Sunday 15 April 2018

Fire

When people talk about the danger of living in Australia I usually laugh. Australians die of heart disease and cancer just like everyone else. Today, though, the bushfire threat has come closer to home than ever in my life before. I even received a public alert:



Yesterday a grass fire started on Sydney's South western fringe and took off so quickly that there was no time for evacuation.
I saw the thick smoke on the horizon and knew it was not far away but guessed it was a hazard reduction operation.
When Liam messaged from work to say his crew was down three people due to fires I started to pay a bit more attention. When he was evacuated I paid a little more.
A change in wind direction over night reduced the threat and filled our house with smoke.
This morning the fire was still out of control and residents close to it were warned to be ready to leave.
Liam went back to work at 1pm today but coincidentally the threat level was raised at that time and the shopping centre was in lockdown when he arrived. The supermarket where he works is now pretty much on the fire front and my sister, one more suburb across has made the decision to leave as embers fly into the area.
Five hundred fire fighters are working hard but strong winds are making conditions volatile in every sense.
I think all of Sydney is on tenterhooks right now........




20 comments:

  1. My heart goes out to everyone who is affected. I well remember the firestorm which hit Canberra in 2003. Over 500 houses were destroyed, and human and animal lives were lost. By three pm it was too dark to see across the road, and the only light (the power was off) was from the blaze. Scary times. And the smoke lingered for weeks. It was my birthday when it hit. I received a spectacular present too - one of my brothers was subject to forced evacuation. Several houses in his street were lost, but his was saved.

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    1. So far there has been no loss of property or life so it's scary but ok.
      I remember the Canberra firestorm well, it doesn't feel like 15 years ago. We have had ash fall over our place in the past and that was a very strange feeling, I can hardly imagine the atmosphere with dark at 3pm and thick smoke blanketing everything.
      I'm glad your brother's house made it through

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  2. Last year, I thought California was going to be consumed by forest fires. Lots of the West was affected. Even here in Alabama, we had some dangerous fire. All the poisonous things you have in AU frighten me. But, that would not affect my decision to visit AU. I hope everything goes well for you and sister and Liam. Keep us posted. I remember the fire in AU a few years ago, and it was frightening even from this distance.

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    1. Thanks for your thoughts! We are all safe here and while there is a small possibility of fire near my sister's house, I think it will be contained before it travels too much more.
      I saw many reports about the California fires last year, it really did feel as though there would be nothing left

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  3. Wow, that's scary. I hope the fire is contained and doesn't reach you or your sister.

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    1. The map of the effected area hasn't changed in hours and the threat level has gone down so it's all good now. It was never going to reach our place but it might have got to my sisters.

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  4. That's getting too close for comfort. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you, your neighbours and your sister.

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    1. The conditions were terrible and it could have become a disaster but thanks to a lot of very hard work and probably a lot of luck, it worked out ok.

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  5. My best wishes that you and your family stay safe. I hope that the city too does not suffer irreparable damage,

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    1. I'm sure it has caused considerable financial loss but properties and lives are safe and our plant life regenerates very well after fire. If only fire was the only threat to out trees!

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  6. Keep safe. I wish you well.

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  7. Probably most of the shows about Australia that I've ever seen were about its wildlife, much of which is portrayed as dangerous. Kangaroos, of course, are portrayed as cute (although it would be a bad idea to assume that this makes them harmless), but the Australians are portrayed as being intent on killing kangaroos.

    We get fire warnings here too, and they sometimes threaten whole towns. Thankfully, my metro area in Oregon is too big to have to worry about fires, but we are overdue for a 9.0 quake.

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    1. Kangaroos are cute to look at but an aggressive male could do life threatening damage if he decided to fight a person and they have been known to kill a dog.
      Also, any frightened 'roo would be able to disembowel a person with it's claws.
      The biggest danger though, is when they run up against a car. They can end up in the cabin fighting to escape, or drivers will swerve dangerously to avoid them etc
      After hitting a 'roo one time I have absolutely no desire to do it again.

      Quakes frighten me a whole lot more than fires. There is usually warning with fire and there are some actions we can take to protect ourselves but quakes give no warning and have no solutions

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  8. PS, I said, "Down one fork in the road lies wisdom, and down the other lies bitterness; and we must decide which one to take again and again and again"? Wow. Must have been on one of my wiser days.

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  9. Wildfire is a scary thing. I hope all is well very soon. Stay safe.

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  10. I am so sorry this is happening right now. Hopefully weather conditions will change and it can be managed. Please keep us posted and be ready to get out if necessary!

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  11. I hope that when we get an update the news is good.

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  12. Oh no I really hope you and your family are okay. How scary.

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  13. It's just made our news in the UK this morning (Monday).

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