Have been absent for a week or so but with good reason. No matter where in the world you are you have probably seen news reports of the fires in Australia. For the last week we have been in the middle of it. Lucky that both children have been home, my 22 year old son who is in the Aus Army and 18 year old daughter who has just finished school. Most of last week was spent preparing our home in Adelong NSW and the parents farm at Batlow 20 miles away. We made the decision to let our business in Adelong burn if it came to it and try and defend the other properties.
Its a long story but everything is still standing at this stage and we havent lost any stock buildings or machinery. Over 80% of the farm is ash.
We have been part of the slip on brigade as we are know being called the 1 or 2% of the population that decided to stand and fight with what ever we had.
This article is a fairly accurate description of the last few days.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal ... 53pkr.html
I couldnt be prouder of the kids while 99% of the population fled they both chose to run towards danger driving 20miles to Batow do everything they could to save the farm and everything else we could. 12 properties along the 2 miles of road to the farm from town and 10 of them are still standing.
We had 2 of the other 11 neighbours make a stand with us and didnt see a official firefighter for almost 8 hrs.
Site seems to be OK. Load issue should be resolved now.
fires
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RanchRoper
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Re: fires
220, amidst so many terrible news reports I've been reading on the AUS fires, it was really great to get your encouraging report. And especially so with the almost unbelievable that 10 out of 12 properties are still there!
Congrats and well done to the members of the "Batlow Brigade." The best part in the news report was what the equipment officer stated: "...we didn't lose any lives, that's the main thing."
Do keep us posted in the days ahead. Lots of folk everywhere are praying for safety and recovery.
Continue to be safe.
PT7
P.S. I admit to being shocked by one devastating report about the animal life impacted, the particularly large numbers of koala bears lost on Kangaroo Island. Must be especially tough for veterinarians (or anyone) trying to help in such a tough situation.... AUS has really been hit so hard by these fires. Hard to believe.
Congrats and well done to the members of the "Batlow Brigade." The best part in the news report was what the equipment officer stated: "...we didn't lose any lives, that's the main thing."
Do keep us posted in the days ahead. Lots of folk everywhere are praying for safety and recovery.
Continue to be safe.
PT7
P.S. I admit to being shocked by one devastating report about the animal life impacted, the particularly large numbers of koala bears lost on Kangaroo Island. Must be especially tough for veterinarians (or anyone) trying to help in such a tough situation.... AUS has really been hit so hard by these fires. Hard to believe.
~Пока~
Re: fires
Glad you are safe and have seen many pictures of it on TV. The devastation to animals and man is beyond belief. Stay safe
Don't let the old man in
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fortyshooter
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Re: fires
Lot's of prayers and luck to you folks there and hope you all can save some of your properties. That is destruction beyond belief!
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cooperhawk
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Re: fires
I have been reading that several people have been arrested for starting the fires. Is that right? Was it a coordinated attack of some kind?
Retired FAA Air Traffic Control Supervisor
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VFW (Life Member), VVA (Life Member)
Legion (Life Member), NRA (Life Member)
U S Army Aviation 64-67, Vietnam MACV 65-66
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markiver54
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Re: fires
It is rather odd when you see the maps showing the locations of the fires. They are around the entire continent.cooperhawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 08, 2020 9:50 amI have been reading that several people have been arrested for starting the fires. Is that right? Was it a coordinated attack of some kind?
How could all of them be natural?
May you and your family stay safe 220!
I'm your Huckleberry
Re: fires
The fire we have been in the middle of is refereed to as the Dunns Road fire. It started just after Christmas from a lightening strike in a pine plantation about 10 miles west of us in Adelong. With all the plantation pine in the area we actually still have a network of fire towers manned 24/7 to spot fires. Trouble is we have been in a blanket of smoke from the fires further north for over a month with visibility down to as little as 1/4 mile some days. The day it was spotted it went from 50 to 100 to 500 acres in a couple of hours and grew to a few thousand over the next couple of days while they threw everything at it trying to contain it.
We had a couple of shocking days last week temperature around 110 humidity below 10% and strong winds. The fire jumped containment lines and took a massive run. Grew to around 75,000 acres in a day. Only a few miles wide but but over 25 miles long stretching in a south east direction. Did the same the next day and was around 60miles long and a 1/4 million acres. Conditions eased and we had a monster sitting dormant until Saturday when we were back to temps over 100 low humidity and westerly winds gusting to over 60mph. It took another massive run only this time it wasnt a narrow finger of fire but a front over 60miles long that was on the move. It is now approaching a million acres in size.
The trouble is it is just so dry, we have been in drought for a couple of years with some places receiving as little as 25% of their annual rainfall. The country is a tinderbox waiting to explode.
The Rural Fire Service is a voluntary organisation and brigades will and do travel 1000 miles to help but have been doing so for 3 months as the fires spread from the north to the south of the country as summer really started to bite. Everyone is just exhausted. We have had a succession of goverments who have pandered to enviromental groups. Fire trails that allowed access to remote ares to get to fires when small and allow controlled burning to reduce fuel loads in autumn winter and spring have been closed and abandoned. Even the most minor reduction burn of a few acres now requires a enviromental impact assessment before it can be carried out. In the old days the local fire captain would decide fuel loads were getting a bit high around town organise a burn at the pub on a friday night and carry it out the next day if conditions were suitable. Now it takes a mountain of paper work, offical approval and takes weeks. they day approved might not be suitable so the whole process needs to be repeated.
The forestry budget has been stripped to the bone, so they dont have the manpower or resources to do what is needed. Many of the pine plantations are under grown with scrub and blackberries 10-15 feet tall covering 1000's of acres, just a tinder box waiting to explode.
The animal loss has just been horiffic, the speed size and intensity of these fires so great that nothing can get out of the way, I have seen very little live wildlife around the farm, one wallably and a couple of kangaroos although birdlife seems to be doing well. Found a mature Sambar stag burnt the poor thing was less than 50y east of the creek, the western side of the creek only burnt in small pockets and 150y away was a break pushed through open pasture that didnt burn. Some of the livestock losses are horrendous, one place up the road has lost 800 head, there were over 200 cattle on the road dead where they hit fences pilled up and went over trying to escape the fire.
Things arent over for us yet, conditions are expected to get worse tomorrow and Adelong will again be under threat. These fires will only be stopped when they burn themselves out or we get 4" of rain. There is no rain in the near future and still millions of acres to the east of us unburnt.
We had a couple of shocking days last week temperature around 110 humidity below 10% and strong winds. The fire jumped containment lines and took a massive run. Grew to around 75,000 acres in a day. Only a few miles wide but but over 25 miles long stretching in a south east direction. Did the same the next day and was around 60miles long and a 1/4 million acres. Conditions eased and we had a monster sitting dormant until Saturday when we were back to temps over 100 low humidity and westerly winds gusting to over 60mph. It took another massive run only this time it wasnt a narrow finger of fire but a front over 60miles long that was on the move. It is now approaching a million acres in size.
The trouble is it is just so dry, we have been in drought for a couple of years with some places receiving as little as 25% of their annual rainfall. The country is a tinderbox waiting to explode.
The Rural Fire Service is a voluntary organisation and brigades will and do travel 1000 miles to help but have been doing so for 3 months as the fires spread from the north to the south of the country as summer really started to bite. Everyone is just exhausted. We have had a succession of goverments who have pandered to enviromental groups. Fire trails that allowed access to remote ares to get to fires when small and allow controlled burning to reduce fuel loads in autumn winter and spring have been closed and abandoned. Even the most minor reduction burn of a few acres now requires a enviromental impact assessment before it can be carried out. In the old days the local fire captain would decide fuel loads were getting a bit high around town organise a burn at the pub on a friday night and carry it out the next day if conditions were suitable. Now it takes a mountain of paper work, offical approval and takes weeks. they day approved might not be suitable so the whole process needs to be repeated.
The forestry budget has been stripped to the bone, so they dont have the manpower or resources to do what is needed. Many of the pine plantations are under grown with scrub and blackberries 10-15 feet tall covering 1000's of acres, just a tinder box waiting to explode.
The animal loss has just been horiffic, the speed size and intensity of these fires so great that nothing can get out of the way, I have seen very little live wildlife around the farm, one wallably and a couple of kangaroos although birdlife seems to be doing well. Found a mature Sambar stag burnt the poor thing was less than 50y east of the creek, the western side of the creek only burnt in small pockets and 150y away was a break pushed through open pasture that didnt burn. Some of the livestock losses are horrendous, one place up the road has lost 800 head, there were over 200 cattle on the road dead where they hit fences pilled up and went over trying to escape the fire.
Things arent over for us yet, conditions are expected to get worse tomorrow and Adelong will again be under threat. These fires will only be stopped when they burn themselves out or we get 4" of rain. There is no rain in the near future and still millions of acres to the east of us unburnt.
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Shakey Jake
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Re: fires
Yes, the news has been covering the fires. Absolute shame. Much loss of property and life. Hoping that Australia gets some rain relief soon. Take care!
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JEBar
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Re: fires
not long ago you posted a thread about your son driving home .... in it you mentioned :
part of the news coverage we've seen has mentioned large numbers of various types of animals being wiped out by the fire .... have you heard any related assessments from local authorities as to what the animal populations will be after the fires
Re: fires
JEBar wrote: ↑Wed Jan 08, 2020 7:29 pmnot long ago you posted a thread about your son driving home .... in it you mentioned :
part of the news coverage we've seen has mentioned large numbers of various types of animals being wiped out by the fire .... have you heard any related assessments from local authorities as to what the animal populations will be after the fires
No idea at this stage, almost all of the country he was driving through has been uneffected by fire so will be very little change out there. I am sure they will all rebound if they havent been entirely wiped out but how long that will take is anyones guess.
Re: fires
Just after midnight and the fire has taken off in multiple ditterctions fanned by wind gust approaching 60mph this evening
Had a break out south east of Adelong where our home is. Was running straight at town until winds dropped and crews managed to contain it.
Last Saturday they managed to save town with multiple passes of a 737 dropping retardant and steer the fire around town. No air support in the dark and it was people on the ground who did the work.
Had a break out south east of Adelong where our home is. Was running straight at town until winds dropped and crews managed to contain it.
Last Saturday they managed to save town with multiple passes of a 737 dropping retardant and steer the fire around town. No air support in the dark and it was people on the ground who did the work.
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JEBar
- Town Marshal / Deputy Admin
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Re: fires
1.5 million acres .... that's beyond my ability to visualize .... the only good news I can think if is once the fire passes through it probably doesn't leave sufficient unburned fuel for another fire .... please stay safe