Frightening start to the new year!

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Hi,

Hope your newyear is less eventful than mine.
After a nice night out and relaxing new years day, at least for a while.

A bush fire broke out mid afternoon, just 2kms west of my property.
To say I'm a little worried is an understatement!
It's still going with helitankers dropping water as I write this, and the forecast for the next 5 days are for temeratures 100 degrees plus, low humidity and the possibility of gusty wind changes.

At the moment the wind is from the east, so a little breather.

Justin.

[Kunama]

Hello Justin, hopefully all is well and the RFS have it under control soon.
It is always a worry living out of town, I spent this morning brushcutting to reduce the risks but you never know.
Unfortunately my neighbours think metre high grass is all the rage.

Cheers for a safe New Year,

[Varangian]

Too close for comfort are you leaving the property while you have the chance? I would seriously considering grabbing my personals and beating a hasty retreat. Best to be sure if there is any danger your property is in the firing line.

Best wishes.

[RickS]

Hope the fire is out soon, Justin. Good luck!

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Yes keeping my finers crossed!

I think we all have a neighbour with high grass, the paddock behind us is metre high and 20 acres. By law they only have to cut a 20 ft wide fire break, worse that uselese!!



Plans are in place, have a dedicated fire pump, spinklers on the roof and spent all morning doing extra clearing around the property. Fortunately there's more than on road to exit from if need be.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Thanks Rick!

Appears to be back under control, hope it stays that way!

[Forgey]

Stay safe Justin. Firefighters do a awesome job day after day to try keep us safe. Hope they get it under control soon.

[scagman]

Hi Justin take care, i hope the wind doesn't pick up and they can get it out.
I would have the sprinklers running, wetting everything around the place and throw some balls/rags in the gutters to block them so they fill up/overflow. make sure the pump is easy to get to and restart incase it stops running due to lack of oxygen. Diesel is better in this regard.
You probable now all this already but just thought I'd say it just in case.

All the best.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Thanks Paula!

Yes our CFS does o wonderful job, they will be posted at this fire for at least the next 4 days.



Thanks John!

Everything is working and in place, our biggest worry is friday, temp of 41 celsius 6 percent humidity and winds gusting from the north west at 55kms per hour. This puts us right in the line of fire, especially from ember attacks.

Thanks,

Justin.

[slowflow]

That's a remote part of the state, hope the weatherman is wrong. Best of luck.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Thanks Barry!

Unfortunately the weatherman is right, and the wind is really picking up. All plans in place now, nothing to do but wait.

Thanks,

Justin.

[Ric]

The worst part is the waiting Justin, hope it all goes well for you.

We are all on standby for the next week as well in case anything happens.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Thanks Ric!

The waiting is the worst, but it looks like we have survived this round, thanks to the efforts of our CFS volunteers!

Some 25 fire units atteneded the fire today, and the status of the fire has been down graded to controlled, which means that there is unlikely to be any out breaks from the edge of the fire ground.

Of course this may change as temps are going to be in the high 30's to low 40's all next week.

There certainly is a trade off for the clear skies I enjoy living in a high fire risk area.

Cheers,

Justin.