, ergo populated place sharing space with them, has this built in danger. In California, for example, subdivisions have grown like mushrooms. Then the residents are shocked to find out that their new homes are in the path of millennia-old fire lanes. Stupid. But ignorance is to blame, not Nature.

 

[OliverNuther]

Controlled (bush) fires are preferable to be sure. But surely the fight by "greens" to keep land owners from clearing up detritus to reduce the danger is overstated. SJW make tons of noise. They're good at (out)rage. I think that if land is not being properly cleared it is mostly the fault of careless/lazy land owners. Much can be done without hazarding "endangered" wildlife. The benefit to a burned over district is that it is starting over. There is no buildup of "fuel", not for a long time. The problem with this "method" of course is the destruction to get there. I hope all you all work out your fire danger issues. Every wilderness, ergo populated place sharing space with them, has this built in danger. In California, for example, subdivisions have grown like mushrooms. Then the residents are shocked to find out that their new homes are in the path of millennia-old fire lanes. Stupid. But ignorance is to blame, not Nature.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/fin...family-now-feel-vindicated-20090212-85bd.html

This is a story from 10 years ago but little has changed in the interim. Green controlled local governments impose harsh restrictions on landowners wanting to clear their land, whether for pastoral or safety reasons. In my home State of Queensland farmers wishing to clear portions of their own privately owned land must apply to the Government for approval, which may or may not be forthcoming. The State Government regularly take satellite photographs of the State and compare them to historical satellite photographs. Farmers who are found to have cleared their land without first obtaining approval are prosecuted.

 

[MerlintheMad]

https://www.smh.com.au/national/fin...family-now-feel-vindicated-20090212-85bd.html

This is a story from 10 years ago but little has changed in the interim. Green controlled local governments impose harsh restrictions on landowners wanting to clear their land, whether for pastoral or safety reasons. In my home State of Queensland farmers wishing to clear portions of their own privately owned land must apply to the Government for approval, which may or may not be forthcoming. The State Government regularly take satellite photographs of the State and compare them to historical satellite photographs. Farmers who are found to have cleared their land without first obtaining approval are prosecuted.

That was an interesting read. "Our house was lit up eight times ..." Bloody hell!? That was just a crap shoot, then. I doubt that anyone wants to encourage such a decision by allowing "defensible measures" to be taken, i.e. trees cut back 100 meters from a house, etc. So, it won't surprise me if this year's (record breaking?) incidence does not bring about the changes that this family and others who think like them want.

How prevalent are lawsuits against landowners who flout the regulation? This story is ten years old. Are stories of violation that rare? Do landowners just not bother because the risk of prosecution is greater than the risk of fire?

 

[OliverNuther]

How prevalent are lawsuits against landowners who flout the regulation? This story is ten years old. Are stories of violation that rare? Do landowners just not bother because the risk of prosecution is greater than the risk of fire?

The incident is actually almost 20 years old. He cleared his land in 2002 and was prosecuted in 2004. It only became a story in 2009 when fires swept through the region at that time and his property was the only one left unscathed; thus vindicating his decision to clear his land. Other prosecutions don’t receive the publicity this one got because they don’t usually result in the very public indictment of town planning laws that occurred here.

 

[Coast GT]

I live about 10 minutes from Melbourne Airport, and yesterday for the first time the air was full of smoke from the bushfires, it was actually quite thick, and wasn't pleasant to breath in, of course.

Mate you’re lucky, we’ve been breathing that shit in on and off since October. When the NSW Mid North Coast fires started September/October we were getting smoke down here on the Central Coast depending on the wind. Then the Gospers Mountain Fire kicked off north west of Sydney in November and we were getting smoke from it. We had our own large fire start late November which although contained is still burning which eventually joined Gospers Mountain Fire and the smoke from that was worse as it was so close. About 30km from where I live but I work in the area of the fire and we were out in it every day. Now the South Coast is burning and every time there’s a southerly we get the smoke from it. For the last few months a southerly change was the only respite we’ve had from smoke, but not anymore. It never really became an issue in the media until it started to affect air quality in Sydney, then it was this big hoo haa over it because as we all know if it doesn’t happen in Sydney or Melbourne then it didn’t happen. Anyway bad as it is, get used to it, I can’t see these fires ending any time soon without significant rain which isn’t predicted until April.

 

[Coast GT]

I don't buy the lingering satellite image. But the point is made: your whole world might as well be burning down if it's your neighborhood engulfed in walls of flame and clouds of smoke like that!

Carry on. Wild fires are part of Life. Without them there would be no flora/ecology as we know it. And the fires will burn out - until the next time ...

Oh no, you don’t buy the “lingering satellite image” as you call it. Looks like you’ve caught us out, it’s all a hoax, fake news, who would’ve thought.

The satellite image is legit, the entire east coast of Australia is effectively on fire, we have had fires burning in our State of New South Wales since September. Several of those fires are still burning because the areas they are now in are too hard to access by land and not threatening property so they’ve been left to allow scarce resources to protect life and property elsewhere. At any one time for the last several months we have had in excess of 100 fires burning across the State. Several of those fires have joined with others to make mega fires. One in particular which has been burning since November has now burnt out a land mass greater than the country of Belgium just to put some perspective on it. So the image is real and accurate. The smoke from these fires is now over New Zealand.

Bushfires (we don’t call them wildfires) are a part of life, we all live with it every summer, but we’ve never had so many across such a large area all at once burning for so long. It’s compounded by extreme drought that we are in the middle of making the land extremely dry fueling the fires, combined with poor or minimal hazard reduction due to a number of reasons (politics etc) limited fire fighting resources as a result of continual government cut backs, and changing climate. Traditionally bushfire season started in November, over the last few years it’s been revised to mid/late October, this year it was September. Hotter temperatures and less rain make perfect conditions for out of control bushfires.
But I digress, clearly it’s all fake and we’re all worried about nothing because Merlin doesn’t buy it. Now I remember why I added you to my ignore list.

 

[DCBStingerGT]

More US Firefighters arrive to help with Australian fire crisis.
05 JAN 2020

 

[SteveCo]

The government announced yesterday that Canada is sending more firefighters as well, to add to the 60 some Canucks that have been there since early December. You guys came and helped us out when we had some devastating wildfires in Alberta a couple of years back - I'm glad we're able to reciprocate.

Sad to see the scope of it on the news - hope that things get turned around soon.

 

[Ozstung]

Canada is in the process of sending more firefighters as well, to add to the 60 some people that have been there since early December. You guys came and helped us out when we had some devastating wildfires in Alberta a couple of years back - I'm glad we're able to reciprocate.

Sad to see the scope of it on the news - hope that things get turned around soon.

There's reports of some much needed rain tonight but it could be as little as 1-5mm and as great as 25mm as well. As we speak there's lighting around, if we get dry lighting where I am we are effectively toast.

 

[Flameangel]

Geelong is shrouded in smoke today, I believe it's from the Tassie Fires, you can't see more than 3 metres in front of you.
Feel for you NSW boys, you've copped it for months now.

 

[Flameangel]

There's reports of some much needed rain tonight but it could be as little as 1-5mm and as great as 25mm as well. As we speak there's lighting around, if we get dry lighting where I am we are effectively toast.View attachment 36304

Is that your Back yard ?

 

[Ozstung]

Is that your Back yard ?

Guilty, look at that wilted Avocado tree it's been hand watered every day but the heat is too much , the grass is just straw.

 

[DCBStingerGT]

As we speak there's lighting around, if we get dry lighting where I am we are effectively toast.

You mentioned how it was lightning as you typed that message, I just read on a news website, two people struck by lightning in Sydney, a man, aged in his late 20s, was struck about 5.24pm while leaving the water at Dee Why Beach, NSW, in serious condition.
Just 10 minutes earlier , a woman in her 70s in Arcadia was struck in the chest by a lightning bolt, in a critical condition.

 

[Sime]

Crickey, tough being an Australian at the moment.

 

[Nasscar]

There's reports of some much needed rain tonight but it could be as little as 1-5mm and as great as 25mm as well. As we speak there's lighting around, if we get dry lighting where I am we are effectively toast.View attachment 36304

Nice place. Beautiful scenery.

 

[Nasscar]

Crickey, tough being an Australian at the moment.

You Eastern states guys really are doing it tough. We are so lucky so far here in the West. I feel for you all.

 

[Flameangel]

You Eastern states guys really are doing it tough. We are so lucky so far here in the West. I feel for you all.

I feel lucky living in Geelong, we seem to be sheltered from a lot of disasters. The closest we got to a grass fire was ages ago in Lara, which is going out of Geelong towards Melbourne. The local CFA got to it real quickly and it was over in no time.

 

[Ozstung]

Just stumbled upon this "FACT the odds of being stuck by lightning in your life time is 1 in 3000. That's not great .

 

[Nasscar]

Just stumbled upon this "FACT the odds of being stuck by lightning in your life time is 1 in 3000. That's not great .

Thats no good. You would think it would be a lot higher than that.