G’day Mates! Just learned from the radio that there are several very serious wild fires in New South Wales, Australia and also a long lasting drought. Several families have already abandoned their homes which must absolutely terrifying! And livestock and wildlife has taken a severe hit as well. We have several members from NSW, and I just wanted to say that I hope you all are safe and sound in spite of all the fires and prevailing drought. Take good care of yourselves and your loved ones! Stay Safe!! Jim
jim. thank you few thinking of our people. im safe where im located, have several friends in the mid nth coast & from the blue mountains west of sydney who are in the thick of it, so far have escaped unharmed . far from finished, wind has backed of a little (sat) which yesterday was a major problem. susanna
Hi Jim, I am a volunteer driver with our local Community Transport and today we were recalled from our daily duties to be placed around the area where the fires are to act as emergency evacuation transport for aged, in-firmed or people with disabilities. I drew the short straw and was allocated to two small towns in the hills behind Coffs Harbour about a 40 minute drive in a small bus. Fairly uneventful day as most people were very well organised. Trouble now is looks like the wife and I will have to evacuate from our home tomorrow. Packing a few things tonight and will see how the weather holds tomorrow. Pete
Hey Pete, good on you for giving up your time to look out for others. From all reports it sounds like the conditions tomorrow are going to be horrific up that way. Stay safe. We are still very green down this way (south-west Vic); we have been getting 10-20mm of rain each week for the last 6-7 weeks. Snagged 20mm last week. We couldn't get grass to burn if we wanted down here at the moment, but we will have huge fuel loads later this summer. Marcus.
Marcus you're only telling me this to make me jealous, it worked On a serious note, yes today the conditions have deteriorated and have been cleaning gutters of leaves, set up a soaker hose on top of the roof as we are in the zone apparently. We are discussing whether to evacuate ourselves tonight or stay. Pete
Thanks. I'm in southern NSW and the current fires are in the northern half. That will change eventually as all predictions are for a horror summer. I volunteer with a group that run the evacuation centres are we are on standby to head up and relieve the locals. Here's an article that gives a good summary. My uncle and cousin are the father & son team pictured. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ring-fire-Map-shows-areas-risk-bushfires.html
dhv, That is a very in-depth article. Mate if you end up in or near Coffs Harbour, the beer is in the fridge and is cold. Pete
Thanks for all your answers and the article! We get reports on every news broadcast on TV up here in Sweden now but the article was very interesting and tragic at the same time. I hope conditions will improve very soon and I do hope all our Mates (and Sheilas!) in NSW will stay safe!! Jim
Can report an improvement in the fire danger in the Southern Ranges of NSW. Further north along the coast still looks very grim. This website gives an overview of the fire situation that the Rural Fire Service is attending to. See "Rural Fire Service NSW" "fires near me" Very dry here just outside of Canberra...
We are off to man an evacuation centre in Braidwood tomorrow. The road down from here as been closed several times over the course of the week. We had 6 fires within 100k of us this week, luckily all heading away from us for now.
All of our friends in AU are in our prayers. Wild fires are a terrible thing. Where I live in Florida we do get them but the authorities try to keep them from happening by doing controlled burns around the area. rick
Hey all our Aussie friends!! Still thinking about you all! Seems it’s gone from bad to much worse in some areas. Keep safe and let’s hope there will be some rain soon!! Jim
Thanks Jim, Today is a bad day in my local area (Southern Highlands). But we've done all we can to prepare, so just got to wait and see how it pans out. My thoughts are with those who have been recently injured or killed fighting these fires, and those who have lost or are losing homes today. Terrible just before Xmas. Piper
Thanks mate, The forecast is no meaningful rain until March, and our firies are saying that nothing short of sustained rain will fully extinguish many of the current fires. Scary thing is, we don't normally get bad conditions until late Jan or Feb. Like Piper235b says, you do you best and let fate take it's course. Aussies, especially non urban Aussies, are a resilient bunch.
Quick update. It's not getting any better any time soon. Mass evacuations today over areas larger than many European countries. Whole towns being abandoned. Volunteer firefighters are still in there swinging. They have balls the size of water melons those blokes. I was listing to radio comms with a Canadian helicopter that was helping out today. Needed to refuel at the showground near me. Not enough fuel in the tank to get to the main service base 29k away. Talk about cutting it fine. If any locals are in the shit, put your hand up.
Today is predicted to be catastrophic for the NSW eastern seaboard and eastern Victoria. The maps above show where the fires are currently burning. Marcus
Doesn't look like our mates are making any progress toward getting the fires under control or at least contained. All we can do is pray for a miracle. rick
