I am through other means, in regular contact with Andrew. His property & family have come under threat on numerous occasions however, they remain safe & well prepared.
I'm sure all of you wish him & the many others at similar risk the very best & hope that they all remain safe.
Alex on the otherhand, I have not been able to contact as the only alternative method I have is like many of you via IIS email which still works despite his temporary suspension. I have not yet had a response from Alex so, like many of you I hope he is safe & well...
Good news about RB and amazing that he has the energy and dedication to attend to his IIS duties. From the sound of it his life has been very busy and very disrupted.
I'm also concerned about Alex. I know he was banned for being too naughty too often, and fair enough, but it would be nice to know that he is safe. From the look of the RFS map, I'm guessing that the fires stayed south of his place.
Are there any other members in danger or who have had close calls? [There are one or two people on the forum who I wish would spontaneously combust but I care about the rest of you.]
Alex definitely stimulated IIS with his posts , images and encouraging comments
Things have been quieter since his absence
I too hope he is safe and well either in Sydney or up at Tabby
I have been in semi-regular contact with Alex and believe he is fine. But to be sure I have sent him a text message this afternoon to check in. When I hear back I will report.
I have heard back from Alex. He is exceptionslly well and has been very busy with a variety of projects. He completed a rain water gathering and storage system for his van. He has completed his observatory and installed both mounts. The smoke has been very bad so no use of the equipment yet. There is a bad fire northwest of his place but it is now under control. He wishes everyine at Iceinspace a Merry Christmas.
If I get in trouble for relaying those wishes, so be it.
I have heard back from Alex. He is exceptionslly well and has been very busy with a variety of projects. He completed a rain water gathering and storage system for his van. He has completed his observatory and installed both mounts. The smoke has been very bad so no use of the equipment yet. There is a bad fire northwest of his place but it is now under control. He wishes everyine at Iceinspace a Merry Christmas.
If I get in trouble for relaying those wishes, so be it.
Thank you everyone.
I've been very touched by everyone's concerns.
Posts and threads on IIS, emails, Pm's, calls and TXT.
It's been a very difficult last few weeks.
My family and I have been preparing for this fire now for a month or so.
Watching it grow and heading our way, we've been preparing the property as best we could.
RFS have been magnificent, not only for protecting the properties and fighting the fires but also their constant updates and community meetings they conduct, informing the residents on how to prepare.
This is the third bushfire that we've faced, the first being the '94 fires.
We've learnt a lot since then.
Our preparations for this one have been extensive and as I said, we've been preparing for over this last month now.
The first front approached on the 5th Dec, through the night and it was quite scary to watch as it approached from three different directions.
Our property was directly under threat and soon the power went out so we had to rely on generator power.
We managed to stop the fire on our boundaries, all the family members were helping, using our fire fighting pumps with water tanks, wet towels, anything we could use.
Biggest danger as it approached were the ember attacks at first, as they travel so far.
Eventually, the fronts were here and it was around 4am when the peak activity happened.
The RFS was magnificent as they kept fighting to protect the area.
They were very grateful too that we were so well prepared to stay and defend our property.
Obviously we would have evacuated if they asked us to.
The fires continued to be a major threat for the following week and the area was closed by the RFS, only residents allowed to leave if they chose to do so.
We got to know a few of the RFS crews as they were constantly on patrol.
making them coffee and offering food and drinks, which was the least we could do for them.
The danger has subsided for us atm but it could change quite quickly and we're still on high alert.
As you can imagine the smoke's been very bad at times and only now has it abated a little.
Weather conditions are set to deteriorate again this week so we're bracing again.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone once again for their concerns, for the threads started on here and for the updates people have given out on IIS.
I do hope everyone stays safe and I 'm glad to hear that others in the affected areas are also safe.
Thanks Andrew,
All he best to you and your family and friends and neighbours
at this trying time.
Fingers and toes crossed for a good outcome for you all.
Stay safe and you're always in my thoughts.
Cheers
Thanks for the update Andrew. Keep safe my dear friend.
Thank you Mr Costanza.
Quote:
Originally Posted by astroron
Thanks Andrew,
All he best to you and your family and friends and neighbours
at this trying time.
Fingers and toes crossed for a good outcome for you all.
Stay safe and you're always in my thoughts.
Cheers
Much appreciated Ron.
Cheers mate
Quote:
Originally Posted by gary
Hi Andrew,
Mai and I are glad to hear you and the family are safe.
I was particularly concerned on the 5th and could see at best it was going to
be a close call.
Thank you so much Gary, please say hi to Mai for me.
Thank you also for your initial thread too, I did see it and all the people that replied to that one.
Part of the preparation over this last month was to move a lot of our belongings off the property and into storage.
Once the danger is over we’ll start to bring things back.
Great opportunity to finally clean up the office.
