2013/14 fire season, Australia

Subject: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 09:53 AM

It's not long past midnight here & I'm over 100km from the fires to the west of Greater Sydney but I can smell the smoke & I have sore eyes & a headache, presumably from the smog & particles.

Earlier today swimmers on our famous beaches a few km to the east of me reported charred leaves in the water. I still have leaves I found in the sea during the legendary 1994 fires.

The fires are being fought by the mainly volunteer Rural Fire Brigades as well as metropolitan career fire fighters from far & wide. Help is also being sought from interstate brigades.

I have many friends & acquaintances in the wider Blue Mountains area (over 500 sq. miles), but don't think any are affected - yet. Yesterday's winds sent fire in all directions, today we expect less wind, but fire goes where it will. And we have arsonists who deliberately set fires, as well as idiots who throw butts out of cars on Fire Ban days 43 cars destroyed in Homebush fire which might have been started by a discarded cigarette.

Our summer fire season started in September - over 1000 fires in the month across the state, & predictions were the "proper" summer fire season would be "an intense and early fire season".

Coverage of fires - Sydney & New South Wales Officials say hundreds of homes may have been lost as New South Wales suffers one of its worst bushfire days in recent memory.
More than 90 fires - 34 uncontained - are burning around the state, fanned by strong wind gusts and high temperatures. (read on)

NSW bushfires: dozens of homes destroyed, Sydney skies darkened Hundreds of homes may have been lost as New South Wales suffered one of its worst bushfire days in recent memory.

Intense fires tore across south-eastern Australia in ferocious wind conditions and high temperatures, darkening Sydney's skies with smoke and ash.

Thousands of people have been evacuated as emergency warnings are in place for bushfires burning out of control near Lithgow and Springwood in the Blue Mountains, and Heatherbrae near Newcastle. (video)

Interactive bushfire map

From the air: NSW ravaged by fire Watch a compilation of footage from ABC crews on the ground and in the air as dry winds fan the flames of NSW's bushfire emergency.

NSW bushfires rage: live updates from 'Sydney Morning Herald' newspaper site

NSW Rural Fire Service site

Fire & Rescue NSW - our metropolitan fire service

sandra

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 09:55 AM

oops, someone forgot the BS prefix - can a kind Mudelf fix it, please?

forgetful sandra

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: breezy
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 04:22 PM

My son Sam says its no big deal , hardly a mention on the news.

The Oz s have it all under control!

Hope he's right.

he's in Sydney since Sept

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Andrez
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 05:02 PM

Sorry breezy, it IS a big deal, people are being killed and 100 houses destroyed as of now. Authorities are shortly to announce lives lost AND it is being covered in all the major media platforms. Hopefully Sam wont being going for a drive in the "hills".

Cheers,

Andrez

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: JennieG
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 05:02 PM

We live on a hill on the edge of a country town, and normally our view across the valley goes for miles and miles.....the distant hills are at least 15 miles away. But today the valley is filled with smoke and the smell of smoke is quite strong, although fires are a few hours away.    Went for my morning walk just over an hour ago, and the valley was clear! I won't be spending much time outside today.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 05:54 PM

breezy, I guess it depends on what news your son sees/listens to.

I don't have a TV & have no idea what coverage Commercial Radio & TV are giving. I listen to ABC (similar to BBC - not sure how similar it is to PBS) & my local station (Local Radio - Sydney) is the Fire broadcaster & always drops all regular programming (no ads so they can) & concentrates on whatever disaster is happening when it happens.

Since I woke an hour ago (8am), I've listened to the morning current affairs program & am now listening to people who have lost their homes, or had fires in their streets.

And I can still smell smoke, tho it is fainter this morning.

sandra

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: JennieG
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 08:09 PM

The nearest fires to us are a few hours south-east of here, and the wind is blowing from the east. The valley is clearer than it was earlier but the smoky smell hasn't completely gone.

breezy, your son might think it's all a lark, but believe me it's not - as Andrez and Sandra have said, it's not good at all. Whereabouts is your son?

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 02:38 AM

His son's in Sydney.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Ebbie
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 02:43 AM

There ought to be a special word of denigration for those who willfully bring harm to others. Arsonist, I suppose, has a certain mystique to it. "Juvenile-minded criminal" is closer but still doesn't condemn it properly.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 03:34 AM

you're right, Ebbbie - in a world of weasel words & spin where new ways of describing things gives us terms like "collateral damage" finding the right words for a situation or an action is not easy.

I've been out all day so have missed the continual reports, & I'm heading out to a singing session in a few hours. The weather has been better today - no winds, but the situation is still bad.


More than 20 bushfires continue to burn uncontained across New South Wales despite fire crews taking advantage of today's easing weather conditions.

The crisis has claimed at least one life - a 63-year-old man who collapsed and died while defending his home at Lake Munmorah on the Central Coast late yesterday.

Authorities are beginning to get a clearer picture of the scale of destruction and say hundreds of homes have been lost across the state.

In the worst-hit areas in the Blue Mountains, the Rural Fire Service says 30 per cent of properties have been inspected, with 81 confirmed lost and 37 damaged.

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons fought back tears today while describing how some firefighters have lost their own homes in the crisis.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has also praised the efforts of fire crews: "These are ordinary people who, on an extraordinary day, come together to support their community and to protect their fellow Australians."

Faces of the bushfires

Man dies after collapsing while defending home from fire

gallery

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Andrez
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 03:43 AM

Tonights TV news has the NSW Premier describing current events as the worst ever in NSW history to date! Perhaps breezy might avail of him or herself of Sandra's links to check things out and get a second opinion rather than taking information provided by travelling/working/studying family members?

Cheers,

Andrez

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Megan L
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 03:52 AM

Before condemning take a moment to consider if you were traveling far from home would you want to send back reports that caused your parents worry.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 04:07 AM

cartoon for Ebbie

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: artbrooks
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 09:42 AM

Good luck, mates. Thankfully, our fire season is over for this year, but now we have the issue of heavy rain causing landslides in areas where the ground cover is gone.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 10:08 AM

human do like to mould the planet for their purposes - clearfell to plant crops, or run animals, etc.

But nature strikes back.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: maeve
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 11:06 AM

One report Australia wildfires: Reporter urges man to abandon home

I suspect Megan is correct. breezy's son may well wish to spare family some worry, or he might not have seen current reports when/if he spoke lightly. Others might handle the situation differently.

Thinking of our Australian friends...I can hardly bear to see the reports and photos... nightmares tonight.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: maeve
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 11:16 AM

We are also thinking of the many firefighters and other emergency workers who are risking health and life to protect people and property, while also losing their own homes and those of family and neighbors. Thank you for your service and compassion.

Heartbreaking: Australia wildfires: Fire chief breaks down

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 10:05 PM

Thanks, maeve.

I've just been talking to Bob Bolton & a number of his friends in the mountains are affected. Fires are very close to their properties & one house has been waterbombed.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) says 193 homes have been destroyed and 109 damaged in the fierce bushfires that have affected the state's Blue Mountains since Thursday.
Firefighters have been making the most of cooler weather overnight to work on containment lines around six major bushfires in New South Wales before conditions worsen in the coming days.

lucky cat

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: JennieG
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 11:20 PM

Sandra, I have been wondering how Bob's friends were faring - I know they live in the Bell/Clarence area. The Zig Zag Railway has lost some of its stock too, also in that area.

That's a sensible cat!

Heard on ABC radio news at midday today that the army is thinking it could be to blame for starting the fire near Lithgow as they were conducting explosive ordnance training near Marangaroo Training Area on the day the fire started. They were setting off explosives in the bush on a day of extremely high fire danger with very low humidity and really hot dry strong winds??? Who was it who said "military intelligence" is an oxymoron?

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Oct 13 - 08:59 PM

Silence didn't mean the fires have stopped - There are currently 62 fires burning across New South Wales, with 14 uncontained. There are four Watch and Act alerts (2nd alert) in place, including the large State Mine fire in the Lithgow area, which was this morning downgraded from an Emergency alert (highest alert). The Fire Commissioner warns against complacency - tomorrow's weather will cause problems.

Joining these fires means less danger to communities lower down the Mountains - Rural Fire Service links up major NSW bushfires as winds drop The NSW Rural Fire Service has deliberately linked the State Mine and Mount Victoria bushfires to help crews manage the situation.

Strong winds picked up this morning, hampering back-burning efforts, but firefighters are now taking advantage of a lull.

Firefighters have linked the two fires along the Darling Causeway in a controlled way through back-burning efforts.

"That is principally focused on trying to stop those two fires coming together and joining with the fire down at Springwood and Winmalee," RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said at a briefing.

An emergency warning for the State Mine fire has been downgraded, while three other watch-and-act alerts are still in place at Mount Victoria, Springwood and in the Southern Highlands.

A state of emergency also remains in effect across the state as hundreds of reinforcements arrive from interstate to bolster firefighters on the ground.

Interactive bushfire map

'Terrifying' summer in prospect A leading fire scientist warns the NSW bushfires are a preview of what Australia faces in the coming months. (video)

in pictures - NSW bushfires

Photo of exhausted firefighters goes viral

They worked through the night in horrific and dangerous conditions so Catherine Hill Bay would survive - though these firefighters don't consider themselves heroes.

However, that is what people across the world are calling them after an image captured by Newcastle Herald photographer Phil Hearne went viral over the weekend. The photo, which shows exhausted firefighters sleeping by the road as flames lap close by, has been seen by 3.7 million people on Facebook. By last night it had received around 4300 messages of thanks.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 Oct 13 - 09:03 PM

I forgot to mention that one of the firefighters mentioned in the last article is in his final year of secondary school & in the middle of his Higher School Certificate examinations

sandra

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Oct 13 - 11:47 PM

G'Day Sandra, Breezy, Andrez, JennieG, Ebbie, Megan, Artbrooks, & Maeve ...

I've been sweating on on the fates and a lot of friends up in the Bell / Clarence region up along Bell's Line of Roads.

Previous weekend Patricia & I stopped in our friend Helen's home at Clarence ... next door to the Engineering / electrical design & construction works ... up on the road frontage of the 20 acre double block with her eldest son's home ... down the long steep dirt access road ... while he's overseas visiting friends and relatives!

I got home the other night ... and Patricia said she had turned on the TV ... and got coverage of the Bush Fire Brigade fighting for the 'Ampletech' workshops (her son's business (founded by his Dad).

I rang Helen and she told me how her younger son, despite some communications problems he has at times, had been directing the firies ("Bush Fire Brigade" personnel... basically everyone in the district!) and they all had succeeded in saving the works and the home (... only lost an older caravan and a couple of the 3-whheeler off-road vehicles used around the 20 acre home block!

I then rang the home of Richard Evans ... Concertina maker, repairer and player ... ~ about 10 km east at Bell ... perched above the valley and joining fire fronts. Richard was down in Lithgow ... picking up his medications ... and Eva quickly told me she and the Bush Firies were fighting for the house, workshops and property ... and a helicopter was starting to "water-bomb" the house, cars and workshops!

I left her to the work in hand ... and haven't got back through since ... and the Bush Fire Brigade has told all Bell residents to evacuate post haste down to Lithgow!

I remember that, the week before, I had been in Richard's workshop, waiting for him to get back and see visiting musician / friends ... and demonstrating some of the dozen or more high-quality concertinas of all marques and systems!

I hope they were quickly moved somewhere safe - and eveacuated when the Bush Fire Brigade told all Bell residents to evacuate!... as they would have been worth more than a good Sydney home!

I also noted fire alerts for other Bush Music friends, living down the Southern Highlands ... but haven't been able to get through to them ... but the Southern Highlands don't seem to have been anywhere near as volatile as the Bkue Mountains ...

Regards all,

Stay safe

BobB

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 21 Oct 13 - 11:56 PM

Err ... G'day again - maybe this time with my singed membership doused!

Regardfully,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 22 Oct 13 - 12:36 AM

G'day again,

I have just got through to Richard Evans, concertina creator and resuscitator ... and he & Eva are back at Bell ... since everything risky has already been burnt. Their only loss was one broody goose ... who abandoned her clutch of eggs after ... being buzzed and water-bombed ... and has not been seen since!

The concertinas are all moved to safe and fire-protected storage and the Bush Fire Brigade is only a long stone's throw along either their front ... or back ... roads!

I'm feeling a bit calmer now - Bell is a little dot of mountain township ... but I have lots of musical friends and contacts within a full-throated cooee of the little township!

Regard(les)s

BobB

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: ragdall
Date: 22 Oct 13 - 02:40 AM

How horrible for those directly affected by the fires and also for those of you who are being exposed to long periods without clean air to breathe. I hope that the weather will change enough to assist the fire crews to get fires under control and eliminated.

Stay safe, all.

rags

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Megan L
Date: 22 Oct 13 - 03:42 AM

Thank you Bob for the update it is always very worrying when you cant get in touch with someone known to be in a danger zone.

Fire fighters do an amazing job often going well beyond duty to try and save lives and property at the risk of themselves.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Oct 13 - 05:03 AM

BBC article, 21 October 2013 Last updated at 10:23 GMT current info & pics, plus general article about Bushfires in Australia

Australia is often hit by bushfires during summer months from December to February. Causes can be lightning, arson, power-line arcing, dropped cigarettes or controlled burns that go wrong.

On 7 February 2009 a prolonged heat-wave and dry spell led to the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria. The fires became Australia's worst natural disaster, killing 173 people and burning thousands of houses.

On 16 February 1983 almost 200 fires caused devastation across parts of Victoria and South Australia. Seventy-five people died in what became known as the Ash Wednesday fires.

In January 2013, parts of NSW and Tasmania were hit by fires as temperatures soared to record levels, with average national temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius. One person died in Tasmania and several hundred buildings were destroyed.
========================

Bushfire conditions expected to worsen tomorrow Live blog, updated 30 mins ago -
Crews are racing to gain the upper hand on several blazes burning across New South Wales, amid grim warnings tomorrow's weather may be more dangerous than first thought.

The NSW Rural Fire Service says tomorrow's conditions across fire-hit areas of the Blue Mountains are forecast to be "about as bad as it gets", with temperatures in the high 30s, humidity at 10 per cent and wind gusts of up to 100 kph.

"There is a very real potential for more loss of homes and loss of life," RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned this afternoon.

Earlier today light showers on the state's major fire fronts lifted the spirits of firefighters conducting aggressive back-burning operations, but did not slow the advance of the major fires.

Firefighters have deliberately joined the State Mine and Mount Victoria bushfires along the Darling Causeway to help crews manage the situation.

We even had one or 2 tiny showers here in the CBD which dampened the pavements. The people I saw carrying umbrellas were hopeful. I went out between the 'showers' & only ended up with one drop of rain on my shirt.

According to the Bureau of Met site the wider metropolitan area received between 0.0 & 1.4 mm in the past 24 hours. Parts of Blue Mountains did not register any rain in their gauges, Lithgow received 2mm.

Wind gusts up to 70km per hour expected in the mountains tomorrow.
Combination of elevated temps, mid to high 30s + low humidity + winds = danger. Authorities say to evacuate early if you are leaving.

A very emotional caller to the radio just saw 20 fire trucks from South Australia pass his place on their way further up the mountains.

Another said firies knocked on doors telling everyone to fill their recycling & garbage bins with water & leave them on the street so firies can use them if needed, so now his street is full of bins & boxes labelled 'water'. They were also advised to fill buckets, pans & anything that holds water & leave them in all rooms to fight small spot fires. Caller is also discussing how he decides what to take when evacuating which he will do during the night. How do you sort out 50+ years of belongings? How much can fit in 2 cars? What is more important that your life?

Next caller said her parents lost their holiday house in Mount Irvine on Thursday night - she said they wasted time deciding what to take before she could get them out of the house & away to safety.

More interstate firefighters are heading to the fires.

sandra

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: JennieG
Date: 22 Oct 13 - 06:49 AM

I know you can't compare 'stuff' to human lives, but it would be so hard to go. People are continually being told to have a bushfire plan, and if they wish to evacuate then go early before roads become blocked and impassable.....but when everything you own in the world is tied up in your house and its contents, and you are being told to get out and leave your house to its fate, it would be such a difficult thing to do.

We live on the edge of town with bushland over our back fence, but the tree line is further up the hill - the land between us and the trees is cleared, and at present is just brown dry stubble. Some rain would be very welcome.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Oct 13 - 09:41 AM

latest on the blog -

The New South Wales fire chief says he cannot guarantee more homes or lives will not be lost tomorrow, in what is shaping up to be a dangerous day on the state's fire fronts.

Tomorrow is expected to be the worst day by far of the bushfire emergency, with conditions with temperatures in the high 30s and wind gusts of up to 100kph.

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says if people have no need to be in the mountains, or are unprepared or incapacitated, they should leave.

"The forecast and scenario for tomorrow is about as bad as it gets," he said.

Earlier today showers on the fire fronts lifted the spirits of firefighters conducting back-burning operations, but did not slow the advance of the blazes.

Follow our blog for updates as they happen...

It's half past midnight here - Sydney CBD, near the harbour & the temperature is 21.7C here, the warmest it's been any night so far, & the forecast is for 35 today. Current temperatures on the mountains are about the same.

I'm very pleased I moved the big fan into my bedroom last night!

sandra

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 22 Oct 13 - 05:46 PM

G'day again,

I rather hope that some of the rainfall from the (~ mild ...) thunderstorm that reached us in Sydney - post-midnight / early morning - dropped worthwhile wetting rain as it came over the Blue Mountains ( ... and didn't ignite any new fires!).

I also hope that Richard & Eva's goose was able to shake her wings dry ... and venture back to her clutch of eggs ... if they hadn't already hatched in yesterday's heat!

Regards,

BobB

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Oct 13 - 06:10 PM

there was only 5mm of rain across the fires last night.

from the fire blog New South Wales firefighters face worsening weather conditions today with hot, dry winds and temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius.

Crews have worked through the night back-burning to get a handle on several large blazes burning out of control, particularly in the Southern Highlands, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains.

There are four watch-and-act alerts in place for the State Mine fire near Lithgow, the Mount Victoria fire, the Hall Road fire near Wollondilly and the Linksview Road fire near Springwood.

NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mike Gallacher was blunt in his advice to those waking up in the Blue Mountains this morning, saying:

"If you don't have a plan, quite simply let me give you one - pack the car now, head down the mountain, come down and enjoy time in the metropolitan area and allow the firefighters the freedom to move through the community to protect your homes."

Since Thursday, more than 200 homes have been lost. The Rural Fire Service says more property may be lost today.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: GUEST,SINS
Date: 22 Oct 13 - 06:43 PM

The pictures and forecast we are getting for Sydney are dismal. Pack what you can and be ready to run or better still move now while it is still safe.
Praying for you all.
SINS

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 23 Oct 13 - 12:47 AM

G'day SINS,

I'm not sure where you are viewing all this from ... but the great risk area is the mountain range of the Blue Mountains ... rising up some 60 kilometres / ~ 37 miles inland from coastal Sydney. It's entirely a new climate up there ... usually cool and comfortable, which is why so many of the coastal masses have moved up to what where green, cool, heights.

Unfortunately, as houses crowd the mountains into near 'suburban' spacings ... still nostalgically surrounded by gum trees ... and perfumed by their rather inflammable eucalyptus oil, the dice get loaded against what was the odd hot year. Now the worldwide overuse of every modern device, gadget and facility has pushed us past the old safety limits and this is a foretaste of what the whole wide world is brewing up for itself!

The only reason we don't get such broad fires down here (inner-suburban Sydney) is that bricks and concrete crowd out the greenery of the past ... but the rising temperature isn't going to ease off ... and we are all going to have to come to some new terms with what we ae turning our own part of the world into!

Regardfully,

BobB

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Oct 13 - 02:56 AM

NSW Blue Mountains fires to keep firefighters busy for weeks posted 30 mins ago
The NSW Rural Fire Service says the Blue Mountains fires will occupy firefighters for weeks, even once they have been contained.

Spokesman Joel Kursawe has told ABC News Online that today is crucial in determining whether the fire stays behind containment lines or breaches containment and burns towards western Sydney.

"We've been working very hard for the last couple of days to get back-burns in and try and work towards containing the fire," Mr Kursawe said.

"But if these conditions get to what they're forecasted today - 90km/h winds in some areas - we could see this breach the area it is in now and creep down into the backend of Sydney, in through Richmond, and Colo and Kurrajong and places like that up in the Hawkesbury.

"And once it's there it's then got the potential to keep running.

"Again, that's dependent on the wind direction as well."

Mr Kursawe says if authorities are unable to get on top of the NSW bushfires with back-burning and crews on the ground, it "has the potential to burn for weeks".

It may be that firefighters will be successful in containing the blaze, but Mr Kursawe says that does not mean fire crews can pack up and go home.

"Regardless of how far it travels today, we are likely to see this fire continue to go still for coming days into next week," he said.

"Even if we get containment on the fire, there's still going to be a lot of active fire within the burnt areas and that's going to require the crews to patrol this fire for weeks once it's out."
Rain can be a 'hindrance'

A storm cell brought small amounts of rain to the Blue Mountains fires yesterday, but it did not have a big effect.

Mr Kursawe says days of consistent rain would help firefighters with a blaze as big as in the Blue Mountains, but small amounts can actually be a hindrance.

"We would want to see a couple of days of good solid rain, but even anywhere up to 20 or 30 millilitres would be a blessing in disguise for the guys on the ground, as opposed to the 2 (millimetres) to 5mm that they saw overnight," he said.

He says light rain can slow or halt crucial back-burning operations depending how heavy the drizzle is.

"It's a double-edged sword," he said.

"Rain is good for fires, but minimal amounts like we saw overnight prove to be more of a hindrance and hamper back-burning efforts, which we've also been racing against to clock to try and complete ahead of the weather that we're seeing today."
=================

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Oct 13 - 11:17 AM

Years ago during a fire season in Oregon, USA, I remember reading that a SMALL amount of rain can be worse than continued dry, because it washes off the dust on brush that tends to have a deterring effect.

May you may have a gully washer in all needy areas!

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Oct 13 - 08:37 PM

Ebbie, the weather forecasts are for lower temperatures & winds over the next week, with no mention of rain tho - yet!

latest from the blog -
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) says an aircraft involved in firefighting operations has crashed west of Ulladulla this morning.

The ABC understands the plane is an 802 waterbomber and it is believed a wing snapped off before the crash.

The aircraft's operator is contracted to the RFS and was involved in firefighting operations.

Crews, including a rescue helicopter, are on their way to the crash site. There are no details of injuries at this stage.

Meanwhile, milder conditions have helped firefighters so far today but the RFS has warned the community not to be complacent about the dangers presented by bushfires.

A total of 66 fires are still burning around the state, with 24 uncontained, and residents are urged to remain vigilant.

Four watch-and-act alerts remain in place for the State Mine fire near Lithgow, the Mount Victoria fire, the Linksview Road fire near Springwood and the Hall Road fire in the Southern Highlands.

Follow our live blog for updates throughout the day.
=====================

In pictures: animals caught up in bushfire emergency From cuddly domestic pets to scaly wild creatures, the NSW bushfires have affected animals of all shapes and sizes.

Organisations such as WIRES (Wildlife Information, Rescue & Education Service) and RSPCA NSW have been working hard to save the injured and provide shelter for pets whose families were evacuated.

WIRES established a Bushfire Appeal Fund to help injured, homeless, orphaned and disoriented animals, and the RSPCA fundraising appeal helps to support inspectors in the field and shelters that are treating sick, burnt and injured animals.
=============

Back-burning: fighting fire with fire

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Janie
Date: 23 Oct 13 - 11:01 PM

Not posting but definitely following with deep care and concern. That won't have an impact on the weather or the ecosystem, but is what I can offer from half a world away.

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Oct 13 - 02:29 AM

thanks, Janie

Here's a Letter to the Editor the Sydney Morning Herald published today - Spirited, even in a stew

When Kim Bartush loses everything in the devastating blaze in Winmalee but a single Pyrex dish, her response is 'I suppose I'll be cooking casseroles' ('Back on parade: Firestorm families ready to rebuild their homes and lives', October 23). It makes you proud to be Australian.

(Pyrex is toughened glass, in case the brand is unfamiliar)
===============

NSW bushfires: pilot killed in fire-fighting plane crash

Death toll from the fires is now 3 - a home-owner who died of a heart attack in the early days of eh fire, & 2 pilots, one bringing parts to fire fighters & this man who was fighting the fires. There have been more than 250 homes destroyed.

I was looking for the number of homes destroyed & found this very informative Wikipedia article updated Wed 23rd Oct - scroll down to the pics of the Port Stephens fire - caption: Heat from burning trees on the opposite side of Richardson Road seared leaves on trees and foliage on the fence of Campvale properties but caused little other damage. Even the grass remained green.

===================

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has also confirmed the exploded ordnance at an Army live firing range caused the Lithgow blaze.

"Investigations by NSW RFS fire investigators have determined the State Mine fire near Lithgow was started as a result of the live ordnance exercises on Marangaroo Army Range. The fire started on
Wednesday October 2013. There were no total fire bans at the time."
==============

Subject: RE: 2013/14 fire season, Australia
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Oct 13 - 03:59 AM

latest is a warning to people coming back to their burned homes to look for items that might have survived - asbestos was widely used in building materials until 1987 & people should not search thru the wreckage.

Drone footage of fire damage at Lithgow Watch footage of the scorched landscape around the New South Wales town of Lithgow as shot by a drone-mounted camera.
amazing footage - it looks like something from a science-fiction movie.