A Day Of Devastation

Tamtarn · #1 08-02-2009, 10:29 AM

Yesterday was a day of devastation here in the Yarra Valley area.

Although we are 16Kms from the fires it was an unbelievable sight. The temp was approx 45degrees accompanied by a howling north wind.

The fires travelled so quickly that residents had no time to prepare and activate their fire plans.
The fire at Kilmore East swept 50Kms through Wandong the outskirts of Whittlesea on to Kinglake which turned into a hell fire. The town is basically destroyed and there have been some fatalities and many people badly burned.

The sky was filled with orange and black plumes of smoke which shortly blocked the red fireball which was the sun. Burnt leaves and bark were falling from the sky on to our property luckily they were not hot as they had probably blown 20-30kms.

The fire then spotted to Yarra Glen and Healesville. At approx 7.30pm the cool change arrived with even more horrific wind from the South West. We stood at the front of our property looking at the ranges across the valley. Dark orange and black smoke swirling kilometers into the sky thunder overhead lightning strikes at the back of the mountains we knew this meant more fires.

After approx half an hour the smoke had cleared and we could then see the huge red glow coming from behind the mountains.

We stayed up until about 3.30am and the temperature had dropped to 23degrees and things were calm once again.

This morning we hear that the townships of Taggerty and Narbethong are gone and 80% of Marysville. Reports that 25 people have been confirmed dead at this stage and over 100 homes have been destroyed across Victoria these figures are expected to rise.

As mentioned we were quit a distance from the fires and it was terrifying to watch we can't imagine what the people in the line of fire went through it must have been horrific.

This morning it is cool and calm but there are still fires out of control in the area. We hope the extraordinary firefighters can get things under control over the next few days.

Our thoughts go out to all who have lost loved ones and property.

Barb and David

iceman (Mike) · #2 08-02-2009, 10:35 AM

I've been watching the news reports all morning - just devastating.

Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by these terrible fires.

Thanks for your report, Barb and Dave. I'm glad to hear you're ok.

JethroB76 (Jeff) · #3 08-02-2009, 10:37 AM

Unbelievable scenes and a shocking loss of life.

All this and we still have people deliberately lighting fires

rogerg (Roger) · #4 08-02-2009, 10:38 AM

It is devastating. I just read the news about it, had no idea it was happenning until then. Really sad. So many houses, businesses and lives

renormalised (Carl) · #5 08-02-2009, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JethroB76

Unbelievable scenes and a shocking loss of life.

All this and we still have people deliberately lighting fires

Yes, unbelievable.

These idiots that are lighting fires....if their actions in any way contributed to the deaths of people, I would like to see them get charged with murder and thrown in jail for life.

Hagar (Doug) · #6 08-02-2009, 10:40 AM

Yes the situation is dire for Victoria. Living in Mt beauty now for about 12 years I have seen the entire area burn in both 2003 and 2006 and again now we have fires burning in the Alpine National Park above the town and in the Kancoona area behind the town.
The ash and burnt leaves and bark falling from the sky is a grim reminder of the devestation areas like Kinglake are going through at the moment. The temprature here has already past the 35 degree mark with little prospects of the tempratures dropping.

My heart goes out to the communities devastated in these fires and to the families who have lost everything and in some cases everyone they love.

Hopefully therain reported as falling over the Ballarat area will extend over the state and assist our hero fire fighters.

We must also remember the plight of the communities in Northern Queensland who are under flood conditions at the moment.

RB (Andrew) · #7 08-02-2009, 10:46 AM

Barb and David, our thoughts are with you and with all who are affected.
Glad to hear you are safe, please take care.

I just can't fathom the mentality of people who go around doing this deliberately.
We too have a major fire burning in the area.

Our thoughts also to all affected by floods in North Queensland.

gary · #8 08-02-2009, 10:53 AM

Hi Barb & David,

Thanks for the first-hand report after what has clearly been a long night for you.

We've been closely watching developments in Victoria over the last 24 hours
and it is tragic & devastating to see what has transpired. Such large loss of
life has come as a shock to us all.

Good luck to all those around the country facing the threat of fire today.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Mt. Kuring-Gai, NSW

gary · #9 08-02-2009, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RB

Barb and David, our thoughts are with you and with all who are affected.
Glad to hear you are safe, please take care.

I just can't fathom the mentality of people who go around doing this deliberately.
We too have a major fire burning in the area.

Our thoughts also to all affected by floods in North Queensland.

Hi Andrew,

How are you going up your way and has the Peats Ridge fire posed any
direct problem for you?

Best regards

Gary

Stuart78 (Stuart) · #10 08-02-2009, 11:01 AM

We are in the Gippsland area, have been up all night defending inlaws property it got within a couple of k's i have never seen anything like it in my lifetime, Traralgon south and areas in callignee which i was also assisting in last night have been devastated, worst thing i have haver seen, they are still finding loss of life in these areas also this morning, my heart goes out to their families and loved ones...

Stuart...

RB (Andrew) · #11 08-02-2009, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gary

Hi Andrew,

How are you going up your way and has the Peats Ridge fire posed any
direct problem for you?

Best regards

Gary

Gary, we could hear helicopters yesterday afternoon in the distance.
We're keeping an eye on reports and we're not in any immediate danger but as you know things can change so fast.

It was just so shocking to hear how many lives where lost in the other fires.

Our firefighters do such a magnificent job though, true heroes indeed.

Hope all is well with you as well.

Quark (Trevor) · #12 08-02-2009, 11:05 AM

This is apocalyptic in nature, sad and devastating don't quite cut it.

The loss of life, that will surely increase, the loss of property, lives destroyed. Whole families, whole communities.

All Australians feel this, our prayers are for all involved, those fighting the fires, rescuing the victims and treating the injured.

A very sad day for all Australians.

Deepest sympathy and regards to all affected.
Trevor

Ric · #13 08-02-2009, 11:08 AM

Hi Barb & Dave glad to hear you are both safe.

My thoughts are with you and everyone affected by these terrible fires.

Stay safe.

Liz · #14 08-02-2009, 11:29 AM

absolutely devastating news down in Victoria. As an ex Vic, I remember the Ash Wednesday Fires

Hope that all settles a bit today, though it looks like they are expecting more deaths

.

Glad to hear you guys OK, Barb and Dave. Some of our fellow IIS friends are bound to have lost their houses

.

from a very soggy Townsville

where it is still raining ... I am OK, but the guys up at Ingham are in for more floods, with more rain, esp in catchment area. I wish all you Vics the 150 mls I had in my guage this am (last 24 hrs).

Am under the flight path from Townsville to Ingham, and MANY planes going over, inclu some big army ones.

gary · #15 08-02-2009, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RB

Gary, we could hear helicopters yesterday afternoon in the distance.
We're keeping an eye on reports and we're not in any immediate danger but as you know things can change so fast.

It was just so shocking to hear how many lives where lost in the other fires.

Our firefighters do such a magnificent job though, true heroes indeed.

Hope all is well with you as well.

Hi Andrew,

Great to hear all is well. All well here in the Kuring-Gai Chase National Park
at the moment - 'touch wood'.

Indeed, very late last night we started reading the news coming out of Victoria
and we were absolutely shocked.

You only had to look at the scorched exteriors of some of the firetrucks down
in Victoria on the news reports to appreciate the enormous personal risk
the firefighters took.

Take care.

Gary

gary · #16 08-02-2009, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart78

We are in the Gippsland area, have been up all night defending inlaws property it got within a couple of k's i have never seen anything like it in my lifetime, Traralgon south and areas in callignee which i was also assisting in last night have been devastated, worst thing i have haver seen, they are still finding loss of life in these areas also this morning, my heart goes out to their families and loved ones...
Stuart...

Thanks for the report after such a demanding night.

We all wish you the very best of luck down there in Gippsland and go safely.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Mt. Kuring-Gai

Tamtarn · #17 08-02-2009, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart78

We are in the Gippsland area, have been up all night defending inlaws property it got within a couple of k's i have never seen anything like it in my lifetime, Traralgon south and areas in callignee which i was also assisting in last night have been devastated, worst thing i have haver seen, they are still finding loss of life in these areas also this morning, my heart goes out to their families and loved ones...
Stuart...

The reports from Gippsland are shocking as well. Good to hear you and your family were able to save the property. Stay safe today Stuart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liz

absolutely devastating news down in Victoria. As an ex Vic, I remember the Ash Wednesday Fires

Hope that all settles a bit today, though it looks like they are expecting more deaths

.

Glad to hear you guys OK, Barb and Dave. Some of our fellow IIS friends are bound to have lost their houses

.

from a very soggy Townsville

where it is still raining ... I am OK, but the guys up at Ingham are in for more floods, with more rain, esp in catchment area. I wish all you Vics the 150 mls I had in my guage this am (last 24 hrs).

Am under the flight path from Townsville to Ingham, and MANY planes going over, inclu some big army ones.

We would so love the Govt to build a pipeline from up north down to Victoria

We're in desperate need of water down here but nothing seems to be done. Water catchments down to about 32% now.

Liz that 150 mls wouldn't we just love it

h0ughy (David) · #18 08-02-2009, 12:05 PM

my thoughts go to those affected by this heatwave and firestorms. We are only just sampling what you guys down south have had for some time.

renormalised (Carl) · #19 08-02-2009, 12:12 PM

Problem with that idea is that we don't get wet seasons like this all the time and these flood waters are actually performing a service to the river systems and the coastal wetlands up here. You'd have no fisheries up here without the periodic floods. Not only that, how much do you want to pay for your water??. It'd be prohibitively expensive to put a pipeline in from up here to down your way.

danielsun · #20 08-02-2009, 01:22 PM

Barb and Dave ,I have been thinking about you guys, glad to hear that you are o.k. It's tragic news of all those affected, the scenes and story's on the news are truly horrific.