Australians - heat and fire

[Miss Chicken]

A 31 year old man has been charged with leaving his campfire unattended which lead to the Lake Repulse fire.

The Bicheno fire was started by a lightning strike.

The Forcett (Dunalley fire) was started by a smoldering tree stump. Locals thought the fire had been put out days before the big fire but it seems that the was still slow burning in the root system which flared up.

So no intentionally lit fire at all.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Just read this -


The temperature at Bega in NSW has risen from 22 degrees at 8am to 38 degrees just after 9am.

 

[Orac Zen]

It's been a horrible day here. As I type the temperature is still around 30 C and the day-long high wind has, if anything, picked up over the last hour or so. There are currently around 140 fires burning across NSW, including one much closer to home than I ever want to see. We're not in any immediate danger here but knowing that people I know and places I've been to are under threat, and that people I know have been out there all day trying to deal with a fire in these appalling conditions is...yeah.

Several of these fires were deliberately lit. If there's a lower form of life than a person who would even consider deliberately lighting a fire in the sorts of conditions we're presently experiencing, I don't want to know what it might be. I'd like to see all their possessions gathered together and torched. I wonder how much they'd like that.

marillion, you of all people here know what we're up against in this country just now. I'd like to be able to answer your question in an intelligent manner, but I cant, so I'll just thank you for the good thoughts.

Things have deteriorated again in Tasmania and Victoria has also been badly affected. None of this is going to go away any time soon.

Summer? You (general you) can have it.

 

[Miss Chicken]

In Tasmania, the problem is that a cold front is coming through. That sounds good but the problems is high winds came before it - whipping the fires up again.

Earlier in the day a convoy of cars, caravans etc were escorted by police out of the the Peninsula. Most of them were tourists who had been trapped at Nubeena and Port Arthur. A second convoy was meant to make the trip but it was forced to go back when the fires flared up again.

My friend Janet found her three horses, safe but very spooked. They had been waterbombed by helicopters.

Now Janet's father's place - up the North West Coast near Montumana is under threat. Her elderly father has been evacuated but his much younger wife has unwisely decided to stay behind and defend the home.

 

[Deckerd]

You know it's bad when Beeb 1 give it a prime news slot. The Aussie PM was all over the news like a rash last night. Stay safe everyone.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

And now it is 17c here !

This was a quite a story and photo (happy ending, everyone safe)

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/family-take-refuge-from-flames-in-sea-20130108-2cdts.html

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

I earlier today that there were some fires in the nowra region. Hopeful tomorrow i'll find out more. Am defiemtly sick of this hot weather. Hopefully I can get soome sleep, as it feels like i'm in a sauna at the moment.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

You know it's bad when Beeb 1 give it a prime news slot. The Aussie PM was all over the news like a rash last night. Stay safe everyone.

I'm glad it's getting the attention it deserves. Perhaps our reporting on Australian matters isn't as bad as I thought it was?

 

[rhubarbodendron]

we're currently experiencing a minor flood. A pity weather can't be distributed more evenly. I'm glad all of you are ok.
How about the wildlife? The faster animals will presumably have suffered little, but what about slow species like Koalas?

 

[Miss Chicken]

How about the wildlife? The faster animals will presumably have suffered little, but what about slow species like Koalas?

Luckily, as least as far as these fires go, there are no koalas in Tasmania but other wildlife has been affected.

A FUND has been set up to help wildlife displaced and injured in the Tasmanian bushfires.

Against Animal Cruelty Tasmania is raising money to care for animals that have been burned or orphaned or are suffering from starvation and dehydration.

"AACT is accepting donations that will be redistributed to registered carers and wildlife care organisations," AACT spokesman Chris Simcox said.

"This will help meet the cost of food and medical supplies necessary for the proper care of displaced and injured wildlife. We hope to be able to achieve the maximum benefit for all affected native wildlife.

"We will be starting the fund with $2000 of our own funds, and asking the public to give generously to support wildlife."

Bennetts wallabies, Tasmanian pademelons, brushtail and ringtail possums, Tasmanian devils, eastern-barred bandicoots and bettongs are among the species expected to be hardest hit by the fires.

Rest of story here

Bonorong Wildlife Park is taking in wildlife.

I am not sure about the Tasmanian Devil Park as they are in the fire region.

 

[Miss Chicken]

People might be interested in Australia's temperature records


Hottest days on record

State by state:
NSW: 49.7C, Menindee, January 10, 1939
ACT: 42.2C, Canberra, February 1, 1968
NT: 48.3C, Finke, January 1, 1960
SA: 50.7C, Oodnadatta, January 2, 1960
Qld: 49.5C, Birdsville, December 24, 1972
Tas: 42.2C, Scamander, January 30, 2009
WA: 50.5C, Mardie, February 19, 1998
Vic: 48.8C, Hopetoun, February 7, 2009

Capital cities:
Sydney: 45.3C, January 14, 1939
Canberra: 42.2C, February 1, 1968
Darwin: 40.5C, October 17, 1892
Adelaide: 47.6C, January 12, 1939
Brisbane: 43.2C, January 26, 1940
Hobart: 41.8C, January 4, 2013
Perth: 46.2C, February 23, 1991
Melbourne: 46.4C, February 7, 2009

 

[Candlelight]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/8157600/Australia-is-so-hot-its-off-the-scale

Australia's ''dome of heat'' is becoming so intense, temperatures are off the charts - literally.
When the nation's weather bureau model started churning out predictions for next Sunday and Monday of more than 50 degrees, chart producers quietly extended the scale beyond the level previously used.
For now, those days show regions of South Australia with deep purple - indicating 50-52 degrees Celsius. As yet, the new maximum scale of 52-54C - to be coloured pink - does not feature.
"It's because we've been going off the scale," said David Jones, head of the bureau's climate monitoring and prediction unit.
Also off the scale was the national average maximum. It hit 40.33C on Monday, a record that has stood for 40 years but was likely to have been broken yesterday, the bureau said.
Including Tuesday, the country will have posted four of the hottest 10 days on record in 2013 - a year barely a week old.
Another record that was smashed on Monday was Australia's mean temperature. The country averaged 32.23C, eclipsing the previous record - set on December 21, 1972 - of 31.86C.
The temperature at Sydney's Observatory Hill hit 42.3C, its hottest since New Year's Day 2006 and the fifth hottest day since records began in 1858.

Man dats hot!

 

[Australis]

Was 43C yesterday

Is 25C today.

Much nicer.

 

[SmoothieX]

we're currently experiencing a minor flood. A pity weather can't be distributed more evenly. I'm glad all of you are ok.

I hear you on that one.

We got a ton of rain in the Northeast US last year, capped off by Hurricane Sandy. The ground is constantly squishy and spongy. Yet there were many parts of the country that had severe droughts to the point were crops and livestock died.

 

[T'Bonz]

50C? That's like the Middle East.

Yikes.

 

[Deckerd]

The map on the news last night had purple in the middle!

 

[RobertVA]

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/...of-fire-by-clinging-to-jetty-for-3-hours?lite

Dunalley Tasmania:

"As "tornadoes of fire" roared toward their home, the Holmes family fled and then jumped into the sea, clinging to a jetty for three hours to escape wildfires that have devastated Australia."

 

[Mary Ann]

This story was featured on the BBC earlier today. So glad they're all safe.

 

[SmoothieX]

Hottest I've ever experienced was 117 in Death Valley. Felt like I opened the oven to check on a roast, the wind felt like hot fingers against my legs.

Isn't 50 C more or less equivalent to 120 F?

 

[Miss Chicken]

^^^ Close enough.

49C = 120.2F
50C = 122F