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Post by Warwick on Feb 6, 2009 0:13:25 GMT
EDIT: 14/02/2019For those reading this thread for the first time, 10 years later, I thought I should add some explanatory notes. The thread was started by Ady posting a beautiful photo of his car in the snow. That is why this thread is located in the "Picture gallery of members' cars" section. I replied to his post with the photos below, of the burnt-out Peugeots, to show the contrast in weather conditions being experienced here in S.E. Australia at that time. Little did any of us know what was about to unfold. As things developed over the following days, I had unintentionally hijacked Ady's thread, so I asked the moderators to clip off my posts, create a separate thread for them, and leave Ady's post as it was. However, Ady sold his car about a month later, and unfortunately the post containing that beautiful photo disappeared from the forum sometime later. I don't know when. That's when I added the note in Italics below, to the beginning of this now separate thread. (I don't know what happened to Ady's original thread, from which the rest of this thread was later detached and renamed. Can't find it anywhere. It had a beautiful photo of his car in the snow.)Here's a bit of contrast to all those pictures of P5s in the snow. This was taken a few days ago by members of my Peugeot club. They had to evacuate when the bushfire got close to their home at a place called Boolarra. When they returned, their house had survived but their neighbours' houses didn't. This is a photo of their shed containing 3 Peugeot 404s. Note the re-solidified molten alloy from the gearbox and rear axle. 30 houses were lost in this particular fire, not far to the southeast of here. I've added a few extra photos below. The first is the view from their window during the fire. Followed by a photo of the house, before and after. They were very lucky. The link below shows the current fire situation. It's updated regularly. That particular fire is now more or less out. It is shown on the map as the red dot below Traralgon. It is referred to as the Delburn Complex in the information below the map. The one that is concerning me at the moment is in the Bunyip state forest to the northwest of here. We are just north of Warragul. That fire has just broken its containment lines and people living just to the west and north of here have been put on alert. The weather is mild and still today but it is expected to reach 43 degrees with a strong hot north wind tomorrow. It will probably be the hottest February day since records began in 1850. Depending on the fire's progress and the weather, we have been warned to expect smoke and falling embers. Luckily we have no large areas of bush near us - just clumps - but the paddocks are tinder dry. Fingers crossed. www.dse.vic.gov.au/fires/updates/report/index2.htm?time=Fri%20Feb%2006%202009%2010:00:18%20GMT+1100%20(AUS%20Eastern%20Daylight%20Time)
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Post by Warwick on Feb 6, 2009 7:15:29 GMT
I was supposed to be going up to the ski club lodge tomorrow to help with some renovations, but decided to stay at home because of the situation outlined above. Just to keep an eye on things.
As of about 2 hours ago the Bunyip fire has worsened and they can't contain it. There are spot fires developing ahead of the main fire due to flying embers. It is moving northeast which puts it's path sort of diagonally to the north of us but still a fair distance away. Unfortunately, the forecast for tomorrow (Saturday - it's now 6pm Friday) is for 60kph 43 degree C wind from the north. This will push the fire south to the freeway between here and Melbourne.
There is a cool change forecast for Saturday night at about 11pm, but that's a westerly and so the wind will then push the fire east towards us. It's extremely unlikely that it will ever reach us as there is a lot of open farmland in between, but we can probably expect embers and burning leaves to drop on us during Saturday night and they are the main worry.
I have also just learnt that the ski resort (no snow in summer) will be evacuated in the morning and they will close the road to traffic; just in case. That's to the northeast of here. So those club members who are already up there working on the lodge, having taken a day off work to get an early start to the weekend, will have to leave and return home.
Just thought a few of you might be interested in the weather situation in the antipodes. A bit of snow would be nice just now.
I'll report back on Monday when I get back into the office. Should be an interesting weekend.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2009 10:46:44 GMT
Stay safe. Best of luck!
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Post by Warwick on Feb 6, 2009 11:15:08 GMT
Thanks Peter.
I've just gone on line at home to get an update. Wind speed for tomorrow has been revised to 80kph and gale force at 44 degrees C, but the change may arrive earlier in the day and swing to the south more quickly. If it does, this would push the fire back on itself and over burnt ground - so that's good.
They've been water-bombing the fire-front for most of the day with planes and helicopters, including one of the giant Ericson Skycranes, but to not much effect.
We'll be checking the roof spouting (gutters) and cleaning out any dead leaves in the morning, filling up our weedsprays with water, and just waiting to see what happens. The last time we had conditions like this was in 1983 when a huge red dust storm hit Melbourne in the middle of the day. Anyone who witnessed that will never forget it. That was closely followed by what has become known as Ash Wednesday; devastating fires across most of southeast Australia. They actually started on Ash Wednesday - Pancake Tuesday would have been preferable.
We should be okay though. Rover is tucked up in his/her shed. This was the weekend that I was going to put the balancer and pulleys back on and take her for a spin.
Just as I finished posting this, it's started to rain lightly! Incredible! That's Melbourne for you! Who knows what it'll do next.
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Post by Paul - P5B Coupe on Feb 7, 2009 6:26:25 GMT
Hi Warwick, I hope you and your property are not directly impacted by the nearby fires - they are pretty scary and the ember attacks are the things that can cause havoc.
We are not under any direct threat here in Canberra - but all it needs is some lunatic to do something silly and the situation could change in a heartbeat. As I write, I can hear sirens in the distance, so lets hope they are ambulances and not fire trucks! The current temperature (in the shade) on our back deck is a balmy 41C, so it is fairly warm and uncomfortable outside. The swamp box on our roof is working overtime, but is keeping the inside temp at around 27C with 61% humidity.
Tomorrow is again forecast to be 39C - before the change that is expected to arrive here by late tomorrow. In the meantime, stay safe and as cool as possible.
Regards, Paul
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rusty
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Post by rusty on Feb 7, 2009 23:14:53 GMT
What a romantic scene the P5 in the snow engenders, mine would have misty windows! For those in OZ I wish you and yours all the best in the bush fires, some of my family have recently moved there and will need to adapt fast!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2009 9:08:41 GMT
Hi Warwick,
The tragedy in Victoria is unfolding on our TV screens. Never envisaged that what you were describing could turn out to be this. I've had some indirect experience of this in California but this is absolutely massive.And the winds are still strong even though the temp is now decreasing.
Events will keep you busy. Hope you and yours are safe. Give us a sign of life when you get a chance.
Regards,
Peter
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Post by Warwick on Feb 9, 2009 7:02:29 GMT
Thanks Paul and Peter, I'll post some more details tomorrow if I can, in another thread - didn't mean to hijack this one ... sorry. Gotta go as I've just heard that they've sent one of the Skycrane helicopters back to Neerim Junction and that the wind may be pushing the fire back towards Drouin West and us. At least it is only 20 degrees today. The rain amounted to nothing and when the fire arrived on our doorstep we were saved by the wind change at our gate. Bloody scary. Here it comes! Lunchtime last Saturday. We got off unscathed but the last I heard there had been 116 lives lost in the other fires. Our's is the Bunyip fire if you are getting news coverage in the UK. It would be nice to have some of that Queensland rain.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2009 7:29:06 GMT
Thanks for the update. Lets hope things stay good for you!
The English always complain about the weather...but perhaps now a little less!
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Post by glennr on Feb 9, 2009 7:56:42 GMT
It is receiving a lot of coverage over here and arsonists appear to be the cause for many fires. I hope events stay in your favour and this goes for all our Aussie freinds. We are generally verl lucky with the weather in the UK.I wish you all the best Warwick.
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Post by Warwick on Feb 9, 2009 10:15:13 GMT
I'm home again but with a shakey connection. I keep losing it each time I try to post. JohnW, could you please post the text of my e-mail?
Warwick.
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Post by johnwp5bcoupe on Feb 9, 2009 16:55:28 GMT
I'm home gain but with a shakey connection. I keep losing it each I try to post. JohnW, could you please post the text of my e-mail? Warwick. Done Warwick We’re all okay and so is the property. We came through it by the skin of our teeth. It was coming directly at us all day Saturday from the northwest, and when the forecast southerly change arrived at about 5:30pm, the fire was at our gate – almost literally. It stopped at the edge of the bitumen on the other side of the road, about 20m to the left of the gate. At this point it was a grass fire ahead of the main fire. The house is about 200m back from the road and I was on the roof at that stage watching for embers around the buildings. It literally turned and headed north towards Neerim South and the air became clear again. A spot fire that had started about 1km ahead on the other side and to the southeast of the house then headed towards us but there were already 4 fire trucks on the side road between me and it. They stopped it getting to the property but it got a neighbour’s shed. Anda and Hamish left for Warragul in the Peugeot just before the change arrived and after the flames came over the distant ridge, about 1km away. That area was the last large stand of gum trees, so in our area it was only isolated or clumps of trees and mostly grazed land. They couldn’t get home again until last night due to roadblocks. I was intending to take care of any spot fires around the house and if it became impossible, I would drive the Range Rover into the grazed paddock by the river and just sit it out. Later I found blackened whole gum leaves, pieces of charred bark and twigs all over the place in the grass, but they must have all been cold when they landed. The Rover is in a shed extension on the side of the main shed and this has not yet had the sheet metal put on the big sliding door. The doorway faces away from the weather so it hasn’t been a priority. The doorway faces southeast so it also faced away from the fire and prevailing wind, however on Sunday I found charred material on the ground under the back of the Rover. It was very close. It wasn’t until late Saturday night that I learnt of the other bad fires. Terrible thing.
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Post by David on Feb 9, 2009 17:00:10 GMT
I am sure I can speak for everyone on this forum, when I say our thoughts and prayers go out to you all.
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Post by Warwick on Feb 10, 2009 6:50:58 GMT
David or Phil, Are you able to shift everything in this thread, from my first post onwards, into a new thread somewhere? I didn't mean to hijack ady's thread. That's a magnificent photo of his car in the snow - real calendar or postcard material. I had no idea when I posted my comment on the weather contrasts that things would develop quite as they have. Sorry ady. Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. We are the lucky ones. In our immediate area, some neighbours lost sheds and fences, and a lot of trees and other vegetation, but no homes. No lives were lost in the Bunyip fire and most of the destruction caused by our branch of it fizzled out when the cool change arrived when it was almost on our doorstep. The main fire is now to the north at Neerim Junction. Others haven't been so fortunate and the death toll in the Kinglake, Marysville and Boolarra fires had risen to 173 when I last heard earlier today. It may well have exceeded 200 by now. These aren't deaths that are occurring now but bodies being discovered as authorities search through the wreckage. The wind change that spared our place just spelt disaster for someone else when the fire changed direction. There is still a sense of unease around here because we are currently experiencing an unusually cold period for the middle of summer, and this must end soon. That could bring it back from a new direction or push it further into the mountains where it can be very difficult to contain. We thought it was 1939 and 1983 all over again, but it is far far worse. Here is how it unfolded for us. Noon on Saturday and we are still not too concerned as it is still a very long way away and a change is forecast. The main thing worrying me was that the forecast northerly turned out to be a northwesterly wind which meant it was blowing the fire directly towards us. In the photos you can see the smoke plume gradually move from the left of us to straight at us. The wind temperature was 44 degrees C. It actually reached 46.4 in Melbourne. A new record. 12:30pm1:00pmThe sun overhead.3:40pm4:00pm and the flames appear on the far ridge. My wife and son leave via a track across a neighbour's paddock and drive to Warragul, away from the fire. (Red dot in centre. Much more obvious than it appears here.) 5:20pm and wind swings to southwest and temperature drops 20 degrees in about 2 minutes. The fire stops at the road's edge where neighbours and the volunteer CFA fire crews are fighting it. I'm unaware of this as they are out of sight about 300m away. I'm standing on the roof watching for falling embers around the house and sheds. The house has buckets of water and other receptacles with towels soaking in them placed around the outside of the house. I have a knapsack sprayer full of water near the ladder. The Range Rover is ready so I can drive down to the cleared flats near the river if it gets nasty. All that I can do is to extinguish embers when they fall near the buildings and set grass or leaves on fire. Fortunately everything falling is cold. If a large fire develops near the house or if a grass fire comes across the paddocks I would just have to move to the river flat and watch it burn, unless a CFA truck arrives on the scene. The wind change moves the fire to my right and clear fresh cool air comes in from the south and clears the smoke for the first time. As this happens, a spot fire that had been started about 1km ahead of the fire front is then driven back towards the house from the southwest so that I have smoke passing 200m away on both sides and blue sky above. This new grass fire is prevented from reaching our place by 4 CFA trucks waiting at a neighbour's gate on the side road to the southwest. Unfortunately it moved up a gully over the crest of the hill to the south (still out of sight to me on the roof) and almost destroyed a friend's (local artist) art studio, gallery and house. They stopped it as it came up to the rear of the buildings. Unfortunately it did destroy another neighbour's equipment shed. This photo shows the main front changing direction to the right and the intensity increasing as oil drums in that shed explode. It was only after the wind change that I could hear the roar of the fire. We have a wireless internet connection that is relayed from a house across the valley on a higher hill. They can see the repeater tower; we can't. They lost power so we lost the internet connection even though we still had power. (The old Lister diesel to the rescue). I couldn't get on line again until yesterday afternoon when I got back to the office in Warragul. Until then, anyone leaving the area through the police roadblocks wasn't allowed back in again. The family couldn't return until Sunday night and I spent Saturday night lying on the bed fully clothed watching the glow in the sky and wondering if the wind would change again. A north wind would have brought it straight back at us again over unburnt country. Sunday morning on the other side of the road. The road to Jindivick on Sunday morning.An eerie silence. No wind, no people, no traffic, no birds - just dead silence. Ash and useless rain drops.A friend and neighbour's disused house used to store old Peugeot parts.A dead leaf merged into the road bitumen before it cooled again.Last night's view of the Bunyip fire now at Neerim Junction to the north. This is what this area usually looks like - apart from the smoke.
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Post by eisdielenbiker on Feb 10, 2009 9:20:30 GMT
That is a terrible catastrophe I would never want to experience in an inhabited area. ( I did in N.T.) I hope you Aussies recover soon and that you will be luckier in getting bush fires controlled in the future. Expectations seem to be no good as to climate change. Best wishes Mark
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shed
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Post by shed on Feb 10, 2009 11:36:38 GMT
Good luck Warwick. It must be absolutly terrifying.
I have experienced the other extreme with a flash flood right through my property last year and felt completely helpless once it had breached defences.
GOOD LUCK...
Best Regards,
Steve.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2009 14:30:18 GMT
Glad you and your general area made it Warwick! Made everything else on this and most other sites seem irrelevant. And to think some of this was caused by "people".
Apart from having a great taste in cars, you're also a good journalist and photographer!!
Did your beer survive?
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Post by Paul - P5B Coupe on Feb 11, 2009 0:53:10 GMT
Hi Warwick, your pictures and words confirm just how lucky you are to have emerged unscathed - apart from being subjected to a very firghtening situation. Here's hoping that you are spared any further threat to yourself or your home and that the fires can be brought under control before the weather changes again. Good luck - you are in our thoughts.
Paul.
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Post by Warwick on Feb 11, 2009 0:55:37 GMT
Thanks David for sorting out the thread.
Thanks Mark, Steve and Peter.
Mark, when were you in the Territory?
Steve, we had extensive coverage of your floods on TV. It was right at the time when John Wallett was waiting on a Peugeot injector pump that I desperately needed and he was going to send on to me.
Peter, most of it is caused by lighting during dry thunder storms, but enough are caused by firebugs to be a real concern. Do you use that term over there? An arsonist is what they are legally, but that term also covers people who light fires for insurance gain or something that, whereas a firebug is more a pyromaniac - someone with some sort of personality problem. All societies seem to have them but over here they have more impact, for obvious reasons. No beer Peter, but the milk went off IN the fridge on Saturday! I couldn't believe it. We were outside virtually all day either preparing for the arrival of the embers, or just waiting for them, and the house was closed up to keep as much of the heat and smoke out as possible. I don't know how hot it got in the house, but it was probably hotter than outside. The fridge must have really been struggling because when I got back inside at about 11pm to have a nice shower, something to eat and a nice cuppa, I discovered that the carton of milk that had been opened only on Friday had begun to curdle and I had to throw it out.
I'm a bit concerned about Damian Mulally (dmulally) as he lives on the central coast of NSW about 12km east of the big Peats Ridge fire up there. We have had so many serious fires in Victoria that most of our news focus is on them. We only get snippets of info from interstate.
We usually exchange e-mail several times a week as we keep up to date with each others car progress - great strides in his case and barely noticeable in mine. The last I heard from him was on Monday when he asked how we were faring. If they were getting a westerly up there, his town is likely to be under ember attack. It appears to have been a fairly nasty fire. He's obviously not at work so he is being affected by the fire somehow.
JohnW, you'd have to admit that this has been my best excuse so far for why I haven't managed to carry out a planned task on the P5B. What was it I said? I'd have the pulley back on and would be taking it for a test drive on the weekend! Instead I was removing dead embers from under the back of the car.
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Post by Warwick on Feb 11, 2009 6:17:01 GMT
A colleague has directed me to a web site in Boston (US), of all places. There is a good collection of press photos of a very high standard. They tend to convey the atmosphere much better than the TV images. Here's the link: www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/bushfires_in_victoria_australi.htmlBecause this link will probably disappear eventually, I've downloaded the photos that relate to "our fire" and posted them below with acknowledgement to the agency and photographer. These will give you an idea of what was going on just over the horizon when I was taking my photos on Saturday. It will also show why we in Victoria hold such affection for those red and white trucks and the (mostly) volunteers who crew them. CFA stands for the Country Fire Authority. This organization has the responsibility for fire control outside of metropolitan Melbourne where the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) operates. Professional full-time CFA officers do however operate within the outer metropolitan area because the boundaries were created decades ago before the city expanded into the surrounding countryside. The basic framework is the same from state to state but the organizations' names vary, as do the truck colours. In Victoria, fires in state forests are also fought by the DSE - the Dept. of Sustainability & Environment. Once upon a time this was just called the Forestry Commission. Near Tonimbuk, Saturday 7th Feb. (Associated Press) Near Tonimbuk, Saturday 7th Feb. (Associated Press) Bunyip State Forest, Saturday 7th Feb. (Associated Press) Near Labertouche, Saturday 7th Feb. (William West / AFP / Getty Images) Labertouche, Saturday 7th Feb. (Mick Tsikas / Reuters) Labertouche, Saturday 7th Feb. (William West / AFP / Getty Images) Skycrane at Labertouche, Saturday 7th Feb. (Mick Tsikas / Reuters) Labertouche, Saturday 7th Feb. (Mick Tsikas / Reuters) Labertouche, Saturday 7th Feb. (Mick Tsikas / Reuters) Skycrane refilling near Bunyip (Paul Crock / AFP / Getty Images) And here's one from Bendigo, which is miles away on the other side of Melbourne, in central Victoria. Note the melted alloy wheels. (Scott Barbour / Getty Images)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2009 8:03:36 GMT
Scary photos...but very good ones. Hell on earth. These volunteers really are very special. After more than 30 years outside the UK I'm not so good at english any more. I do not think that firebug exists in every day language and I am not aware of any grammatical distinction between an arsonist or the sick mind that starts the fire for what ever reason. They do however get called a lot of other things! In the Netherlands these things happen regularly. Looking at the alloyed wheels reminded me of the stolen Rover jewellery and someones comment that they might have been melted down. If they were Jensen alloys they would have been an expensive loss. Hope all is well with Damian. Thanks for taking so much trouble to keep us updated.
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Post by eisdielenbiker on Feb 11, 2009 9:58:28 GMT
Hi Warwick, these are impressive photographs. I can hardly believe those firetrucks in front of a wall of flames. Can man or machinrey survive this safely ? Possibly the photographer used a very long focus objectiv to compress the depth of the scenery. I visited the Territory last time in 2004 on a several weeks journey to Perth. Compared to my first visit in about 1995 we noticed a growing economic prosperity there. And N.T. became a federal state meanwhile. Very interesting for an European like me. Regards Mark
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Post by enigmas on Feb 11, 2009 12:58:57 GMT
Here's a few facts about the temperatures experienced in the vicinity of these fires. Source: Herald Sun, Monday, Feb 9th, 2009 Article: Page 4. "How hot was it?"
Bushfire heat is measured in energy- The number of kilowatts per metre of fire front. CFA crews won't send anyone to fight in a fire of 4000kW/m. The Kinglake fire was 20,000kW/m. This is the equivalent of 10,000 electric radiators DSE spokesperson Geoff Russell said sending firefighters to a blaze this hot would be suicide.
The awesome power of nature unleashed (by mindless idiots) is something truly to be feared and respected.
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Post by Warwick on Feb 12, 2009 2:55:33 GMT
Peter, They are all arsonists, but that is a very broad (and legal) term covering anyone who illegally lights a fire for whatever purpose. A pyromaniac is someone who has a mental condition that gives them a certain gratification from lighting fires. There are probably other disorders associated with fire-lighting. The term firebug would have begun as slang but has long been a word fixed in Australian English. It refers specifically to compulsive fire-lighters. Someone who burns down his house or factory for economic reasons is not a firebug. It may seem like a fairly mild term to others, but to an Australian it is a very strong term. Mark, You're probably right; the photographer would probably have been using a telephoto lens so as to keep at a safe distance, and that would have compressed the background, however the truck is still fairly close. It is likely that both the Tonimbuk photos are of the same truck so the second photo probably shows the distance more accurately. Both photos show a truck from the Kongwak brigade but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the same one. A strike team consists of 5 trucks, each with a crew of 5. The second Tonimbuk photo gives a clue to the proximity of the vehicle to the fire. Notice the bushes and flames - the wind was incredibly strong and they weren't able to confront the fire head on for the reasons Vince has given. They could only attack at the flanks and try to stop it widening. Vince, Did they give any indication of temperatures reached, either in the fire or from radiant heat? It would vary enormously of course. Here's a link to the CFA page with You-Tube video of the Bunyip fire at Labertouche. Pronounced Labber 2sh - It probably would have been a French name originally; La Bertouche? Drouin was also French. www.youtube.com/cfatvYou may get the impression from the news coverage that most, if not all, of these fires were deliberately lit. That's not the case. Most will have been caused by lightning, a few by carelessness/stupidity, and some by firebugs. Because we cling to the fringe of a huge continent with a large hot dry interior, wet tropics to the north, nothing but sea on the other 3 sides (sorry Tassie and NZ), and the great Southern Ocean and ice cap to the south, a change of wind direction causes big changes to the weather. This is particularly so in Victoria, sitting at the southeast corner. As we say in Melbourne, "If you don't like the weather; wait 20 minutes." That may be a bit of an exaggeration but it does have an element of truth. Was it Peter or Mark who made the comment about the English complaining about the weather? If you want to hear complaining; come to Melbourne. We are probably more obcessed with the weather forecast each day than anyone else - it can change that much that quickly. Most people don't realize how big and empty this country is, until they've been here. Mark will know, having travelled from the Northern Territory to Perth in Western Australia - there isn't much there but emptiness. When I worked for BOC Gases, senior people from the UK or US operations often didn't grasp why our distribution system was set up the way it was. The British didn't always fully grasp the distances involved and the fact that the population wasn't dispersed but was in clusters. The Americans on the other hand understood the distances but didn't realize that between major centres was largely empty land. The problem comes from the way the atlas is produced. The projection needed to make the spherical world fit flat on a rectangular page creates massive distortion. Because we are further from the south pole than parts of Europe, Asia, and North America are from the north pole, Mercator's projection makes Australia look small in comparison. If you want to see this effect in the extreme, take out your atlas and have a look at Greenland - it's huge! The only way to get a true idea of relative scale is to look at a globe, not a map. There is a lot of hot emptiness and we just cling to some of the edges. All this results in periods of unstable atmospheric conditions when hot dry air meets cool moisture-laden air. Rain doesn't always develop, but thunderstorms often do. So we get dry electrical storms with lightning strikes in the bush. A tree may remain smouldering harmlessly for a day or 2 until fanned into flames by the next hot wind from the desert. Then you have a bushfire, and it's probably in a location that is difficult to reach. The next problem is that once a fire gets large enough it actually creates its own weather. You can get a phenomenon called uplift. A wind change may bring cool moist air to the fire and the heat of the fire pushes this up through the smoke without heating it much. You end up with cool wet air higher than the hot air and mixed with smoke particles. This generates clouds and an electrical storm which then moves ahead of the fire, striking the ground with lightning bolts and starting more fires. This can happen perhaps up to 20km ahead of the fire. Then there are the embers. These aren't the sparks that sometimes jump out of your fireplace, but chunks of burning bark, wood and leaves thrown up into the sky by the force of the fire's updraft and the strong wind that is often pushing the fire. These can land 20km away and start new fires. This is the "spotting" that you may hear mentioned. We were lucky that what fell at home, and got blown under the back of the P5 when the wind changed, was stone cold when it landed. This corner of the continent is the most bushfire-prone place on the planet. The reason for this is our unusual flora. Eucalypts; and lots of them. Anyone who has been here and gone out into the bush in summer, whether it be the remote forests or the semi-urban bush, will be familiar with the smell of eucalyptus oil. They will also have noticed that the distant hills or mountains are never clearly seen, but are shrouded in a bluish haze. This is a cloud of eucalyptus vapour hanging amongst the foliage and above the tree tops, and it is highly flammable. A bushfire can spread as a fireball flashing through the tree canopy. It can be very explosive given the right conditions. Add to this the fact that ours is also the driest continent AND southeast Australia has been in drought for 12 years. Melbourne's reservoirs are below 1/3 full and have been for a few years. Other parts of the world also experience bad bushfires occasionally. California, Spain, Portugal and Greece come to mind. I don't know about Portugal (perhaps Miguel can fill us in) or Greece, but the problem in California (and I believe Spain to some extent) is the introduction of Australian trees into an arid climate. Gum trees are generally drought tolerant (if it's not too long) and are reasonably fast growing. They were introduced into California in the late 1800s. (Perhaps David Maxwell can add more info.) The gum tree is very comfortable with fire; it needs it. Fire is a natural part of this environment, and we Europeans have come along and tried to create a European environment in the midst of it. A burnt gum tree that is nothing more than a black telegraph pole with no remaining branches or leaves, seemingly dead, will send out new leaves from the sides of the trunk in a relatively short space of time after the fire. These sustain the tree until it can grow new branches and more leaves. This will happen if the fire was not too hot. The bad fires just to the east of here 2 years ago were too hot and the trees were killed. Much of the mountainous areas of this part of the country are covered with large Mountain Ash forests. The Mountain Ash is one of the world's tallest trees and is the largest flowering plant. These don't respond well to fire unfortunately, and tend to be killed. However, the seeds of a very large number of species require fire or smoke to make them germinate. They can lie in the soil for a very long time until the heat of a passing fire or smoke particles trigger then into growth. Unfortunately, the fires 2 years ago were also too hot for the seeds and the ground was sterilized. It probably wouldn't have mattered anyway, as we had torrential rain shortly afterwards and the denuded hillsides had their top soil washed away to clog the rivers. It is believed that when humans first came here from the north 40,000 years ago or more, they developed a method of "fire farming". It is believed that the Aborigines developed burning techniques which reduced undergrowth in forests and promoted grass growth in the space created. This helped and encouraged the mega-fauna of the time (oversized kangaroos, wombats, emus, etc.) and made hunting easier. The fire favoured the eucalypts and they came to dominate the landscape. When the Europeans arrived tens of thousands of years later, we sought to control and eliminate any natural fire and we now find ourselves living with large areas that have not been burnt for a very long time. The fuel (dry leaves and bark) on the ground builds up, the health of the forest decreases because the trees are all very old, and when a fire does come it is too big. Fire control and management is a vexed issue and will no doubt come to the fore again after these fires are over. Another problem we will now face is that the state's dams and water catchment areas are in forested regions. We have "closed" catchments. There is no development in these areas. We therefore have a very high quality water supply that requires minimal filtration and chlorine addition. You can safely drink water from virtually any tap you find anywhere in the city. Burning the forests in these catchments does 2 things. The run-off when it rains takes soil and ash into the creeks and rivers that feed the dams because the trees are no longer there to hold it in place or to filter it first. Secondly, more rain soaks into the ground or is taken by new, young growing trees, so less ends up in the dams - and we are very short of water now. If you are interested in the prehistoric evolution of Australia, read Professor Tim Flannery's book, "The Future Eaters". Flannery believes that due to our nutrient-poor soil and general lack of water, Australia's maximum sustainable population is probably around 5 or 6 million. We have gone from 10 to 20 million in my lifetime. (Edit 2019 - now 25 million 10 years later) Our soil is poor because it is so old and all the nutrients entered the sea long ago. It's the oldest continent so our mountains have been weathered away long ago and the soil is basically "rock dust" with a thin layer of fertile soil on top, in some places. In many areas we rely heavily on fertilizers and irrigation. Both can cause soil salinity. (This is probably more in Miguel's area of expertise.)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2009 9:09:38 GMT
Thanks for the info Warwick. You blow me away with all the information you have at your disposal. All of which has nothing to do with P5's but real life. One of our hobbies has been transcended by man's fight against nature and himself. Thanks to the internet this site iis bonding and informing us in a way I had not expected. Australia has a number of very serious challenges which in Europe are unknown. Perhaps you should think of getting involved in the process of addressing these issues and their possible solutions. You seem to have a number of the necessary qualities.
Stay safe and I wish you all strength with the rebuilding and recovery processes around you.
Sincerely,
Peter
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