Apparently not content with lighting fires yesterday, the arsonist/s are busy relighting fires. So far 35 people are confirmed dead, and many of those were victims of the Kilmore fire which the police believe was deliberately lit.
I’ve been watching coverage of the bushfires on Austar - and I can’t stop crying. So many people have lost absolutely everything they had, including those poor people who were trapped by the flames and died. This is a devastating horrible day. The scale of this tragedy is just enormous. Fucking fucking arsonists. It’s a dark day and it’s going to get worse as more bodies are found.
I can’t understand the mentality of the people who light fires. Maybe I should take that part to the Pit.
Neither can I, but I’d guess that they’re insignificant nobodies who want to show that they can have an effect on society. Those responsible for this latest spate of fires have certainly achieved that goal.
My work colleague’s brother in law is missing. He’s from Yea where the fire is 11 kms away. This is horrible.
Cunctator - how are things holding up Sydney way? I see Peats Ridge is ablaze and another area south towards Sydney.
At my place in North Sydney it’s been surprisingly mild. Temps of about 30, cooling breezes off the harbour, and no smell of smoke in the air. I’m sure it’s ghastly further out west and on the outskirts near the national parks.
I’m actually at the airport now, about to go to Europe. It felt quite surreal this afternoon as I packed coats and gloves for the cold weather.
How awful. I hope the news is good.
That is dreadful DellieM.
I did start a pit thread. The arsonists are pissing me off.
It is really weird today. The fire got within 3 km of us (St Andrews, where at least 4 died) is just up the road. We were saved by the wind change - half an hour later and I doubt that I would be typing this. But what saved us destroyed others. Lots of people are ringing us and emailing to check, and the neighbors are visiting, all sitting around in the cold and calm, knowing through local connections that the news to come out on the number of deaths is going to get a lot worse. I guess we’re just all debriefing. It seemed wrong to feel relieved that we are fine, knowing that others so near have lost everything - some of them even their lives.
Well done - see you there in a second.
Lynne-42. Be grateful and don’t feel guilty. Glad all is okay.
65 confirmed dead now…
I have several staff members living in areas that were burned: we don’t know whether they’re OK or not… My mum has to go out to Whittlesea tomorrow.
I have to say, though, that the CFA volunteers make me proud to be Australian. Those guys are heroes.
Thanks, Cicero. Couldn’t agree more, robinc308, the CFA guys are amazing - guys being a non-gender word these days. My sister-in-law is president of one of the fire brigades and was out fighting fires all night. Her stories are harrowing. They certainly are amazing - mostly, like my sister-in-law, volunteers. I must admit that I am not sure I want to stay here now, having always said I would never leave this house and the 18 acres of bush, kangaroos, wallabies, 70 species of birds, heaps of spiders - all seemed like paradise. I guess it will again in a day or so. Can’t imagine the selling price on a house in the bush would be very high at the moment!
lynne-42, so relieved to hear you’ve come through ok, though it’s awful to think of so many others who haven’t.
I spent the morning frantically communicating with everyone I can think of, then spent the afternoon frustrated to be trapped at work away from news updates. Looks like all our nearest and dearest have been spared, thank goodness, but heartbreaking stories keep coming in about acquaintances and friends of friends losing everything. I hate to think of the stories we’re going to hear in the next few days… the media doesn’t seem to have mentioned it yet but I keep hearing rumors that a number of the local bodies were found in two pairs of cars who were trying to get away from the fire and ended up crashing head on into each other in the low visibility conditions. Poor bastards. Nine confirmed dead here so far - the majority of the fatalities have been in lynne’s part of the state - and there’s that anxious feeling of waiting to find out who they were.
I’ve been feeling like that all day lynne-42. I love living in the Macedon Ranges area, but the events of yesterday and today have made me feel very insecure about living here. I suppose that over the next days and weeks the feeling will wear off; the reality is that large parts of Australia are fire-prone, and unless you choose to live in Brighton or something, nowhere is really safe.
I know the St Andrew’s area pretty well, it’s a lovely area. I lived in Research and Warrandyte for many years and used to enjoy a Saturday morning at the St Andrew’s Market.
I work in the EM sector, and in some ways I’m dreading the fact that I’ll be hearing more and more stories and having to spend a lot of time talking and thinking about Saturday and trying to work out what went wrong that so many people died.
The death toll is now 76 and climbing.
In the Black Friday fires of 1939 71 people died. In comparison with then, the whole EM sector in Australia is better prepared, better equipped and better prepared. We have aerial fire-fighting capability; much, much better co-ordination between the emergency services and other services; we plan, educate, train and exercise better; we have more resources and, post-Ash Wednesday, extensive and consistent public education programs.
But we also have an increasing population; changing demographics which see more people moving into rural areas from urban places; an increasing rural-urban interface and more and more vulnerable elements interfacing with environmental risks.
All the things we have now, and all it takes is some extreme weather and a couple of mad humans to devastate an entire State.
For towns like Kinglake and Marysville which rely so heavily on tourism for an income, the people have not only lost their homes, but their incomes and occupations. For many rural communities a devastating fire like this, on top of 12 years of drought might drive them to the edge.
The ongoing repercussions of an event like this will ripple through the entire community for decades; long after people have buried their dead and begun the process of rebuilding their lives.
Looks like the fires have claimed a celebrity - former Nine news anchor Brian Naylor is missing and his wife’s body has been found at their home in Kinglake. Tragically, they lost their son only last year in a plane crash.
We have limited TV coverage at the moment. The fires hit Mount Tassie, where all the television and radio broadcasting relays are located, so we’re only getting Channel 10. Thank goodness for the internet.
Absolutely devastating.
The last I heard the casualties were in the teens and when I checked just then it had hit 84. Fuck.
Just saw the news. Looks like this was up at the Kinglake fires. Stories do get garbled at times like this.
You are in what is considered more fire prone than here, blackhobyah, so I really understand your reaction. I am actually more shaken today than I was yesterday during it, as I hear more and more about what happened and how close it got. I kept thinking the roar must be helicopters - but it was the fire itself. The pub at Kinglake survived. They had roof sprinklers. We are going to seriously consider adding them if we stay.
Our beloved St Andrews Market is still there, I think. The area of St Andrews which went was just north of the township.
All of Kinglake National Park is gone - we moved here to be near it. All the animals are gone - they are why we are here. I couldn’t keep watching the news today. The numbers of deaths and homes lost are going to get much worse.