Terrible fires in Victoria, Australia

Please everyone send your thoughts and prayers to those in affected areas of Victoria where bush fires are out of control, they need all the help they can get.. 700 houses gone and 68 confirmed dead at last count, both are expected to rise considerably as fire fighters make their way into burnt down towns.. Entire towns have been burnt to the ground.. Families found dead in their cars as they tried to out run the flames.. this is very bad.. I've never heard anything like it before.. Extremely high winds mixed with temps in the high 40's (around 120F) and dry vegetation, it's never ending... This is very sad, I'm in tears watching it on TV and I know some people who have lost family and friends in this fire already.

If you pray then please pray for the people of Victoria and send your thoughts this way.


http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/744864/worst-day-in-history-vic-fires-kill-14
*numbers have risen since this was posted*

watchin in the news & prayin...

That is terrible... I had heard of the Black Friday blaze from the 30s but it's so shocking when natural disasters like fire happen in the modern age. Sending thoughts and hope to Australia...

Thinkin' of those gone and those hurtin from these fires

It's good to hear that Pete and Kid are doing okay... hope it stays that way.

Sending thoughts and prayers to those affected by this disaster,
hrg

this is so terrible, yes I hope you kid, andi, pete, rene and any other 'kiwis' on this board are alright!

84 killed

new video, yes I remember you saying earlier kid that the heat wave is bad over there right now:

Heat wave and fire

prayers are being said

thank you very much for this thread

Kelley

It's insane!!!! Floods in Queensland & Northern Territory and Bush Fires in Victoria!!! I haven't heard but I hope to God that the fires weren't deliberately lit. While my thoughts and prayers are with those who are dealing with this incredible devastation, I'm very thankful that Saturday just gone (100+F and severely windy) was a safe day in South Australia.

René

the latest, it is now past 100 dead and may burn for days on end:




hell on earth

and more:

the latest

Latest toll count and News story: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/744864/at-least-93-dead-in-victorian-bushfires

"The Greatest natural disaster in Australia's history"



Pete, Rene, Andi and myself are not near the fires - if anything Andi and I are closer to the floods of the north than the fires of the south.. What a cruel irony, it's bucketing down up north and they need the rain to stop so their streets can go back to being streets again and not canals - but they need the rain down south to help put out the fires but they aren't getting any (or enough)..




(And for Kelly: People from New Zealand are called Kiwi's; People from Australia are called Awesome)

ooop's sorry about that!
I just thought I seen the word kiwi around here recently describing you guys

okay from now on, you guys are awesome then!

Kelley (with the extra 'e', lol)

We had to drive through a big bushfire at Peats Ridge up on the NSW Central Coast this weekend, it was like driving through a London Fog.
Fortunately not as bad as the terrible fires in Victoria and no lives lost.
It now turns out the fire was lit deliberately, Police have arrested a man for Arson, Hope they lock him up for 20 years!



(Kelley, you have never seen Australian people described as Kiwi's on this Forum, believe me if you had the Aussie contingent here would have had words to say, in fact calling an Aussie a Kiwi is a bit of an insult! Fair Dinkum!!! )

Shaker I read that apparently as fire fighters were putting fires out people were lighting the fires again!! WHAT THE EFF IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?!!

108 people have died with that number expected to rise - you can imagine the amount of livestock, dog, cats, horses and natural wildlife that has been wiped out, it's like the whole state of Victoria is burning! And to think that most of these fires have been deliberatly lit

Man, I just saw a man I know on TV crying... he hasn't heard from his wife and three children in 2 days.. his house has been burnt down and a neighbour has just told him that his wife was planning to go back to the house, which is now gone.. Her car is not at the home though so hopefully her and her children have found refuge somewhere.. That was so sad when I saw him crying, asking for help and information about his wife and children

Some people were actually lost driving home to save their pets. On the other side of the coin, I guy I work for who lives in Northern Territory drove to to Queensland over Christmas. Driving home due to the floods, he had to leave his car in Queensland and fly home. He still hasn't got his car yet as the roads were washed away.

This place has gone insane lately. There's no middle ground, floods, fires droughts, we got it all, well except the snow I guess.

These morons starting the fires need to be moved out to the dessert and left there where they can't do any harm. Life can be a pain in the ass enough without having to worry about some F Wit starting fires all over the place.

Between the fires to the south and floods to the north, I am feeling very thankful right now the only thing I'm dealing with is 31c/88F heat and 63% humidity. I'm so sorry for everyone who is having to deal with all of this. From the wildfires in California (that have now become practically an annual event) I know what it's like to worry that you're going to get a phone call saying that someone you love is in trouble.

Quote :

kid said: you can imagine the amount of livestock, dog, cats, horses and natural wildlife that has been wiped out

I read somewhere that the roadsides are littered with dead animals. The toll this is taking in human, animal and plant life as well as buildings, towns, infrastructure, cars- it's incredible. Some of the photos I've seen of these fires are absolutely terrifying.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Confirmed death toll is now 128.. this is expected to rise to 230!

Cristo wrote:

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

same from me,

It`s terrible what happens there.

Amazing.

that's a sweet pic, kid!

What amazes me about it is Koalas are actually pretty hard to see in the wild.. they're usually wayyy up in the trees and you can never see them/notice they're there at all.. and if you do see one walking around on the ground the moment it sees you it will run up a tree as fast as it can..

So this just shows that the worst of times brings everyone together.

Kid Setzer wrote:

What amazes me about it is Koalas are actually pretty hard to see in the wild.. they're usually wayyy up in the trees and you can never see them/notice they're there at all.. and if you do see one walking around on the ground the moment it sees you it will run up a tree as fast as it can..

So this just shows that the worst of times brings everyone together.

Especially since the firefighter is holding the koala's paw. Those things are razor sharp and can cut you like a hot knife through butter. I dread to think how many animals have died in this tragedy. I don't know if you guys know, it may have been said here already, but this is the worst tragedy in terms of life lost in Australia.

This whole thing sickens me to my stomach. I hope they find the bast**ds that started any of these fires and I really really hope they throw the book at these people. This kind of crap can not be tolerated in any society. Damn, I'm so angry!!!!!!!!!

Pissed Off Pony

I know that there are people going around and restarting the fires after they're put out, but did this all start naturally or did it begin as arson too?

andi wrote:

I know that there are people going around and restarting the fires after they're put out, but did this all start naturally or did it begin as arson too?

What I've heard or read is that some areas of the fire are being treated as crime scenes. I'm sure that some started naturally, but there's still around 30 fires burning which is a hell of a lot. I would not be surprised at all if some we arson.

Here's the latest reports:

"Police say they are closing in on several arsonists believed responsible for at least two Victorian blazes as the death toll from the disaster climbs to 173.

They have reportedly not ruled out the possibility the fires at Delburn and Churchill in the state's southeast were lit by the same people.

At least 21 people were killed in the Churchill fire and police have confirmed they are preparing photofits of the suspected firebugs."

POP

Here is a really amazing photographic account of these fires - warning there are some graphic photos of animals caught up in the disaster so steer clear of photos 35, 37, 42, 47, 80 and 123 if you don't want to see them..

http://tools.goldcoast.com.au//photo-gallery/photo_gallery_popup.php?category_id=3791&offset=1