Pretty good Google Map here showing safe, controlled, and contained fire areas.
http://mapvisage.appspot.com/fires/FireMap.html
Dadpad, where exactly are you located in Mansfield on the map? Are you above or below Maroondah Hwy (horizontal road)? And are you west or east of Mansfield Woods Point Road (vertical road) on the map? You have to zoom in quite a bit to see those road names.
I have an aunt in Chiltern, near Beechworth. Not in any immediate danger, but a bit nervous I imagine.
@dadpad,
Yes, I'm well & truly out of the danger zone/s. Thank you for worrying about me, Endy.
Dadpad, as I listen to the endless 774 fire reports, I've become confused about whether you live in the township of M or B. Please tell me which one it is, so I can get a clearer picture of what's happening where you are. I'm worrying.
Holy crap! The count is
130 and rising!
There will be a lot of soul-searching after this.....
but for now there is a lot of work to be done.
Quote:The 2009 Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund will be set up in conjunction with the Red Cross and will collect cash donations and distribute aid to help bushfire affected communities.
Make sure that you are contributing to a genuine organisation. There will be slippery, slimey slugs that emerge from under the rotting canopy at these times who will try to scam you....
Nobody should be worried about me.
The fire front is some days away however it is best for me to be prepared. I understand that the fire is now burning unchecked inside containment lines. This does not mean we can relax. Wind gusts can carry embers well ahead of the fire and across the containment lines. These containment lines are many many miles long and fire crews cannot possibly monitor all areas of the contianment lines and we do not expect them to.
My home, although within the township of Mansfield, backs on to vacant land of about 10 ha (25 acres). This land is covered in dry grass so the potential for spotting is high should the fire come within range of the town.
Let us assume (worst case scenario) that the fire does jump the lines, Current weather conditions mean that the fire will travel at approximately 2Km per hour. with over 100 km to travel there is some distance to travel. Warmer weather predicted later in the week may mean a faster rate of travel. Even so there is still plenty of time for me to prepare. In addition the current wind and direction of fire travel indictate it will burn either well to the west of my town or to the south (or both) . As I said before the real danger time will be later in the week if winds turns and comes from the north. These winds will bring hot dry air from the centre of Australia.
Yes i am mildly concerned. I am concerned because these fires have defied conventional wisdom and have behaved in an unpredictable manner. I believe this was because of the combination of terrain vegetation, temp on the day and temp for the prior 3 days relative humidity and wind all combined to create a fire index that was off all conventional measurement scales. This is unlikely to occur again in the near future.
So.... STOP WORRYING! Thats an order.
Mumpad has been down to the emergency centre at Yea to serve breakfast to fireies and refugees from Marysville Flowerdale Kinglake and all parts in between.
So many many people have lost everything they own.
She tells me Kevin Rudd appeared (along with 2 goons with earplugs) and took time to ask if they had everything they needed. Jenny Maklin (Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) also appeared and was promptly handed a teatowel by mumpad which she put to good use.
Thats all for now.
I repeat, stop worrying, I'll tell you when to start OK?.
@msolga,
Hey Olga
Glad you are okay - and hoping dadpad is okay, too
@dadpad,
Quote:I repeat, stop worrying, I'll tell you when to start OK?.
hmmmm .....
OK, then.
We'll do our best!
It's just those bloody
embers they keep warning folk about on 774 & the prospect of more of those hideous wild winds....!
You know what I'm talking about!
You take care, dadpad.
This morning on the news I heard some reference to a fire, caused by lightning, at Wilsons Prom. I thought I heard something about evacuations, too, though I might have gotten that wrong. If you read this, Spike, could you tell us what you know?
@dadpad,
dadpad wrote:
So.... STOP WORRYING! Thats an order.
I repeat, stop worrying, I'll tell you when to start OK?.
HA!!!!
okeydokey DadPad...... we'll stop with the fretting...
<he's gonna be just fine, he's gonna be just fine, he's gonna be just fine..... nope not fretting..... not even a smidgen.... take care of you and yours DP.... youza good fella> 
Hoping for the best for all of our Oz friends at A2K.
Joe(can't make me stop worrying.)Nation
@dadpad,
Quote:So.... STOP WORRYING! Thats an order.
DAMMIT, I'll worry if I choose to! Stop telling me what to do!
@Merry Andrew,
You're so right here again, Andrew!
@dadpad,
Catching up on the news, dp. Stay safe!
It's bad enough to worry about nature's fires, but it makes me want to scream that some insane person would deliberately start fires.
BBB
@BumbleBeeBoogie,
I understand that Australia's Attorney General has already announced that if any of these firebugs is caught the charge will not be arson but murder. A police investigation is under way.
@Merry Andrew,
As well as it should be murder. I can't imagine how psychopathic a person would have to be to put so many lives at risk, to be willing to kill with unimaginable cruelty so much wildlife and destroy so much natural beauty. And if they don't manage to kill anybody, it should be treated as attempted murder.
