Our friends from Australia

I was wondering if anyone has heard from our friends in Australia? I know we have quite a few Australians on this forum and frankly I have been worried about them. A lot of good folks there. I don't know if this is the right place to post this concern but I wanted to let them know if possible, that our prayers are going out for them and their families. It's just so heartbreaking. I'm sure I speak for others as well. It would sure be nice to hear if they are okay.

Sheron

I think most of us Aussies on this forum are lucky enough to live in areas that are not being directly impacted by the current fires, other than by the smoke. I live near Darwin, in the north (the 'Top End'), and Australia's north is now in its monsoon season so fire is not an issue here. We also had a bad 2019 fire season (July - November) due to unfavourable weather conditions, but nothing like what is happening in southern Australia. We in the Top End don't have such conflagrations partly because we are very enthusiastic hazard reduction burners, continuing the tradition of thousands of years of burning off (i.e. 'cleaning up') the bushland as soon as it dries enough after the monsoon season, to reduce the fuel load of the rampant, then cured, tropical grasses, and to maintain the open woodland character of much of the Top End bushland.

Pippan wrote in post #18991574
I think most of us Aussies on this forum are lucky enough to live in areas that are not being directly impacted by the current fires, other than by the smoke. I live near Darwin, in the north (the 'Top End'), and Australia's north is now in its monsoon season so fire is not an issue here. We also had a bad 2019 fire season (July - November) due to unfavourable weather conditions, but nothing like what is happening in southern Australia. We in the Top End don't have such conflagrations partly because we are very enthusiastic hazard reduction burners, continuing the tradition of thousands of years of burning off (i.e. 'cleaning up') the bushland as soon as it dries enough after the monsoon season, to reduce the fuel load of the rampant, then cured, tropical grasses, and to maintain the open woodland character of much of the Top End bushland.

Good to hear you all are doing okay. It has been heartbreaking watching the news to see the devastation and the loss of life. I think it was the N.Y.
Times that just had an article about the Indigenous Australians doing burn off to reduce the fuel. And you are finally getting some rain!
Glad to hear from you. Take care and be safe.

Sheron

There's one of our posters named Bear Dale who was affected due to the fires.
He posts to a local Australian bird forum and someone must have been keeping in touch during the fires.
That bloke shared some details Bear had asked to give out.
As it's on the Web I take it as okay to repeat here.
I've corresponded directly with Bear in past but not during fires as I knew he'd be in a predicament and didn't need my interference.

Below are a couple of extracts from that forum post and gives an idea of the ordeals others face.

Dear family & friends firstly let me say a big thank you for all your kindness and support.
Some of you will follow more of what I write than those overseas but I am sending this out to all as we still don't have telecommunications and I get 1 bar on my phone maybe once or twice a day for a minute or two and receive a lot of messages from you.

So I hope this message does reach you all. Can my model steam friends please pass this message on same as my photography friends to the boards, thanks.

This is now day 7 with no power, land line phones, mobile phones, Internet. Sewers overflowing, rotten garbage left from the evacuations. Our only access to the outside world is an old 1970s transistor radio I dug out of my shed and had some batteries for it. Roads still closed and still cut off. Getting tough to live after a week without power.

Radio says still possible a lot longer yet. But compared to all longer yet. But compared to all those that lost everything they own except the clothes on their backs its nothing.

New year's eve was indescribable the fire storm even though we had prepared ourselves was nothing that can be put in words, the flames, the heat, the smoke, the embers, the incredible noise it made. The wild animals on fire screaming, birds falling out of the sky. Around 90 houses completely gone. Three people know deceased. People drove their cars into the Lake to escape the flames and heat. Hundreds of cars have been incinerated.

Aluminium boats melted like wax. We would have lost our three family homes if we hadn't stayed and defended. But it's taken a toll on our health and lungs. Saturday was a repeat of new year's eve. 47 degrees 80klm winds and ember attacks from the West, then the nor'east, then the south. The forests are burnt beyond devastation, everywhere we look is traumatic. Roads still closed and Roads still closed and still cut off. For my o'seas friend January Lake Conjola swells from 300 permanent residents to around 5000 - 6000 with camping holiday makers. All of these people had to be evacuated by police in 50 car convoys to Nowra 80 klms to our north over a few days and nights but hwy being closed repeatedly most of these people sat frightened in their cars for up to 24 hours or more. To finish we are OK, house is full of Ash. Police escorted some trucks in yesterday with fresh food and water and has been passed out to the few residents remaining.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts sent through. So very much appreciated, will contact you all sometime in the future when things are better.

Second note from Bear

G’day all and thank you for the well wishes.

Still not great down here, road still closed to residents only. The army has put truck sized gennys at street corners and after 9 days we have power at Lake Conjola (not all streets in Conjola Park though), which is good, but makes us also very aware that 90 or so houses aren’t there for power to go to.

Incredible to have the internet and information, lived with an old battery tranny and that’s been pretty much our only contact with the outside world.

Mobile phones are still SOS or No Service, we haven’t heard when that will be fixed.

The garbage has finally been picked up after 15 days, they were full of Xmas foodstuffs and NYE foodstuffs and seafoods that never got to be eaten. And also the fridges and freezes full of rotten food, the bins were pretty ripe after that 47°+ day. Also the pump out sewers have been finally pumped out.

There’s a large semi type vehicle today that’s been brought in with hot showers and washing machines for the poor buggers that didn’t get hooked up to one of the army gennies.

There’s not a single tourist here, its eerily quiet. The residents that stayed all look pretty haggard, the ones that evacuated are dribbling back and I think the adrenaline that we have lived off has gone and the reality of the rebuilding problems that the area and the lake are in for in the future when we get rain and toxins get washed in are starting to sink in.

The devastation down here is seriously indescribable. I don’t know how much has been on the news as we just haven’t had any. Cops have been patrolling around a lot for looters, can you f#ck!ing believe that there are looters????

Hope all are well and looking forward to things improving.

Cheers,

I imagine this story can be repeated hundreds perhaps thousands of times?

Certainly heavily affects lives, many indirectly and severely so.

Thanks for that info Richard. I didn't know where Bear lived as he only puts Australia on his avatar. Paints a very grim picture that is being repeated over vast swathes of the south. And this devastating fire season is only half way through ...

Richard, Bear's report that you kindly forwarded is a horror story. Anything I could say would only be obvious.

The place name reveals his location: coastal New South Wales. Lake Conjola

For donations: Operation USA, a well-managed nonprofit, provides disaster relief around the world.

Thanks OhLook
The harsh reality is this goes right through and across community.

Farmers are suffering. If not burnt everything, then pasture (grass), stored hay, stock, machinery.
Then there's farmers that are "okay" but the milk tanker can't get there (roads blocked) to collect the milk so they just have to milk the cows and tip it on the ground.
When businesses, schools get burnt down the workers haven't a job. Some have homes but no jobs, others reverse.

Where all the skilled people to build the new houses in a timely manner will be is a problem I forsee.

Now they're worried about water supplies and toxic ash washing into the storage systems. It just goes on...

In the longer term, the recent destruction of forests will make such events even more likely everywhere. That's about all I can say here about that.