Canberra bush fires

[fabulousphil]

Being a ex Canberra resident, im pretty shocked about the bush fires at present.

Anyone have any info on them.

 

[Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk]

Well i am just hoping we don't have to ring anybody there at work tommorrow. During the Sydney ones work was stupid enough to set the dialler on their state so we would have people answering while their homes were being lost in front of them.

 

[Richmondfan#1]

The fire was less than 20m away from my auntie and uncle's place but thankfully the wind blew it the other way.

4 confirmed dead, over 200 houses destroyed.

 

[Thrawn]

Actually, form what I've heard, it was over 400 homes.

 

[JUBJUB]

Originally posted by Thrawn
Actually, form what I've heard, it was over 400 homes.

They've revised it to about 274 totally destroyed,but just as many houses may have serious fire damage.

 

[CURVE]

Originally posted by JUBJUB
They've revised it to about 274 totally destroyed,but just as many houses may have serious fire damage.

That's a load of garbage. I can tell you the initial figure of close to 400 will be more acurate. The suburbs I live in (Kambah) is the third most heavily damaged suburbs and we have lost at least 50 or 60 houses. Duffy it is close to 200.

 

[Mobbs]

Devo, was Flynn affected?

 

[Mr Q]

Originally posted by DEVO
That's a load of garbage. I can tell you the initial figure of close to 400 will be more acurate. The suburbs I live in (Kambah) is the third most heavily damaged suburbs and we have lost at least 50 or 60 houses. Duffy it is close to 200.

One of my cousins lives in Kambah with her husband and kids. I didn't realise it was affected as well until this morning. I've been trying to remember her address so I could look up if it was likely to be fire affected.

It's all pretty bad stuff.

 

[Danni]

Originally posted by Mobbenfuhrer
Devo, was Flynn affected?

Mobs when you posted this, Flynn and it's surrounds hadn't been mentioned. But tonight a few of it's neighbouring suburbs have been listed on standby to evacuate.

The folks just rang some friends in Latham (next to Flynn) as it like Flynn wasn't mentioned in the danger list, but our mate just told us the fire is about 2klm from his place in Latham - and that he isn't worried. I hope he is right!

 

[SPUNKY_MONKEY45]

does anyone know how badly it has hit belconnen?

 

[skilts]

I hate to say I told you so; there's always a 'but' after that. But, what has happened in Canberra could just as easily have happened at Frankston, last week. That is, a wildfire in the middle of the suburbs.

I lived in Holder for twelve months in the seventies. My best mate had a flat in Duffy, near the shops.

It was inevitable that this would eventually happen. It was probably a dumb paddock to put our national capital in the first place. They didn't help by surrounding it with pine plantations.

All thoughts are with those affected. Now they REALLY know the meaning of 'scared'. Have been in a bushfire. Wouldn't wish it upon George Bush

 

[fabulousphil]

Originally posted by Danni
Mobs when you posted this, Flynn and it's surrounds hadn't been mentioned. But tonight a few of it's neighbouring suburbs have been listed on standby to evacuate.

The folks just rang some friends in Latham (next to Flynn) as it like Flynn wasn't mentioned in the danger list, but our mate just told us the fire is about 2klm from his place in Latham - and that he isn't worried. I hope he is right!

My sister lives in Flynn, she reckons there alright but my BIL spent a fair bit of time on the roof putting out embers that had gusted in, my niece who lives in Holt has been on standby to evacuate several times.

You cannot go to any suburb in Canberra without being close to the bush, self government has meant less money and from what i have heard less back burning than usual has been done.

The fuel builds up on the bush floor and combined with a year long drought.........presto........I am not suprised this has happened.

Its a hard country and if anything is to be taken from aboriginal culture, bush management through fire is a must.

 

[Mobbs]

Thanks for the info re Flynn!

 

[CURVE]

Originally posted by SPUNKY_MONKEY45
does anyone know how badly it has hit belconnen?

Giralang had two houses burnt down, but Authorities believe that fire could be delibrately lit. Belconnen is expected to get the brunt of it today. Canberra is expecting similiar weather condition to Saturday, and there are two fires (30km front) around 10kms north west of Belconnen. Cook, Weetangera, Hawker, Higgins, Holt, Macgregor, Dunlop, Charnwood, Fraser, Spence, Evatt and McKellar are on high alert. The villages of Hall and Murrumbateman are also on alert.

 

[*Paul*]

McKellar, eh? It'd bad news indeed if it got that far in.

 

[CURVE]

Originally posted by *Paul*
McKellar, eh? It'd bad news indeed if it got that far in.

I think they maybe a little worried for McKellar because the Northern boundary is a heritage Park and the CSIRO has a lot of land in that area as well, and God knows what they do with that.

 

[The Hippie]

Originally posted by DEVO
Belconnen is expected to get the brunt of it today. Canberra is expecting similiar weather condition to Saturday, and there are two fires (30km front) around 10kms north west of Belconnen. Cook, Weetangera, Hawker, Higgins, Holt, Macgregor, Dunlop, Charnwood, Fraser, Spence, Evatt and McKellar are on high alert. The villages of Hall and Murrumbateman are also on alert.

They were lucky in one respect, Devo. These predicted conditions were supposed to be there yesterday, hopefully it's bought a little time to make fire breaks and backburn a little.

 

[CURVE]

Originally posted by The Hippie
They were lucky in one respect, Devo. These predicted conditions were supposed to be there yesterday, hopefully it's bought a little time to make fire breaks and backburn a little.

An alert has gone out to all of Belconnen, Gungalin and North Canberra. The winds are starting to pick up and people have been asked to go to their homes to prepare for the fires. My sister lives in Spence, so we are all heading up shortly.

 

[Mobbs]

Good luck DEVO.

 

[The Hippie]

How did you all make out today, Devo? Going by the news reports, it was dicey with winds changing all the time, there weren't any more injuries or houses lost hopefully?

 

[Longboysfan]

Stupid American Question.
Are the homes in an area that has a lot of trees - something like the Houses in the California hills.

Or

Is it an extremely dry season out in that area.

 

[fabulousphil]

Originally posted by Longboysfan
Stupid American Question.
Are the homes in an area that has a lot of trees - something like the Houses in the California hills.

Or

Is it an extremely dry season out in that area.

Yes very dry season, my mate who has a gardening bussiness has been moaning about the lack of rainfall for about a year.

Canberras south backs mainly onto or near national parks (dry scerophyl forest) and semi treed grazing country. Canberras north is surrounded mainly by sheep grazing country, but some parts are quite heavily treed as city people who move into farmlets generally let there propertys 'bush' up.

 

[*Paul*]

Where most of the houses were lost, a pine plantation was on one side of the street , surburbia on the other.
Probably, in still conditions they would've burnt without incident, but the wind was something else. 120km/h they're saying.

 

[CURVE]

Originally posted by The Hippie
How did you all make out today, Devo? Going by the news reports, it was dicey with winds changing all the time, there weren't any more injuries or houses lost hopefully?

Still Batting 100. Belconnen was a non event, compared to Saturday. The winds were down (35kph), the temperature was down (36) and there was no bushland across Northern ACT for the fires to build momentum. They are still under threat, but with the temperature expected to peak at 30 and cooler Easterly winds, I think they are reasonably safe.

Just for the record 451 houses have officially been listed as totally destroyed from Saturdays bushfires with 236 from Duffy alone. All but two of the houses are from the Weston Creek area and Kambah in North Tuggeranong. South Tuggeranong, like Belconnen, is relatively free of forests, plantations and rugged bushland that went up like kindling a little further North.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday had a report from the CSIRO labelling it the perfect bushfire. Everything was in the fires favour on Saturday, the winds (up to 120kph), the temperature (a whopping 48), humidity (less than 10%) and of course the landscape.

 

[CURVE]

Originally posted by Longboysfan
Stupid American Question.
Are the homes in an area that has a lot of trees - something like the Houses in the California hills.

Or

Is it an extremely dry season out in that area.

I'd say these were worse than the Californian fires because we've had drought like condition for the last 5 years. Canberra normally averages about 550-600mm rain a year. Last year we received only 330mm, and 280 of that was in Febraury. The previous four years we hadn't reached 400mm mark. So the landscape was bone dry.
On the western edge of Westen Creek and Kambah (were most of the houses were destroyed) it is thick bushland, with high (for Canberra) rugged mountains which are extremely tough to get to. Controlled burning in those sections are extremely difficult, although they did complete them in August, but that was followed by two days of rain, where we got about 9-10mm, and a week of drizzle which sped up the regrowth process. Since Early October we haven't had any rain, which made the controlled burning all but useless.