04SilverSTR
Member
Heres hope anyone on here in these areas are safe and well! the rest of australia is thinking of you in these tough times!
Cheers
Bryan
Cheers
Bryan
NSW Fires
- Thread starter 04SilverSTR
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fourocker
Member
Thanks for the positive thoughts people, I live in Winmalee and have been very fortunate so far, a back burn is going in our street as I type which we are relieved about, close friends nearly lost their home and have had no power for 30 odd hours but there are a large number who have lost all, I feel guilty but realise I shouldn't.
04SilverSTR
Member
Hope things get better soon! I cant imagine what it feels like.............
04SilverSTR
Member
yes and no, just wanted people know they are not alone.
nakedape
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Na, you've got me all wrong. I mean its early for the fire season kicking off - not your message of empathy. My bad.
nakedape
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Fire is a random bastard of a thing - you can't pick who'll be hit and who wont. So you've no need to feel guilty. Hang tough bloke - the stuff can be replaced, you can't.
I'm up in the silverdale / warragamba area and I can say I know how you feel. We got hit big time in 2001 and you are rite that fire is very random in what path it takes. People up here are still rebuilding. The problem is how fast things can change and if you are not ready for it it will be on your door step before you know it. Hang tough mate and have a plan in place. And don't forget you pets.
04SilverSTR
Member
ahhhh all good mate, bloody internet....
it reallu amazes me how randome these fires can be.
fourocker
Member
Yeah it's random, all based on ember attack driven by wind direction, my son and I have been following our prep plan and staying aware and thats all you can do, I don't feel anything as such because it "just is" if you know what I mean, certainly not hard done by or why me simply that its an awesome place to live and we chose to build our home here.
tony d22
Member
I'm in Blaxland and they are saying in the next few days that the fire could burn closer towards me. Just gotta keep an eye on those embers.
So many houses lost just in the Springwood / Winmalee area, 203 and still counting.
So many houses lost just in the Springwood / Winmalee area, 203 and still counting.
amber.2
Member
That low life Adam Brant has come out and Blamed the Abbott Government for the bush fires, calling Tony a climate warming criminal, The Carbon tax is still in place nothing has changed and more than likely it wont until the first of July next year .But the truth is the local Fire brigade has been stopped by the Greens from back burning over the winter period , for the last 6 years the undergrowth has built up and with the dry conditions all it needed was a spark,
The Aboriginals had for thousands of years have back burned the under growth and these caused fire breaks , but now we have this IDIOT refusing to take any blame ,except to blame others ?
The Aboriginals had for thousands of years have back burned the under growth and these caused fire breaks , but now we have this IDIOT refusing to take any blame ,except to blame others ?
nakedape
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I get that you're pissed, but hang on a minute.
Screw what some politician said - they're all dickheads.
I did some research in the field of fire ecology few a good few years and two things in what you've said need correcting:
1) Yep, black fellas used fire as a tool right across the country - from deserts to Tassie montane areas. But, the extent to which it was used differed from place to place. There's no evidence to suggest that black fellas used fire to the extent that folklore suggests (except maybe in the Savannah, NT - a place where we were also fortunate enough not to have wiped all the locals out and could see how they managed the land). In fact the presence of fire sensitive species in many ecosystems suggests that they were very strategic when it came to managing fire regimes and only ever burned enough to provide for good food in the future. If we burned the bush the way folklore suggests we should (i.e. every year or two) then we would stuff the place as sure as we would by excluding fire altogether - and pretty rapidly too (there's a ton of research by Australian fire ecologists related to fire regimes - google away).
2) No political party, nor environmental or community group in Australia prevents fire management activities from occurring - most actively encourage it (again - google away). While some research is beginning to question the efficacy of fuel reduction burns in reducing risk during catastrophic fire conditions, the over whelming majority advocate for a science based approach to hazard reduction -- including fuel reduction/ regeneration burns and the maintenance of fire breaks. It's one of only a few weapons in our arsenal and no-one is suggesting we shouldn't use it. As often as not these burns are cancelled because of unfavorable weather conditions and/ or a lack of resources, and under-staffing means that missed fires are not caught up (seems that all governments want to burn, but don't want to fund it).
Sadly, as more people move into the bush (suburbs creeping further and further) more people are being exposed to higher risks through ignorance, poor preparation and exaggerated expectations of what our poorly funded (mostly volunteer) fire services can do to for them. The bush and the associated fire risks will always be there. We can only regulate for better building codes, advocate for higher levels of funding for emergency services and take responsibility for our selves by preparing, for what looks to be a horror fire year, as best we can.
tony d22
Member
We have also had a pretty wet winter which stopped the start of the back burning season in May.
Back burning started a whole lot later than it should.
Looking at the conditions last Thursday, I doubt any back burning could have avoided the nightmare Springwood and Winmalee residents are facing. Even though a few weeks back Hawksbury Heights (down the road from Winmalee) fires burnt a lot of land.
Back burning started a whole lot later than it should.
Looking at the conditions last Thursday, I doubt any back burning could have avoided the nightmare Springwood and Winmalee residents are facing. Even though a few weeks back Hawksbury Heights (down the road from Winmalee) fires burnt a lot of land.
fourocker
Member
Spot on Tony, the RFS had much less opportunity than expected, god knows they've tried, I've been highly aware of it around here as a mountain biker.
A close friend of ours was at our place when my wife and her spotted the start of it, she decided to go check because of the smoke direction and how flat the smoke column was (means the wind is pushing hard) and within 20 minutes she's telling my missus she's hosing embers on the roof and trying to throw stuff into the car, it came on so quickly under the conditions, it was stopped two doors away by helicopter and one local RFS unit, three were lost though even with their super quick response.
Tony, take care in the coming days and keep your eyes open, we had a major flare up Saturday arvo, they had both air cranes and others on it, not one home lost or even damaged, it's simply so changeable you've got to be watching all the time.
Oh and we feel super lucky, the media go on about how many homes have been lost but how many thousands have been saved, they really know their shit and if a home is lost it's not because they didn't try, they were simply out gunned by conditions.
YBOD
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I'm a pom living in this great southern land for 3.5 years now and this is the first time I've seen the bush fires first hand as a real event not just something reported on the TV. We live on Lake Mac and the Rutley Road and Heatherbrea fires where sobbering and awesome in their scale and impact. Goodness knows what it is like to be over in the blue mountains; I can't imagine what it's like nor I'm sure would I want to be able to.
However two things that have amazed me:
The guts and dedication of the RFS; a bunch of honest to goodness people willing to step up, give their time and risk their safety for the protection of others. That is true community and something I doubt if ever witness back in the UK in such a way.
And secondly the spirit of those effected. Despite the best efforts of the new channels desperate to ask anybody and everybody "how they feel having just lost everything" and "do they feel anything should have been done by the authorities to stop it" and seeking out anybody who can be filmed crying and breaking down. However despite it all most people who I've seen on the TV being "interviewed" have responded with things along the lines of "yes, I've lost everything/most things etc but you just have to get on, do what you can and rebuild" and "no we won't be moving on and no we don't blame the authorities, this is just a risk you have to accept to live in the beauty that is the Australian bush"
I can only assume this is what is meant by "the Aussie spirit" and while Aussies can out whinge any pom when they set their mind to it, I have to admire your spirit when you lot set your mind to not whinging. It's incredible. Hats off etc
And it's that spirit that makes me want to become Australian when the time comes.
However two things that have amazed me:
The guts and dedication of the RFS; a bunch of honest to goodness people willing to step up, give their time and risk their safety for the protection of others. That is true community and something I doubt if ever witness back in the UK in such a way.
And secondly the spirit of those effected. Despite the best efforts of the new channels desperate to ask anybody and everybody "how they feel having just lost everything" and "do they feel anything should have been done by the authorities to stop it" and seeking out anybody who can be filmed crying and breaking down. However despite it all most people who I've seen on the TV being "interviewed" have responded with things along the lines of "yes, I've lost everything/most things etc but you just have to get on, do what you can and rebuild" and "no we won't be moving on and no we don't blame the authorities, this is just a risk you have to accept to live in the beauty that is the Australian bush"
I can only assume this is what is meant by "the Aussie spirit" and while Aussies can out whinge any pom when they set their mind to it, I have to admire your spirit when you lot set your mind to not whinging. It's incredible. Hats off etc
And it's that spirit that makes me want to become Australian when the time comes.
