Hot as hell and the flames are closing in

Just checking in on you, Dad. How's the air quality? Your lungs and eyes must feel like they are on fire right about now.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Calmer-night-helps-Vic-firefighters/2006/12/07/1165081049228.html


Calmer night helps Vic firefighters
December 7, 2006 - 6:19AM

Calm conditions have aided firefighters battling blazes in Victoria's north-east overnight, where towns have remained on alert of ember attack.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and Country Fire Authority (CFA) issued a warning to a string of towns and settlements on Wednesday night, warning of the potential of advancing firefronts.

Overnight Incident Controller Rod Newnham, of the DSE, said while dozens of fires continued to burn out of control no homes were under "immediate threat".

"There is a little bit of wind but it is reasonably calm so it is not too bad at the moment," Mr Newnham said.

"But it is so incredibly dry and we are still getting behaviour that you would not expect to see overnight."

Mr Newnham said 1,100 firefighters were working in shifts around the clock to tackle and monitor the fires in the north-east.

"While we don't have any immediate threat at the moment that situation can change very quickly ... this fire is big enough that it is starting to generate its own weather at different times," Mr Newnham said.

It has been estimated the three major clusters of fires burning in the state's south-east could burn out up to 600,000 hectares by the weekend.

Mr Newnham said the fires had claimed "a couple of holiday houses" so far, while there was also an unconfirmed report of a property lost in the Rose River area.

Weather conditions were expected to worsen as the weekend nears.

The Bureau of Meteorology had forecast temperatures will reach 37 degrees Celsius and above on Saturday in the fire areas.

Residents in the towns and districts of Licola, Dargo, Cobbannah, Walhalla, Glenmaggie, Briagolong, Bairnsdale, Heyfield, Maffra, Stradbroke, Rosedale and the eastern Strzeleckis have been warned to expect threat from the fires.

The CFA also said the threat from fire also remained serious in the towns of Whitfield, Mt Buller, Jamieson, Gaffney's Creek, Tolmie and Woods Point.

Speaking of fires creating their own weather, This cloud formed over the fire zone yesterday. It was a spectacular sight with the sun glistening off it. The heat from the fire evaporates what little moisture there is at ground level then as the moisture hits the cooler upper air it condenses and forms a cloud.

I was back at work today spraying weeds when I slipped on a slope and rolled my ankle over The doc thinks it may be cracked so I'm waiting for an xray appointment. I'll be out of action work wise for a week or 2.

I'm a southern California person, despite my present home location. The Bel Air fire came within six blocks of our house...

Anyway, sorry about your ankle, Dadpad, and sympathy for all involved in dealing with the fire.

How kind of Butrflynet to say g'day to me - when I hadn't even arrived yet! (always a bit late!)

Shaping up to being a hot summer - we had bushfire smoke in Sin City this week! A half hearted attempt at rain - just a nuisance amount - not even enough to properly wet the garden, let alone do anything for water supplies. The drought continues.....

CFA (Country Fire Authority) strike teams from across Victoria. All the men and women who man these trucks are volenteers









Sunrise

current satelite info 8 dec 06.

Its gonna be hot over the weekends but thankfully winds will be light.


Weather Pattern:
A high pressure system will move over Tasmania today and into the Tasman Sea tonight, moving slowly eastwards during the weekend. A low pressure trough will develop over the Bight then move eastwards over South Australia on Saturday and across Victoria on Sunday. A cold front will cross Bass Strait Sunday night before a new high pressure system develops over Bight waters on Monday.

Forecast: Friday
Dry. A warm to hot and mainly sunny day but with areas of smoke, locally thick.
Light winds.
Fire Danger Friday: High to very high.

Outlooks:
Saturday Dry. Areas of smoke. Hot. Mainly light northerly winds.
Sunday Hot day. Smoke areas. Isolated showers and thunderstorms
developing. Milder change to follow overnight.
Monday Isolated showers. Mild to warm. Areas of smoke.

Albury / Wodonga
Friday
Dry. A mainly sunny day with smoke haze. Light winds. Temp36
Precis: Dry. Smoke haze.

Saturday Dry. Smoke haze. Min 16 Max 39
Sunday Dry. Smoke haze. Min 22 Max 40
Monday Shower or two. Smoke haze. Min 20 Max 32

Mumpad is manning a post at the emergency response center (MERC) Apparently A current affair rolled up to a road block near Jamieson today saying "you have to let us through the Pooles are having trouble evacuating and asked for our help". This request was routed to the MERC who contacted the Polles home in Woods point, the Pooles were disgusted and denied making this request. They had been interviewed by ACA yesterday. ACA had used their name to attempt to get access to the fire ground.

How's the leg, Dad? Throbbing in pain? Are you on crutches or do you have one of those walking casts with the built in heal on the bottom?


How are you getting along without the mum there to fetch for you? Have you others to help you out?

I'm fine b/fly, Yes the leg aches a bit but not to the point where I want painkillers. (not allowed pain killers with a cast on anyway). I've got crutches so I dont need people to fetch and carry. I am supposed to stay off the leg and keep it elevated which I manage to do most if the time but am quite capable of getting something to eat or drink and sitting at the computer for a short period.
Smoke is very thick here which is a nusiance but means there is no wind to fan the fires so its a good indicator. My wife had to put the headlights on in the car to go down the street at 5.00 pm today.

Fires are still contained within the forest area and I think mostly and the focus seems to be on establishing control lines, managing spot overs, and assett protection. these are the biggst fires we have seen since Ash Wednesday in 1983 and before that 1939 Black friday.
Of course we are much better prepared than back then.

Have a look at this video which my daughter did as a drama project in her final school year. The Pics are mainly from the 1939 fires. Let me know what you think.
Turn up the sound as its a little tinny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yZWpmea96U

I'm not able to view those youtube video things on my dial-up connection. I just get one or two frames that freeze up. It isn't the video, it's my slow dial-up connection.


I was eyewitness to the Oakland Hills firestorm in the San Francisco Bay Area (California) in 1991. Guess that's why I am so keenly interested in your well being. Both the fires and panic were frightening.

The fire ultimately killed 25 people and injured 150 others. The 1,520 acres destroyed included 2,449 single-family dwellings and 437 apartment and condominium units. A few photos here. Probably much like what is on the video your daughter made.

I've had a broken arm and both feet too, so empathise with you there too.

Absolutely dreading tomorrow. Already today the air in Melbourne is quite hazy & polluted & smells smokey. And we're miles from the fires. The thought of many of those separate fires fires joining up & becoming one huge front is quite horrifying. Good luck to all the folk in the threatened areas.

Leave early or stay and defend?
December 8, 2006 - 12:55PM/the AGE

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has defended a longstanding policy not to issue evacuation orders to residents at risk as bushfires rage across the state.

Thousands of Victorians in townships and on properties in the state's east and north-east are preparing for potentially devastating bushfires over the weekend.

Mr Bracks, backed by Country Fire Authority (CFA) chief officer Russell Rees, said established advice - to either leave early or stay and fight the fire - was the safest. .......

......."If you are not able to look after yourself, leave early. Do not leave late.

"The evidence is very clear and plain - late evacuation is deadly." .....

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/leave-early-or-stay-and-defend/2006/12/08/1165081129949.html

good animation of what we are faced with.

http://www.theage.com.au/flash/alpinethreat/

Very touching video, dadpad.

Oh crap. Kick me if I continue to whine about the snow I have to deal with.
Hope you get some rain soon.

Very scary map there, dadpad.





Bel Air fire, 1961

another article on Bel Air Fire from LA Fire Department history archive

Fire is probably the most frightening of all nature's calamitous events.

Dadpad, you daughter-pad's video is quite lovely as is yours just driving around the area where you live. Who caught that very nice smile of the driver? Mrs.pad I bet.

The news video is horrific. I wonder if a fire that size has any other violent characteristics? Fire is so fitful and hard to predict, that the risks would, I think, be greater than anything except, perhaps, a tornado.

Msolga, I do think of people with allergies and asthma in such a fire. They are at great risk, having to breath polluted air. It can travel rapidly and still remain filled with debris. Here in Albuquerque, the air became quite dark because of one of the huge fires in Arizona last year.

My thoughts are with you all.

Far from the fires, in the city here. It's an incredible morning outside. The city is covered in a thick pall of smoke & it smells extremely smokey. If you look to the east you can sort of see this hazy ball, the sun. The light outside is very weird, quite onymous. It's predicted to be 37 C here today, even hotter in the NE, where many of the fires are.
My heart goes out to the folk affected by this. The ones who are staying to protect their properties & the ones who have evacuated. What will they find when they can return? And of course, there's the animals, the live-stock, the wildlife the family pets that invariably get caught up in these disasters. I can't bear to think about them.

Many family pets have been evacuated Next door who own a fat golden lab now have 4 dogs of variouse sizes.

Its "CALM BEFORE THE STORM" time here, the air is filled with so much smoke you could cut it. inside my home you can actually see the smoke in the room. No wind and an eirie silence.

All we can do is wait mumpad is rostered at the MERC as an MRM (Municiple emercency recovery center and municiple recovery manager) LOL one thing you find out about during a fire is acronyms.
All I can do is sit here with my leg upon the couch If it wasnt so amusing I'd be frustrated.
I'm going to read the papers now to see what lies and beat ups the media are coming up with.