Wildfires Kill Dozens In Australia

Gale Force Winds, High Temperatures Drive Country's Worst Wildfire Disaster In A Quarter Century

(AP)  Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing scores of homes, forests and farmland in the country's worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century. At least 35 people died and the toll could rise further, police said Sunday.

Witnesses described seeing trees exploding and skies raining ash as temperatures hit a record 117 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday and combined with raging winds to create perfect conditions for uncontrollable blazes.

"Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters as he toured the fire zone.

Police said they believed the deaths included groups of people whose charred bodies were found in cars, suggesting families or groups of friends were engulfed in flames as they tried to flee. One official said an entire town had been razed, save for one building, though no deaths were reported there.

Police said Sunday they were still trying to confirm details of the deaths and were still trying to get investigative teams into the fire-scarred zone.

But Sarah Campbell, a spokeswoman for police in Victoria state where the fires roared, said 35 people were confirmed dead at a dozen locations north and east of the state capital, Melbourne. At least 18 people were hospitalized with burns.

Conditions in Victoria eased Sunday, but several major fires were still posing a threat and state Premier John Brumby said troops would be deployed to help thousands of exhausted volunteer firefighters battle on.

The fires were so massive they were visible from space Saturday. NASA released satellite photographs showing a white cloud of smoke across southeastern Australia.

Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said police suspected some of the fires were set deliberately, and predicted it would take days to get all the blazes under control.

The largest of about a dozen big fires in Victoria ripped unchecked across at least 115 square miles (30,000 hectares) of forests, farmland and towns about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Melbourne.

"The whole township is pretty much on fire," Peter Mitchell, a resident of the town of Kinglake, where at least six people died in the same car, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio during the inferno. "There was no time to do anything. ... It came through in minutes."

Marysville, a former goldrush town of about 800 people at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges north of Melbourne, 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Melbourne, was almost completely gone, a local lawmaker said. Media reports said residents fled to a football field to escape the flames.

"Marysville — I understand, there's only one building left in the town," said federal parliamentarian Fran Bailey.

"It's been, I think, the worst day in our history," said Brumby, whose parents' house was among those saved by firefighters Saturday.

Forecasters said temperatures would only reach about 77 F (25 C) on Sunday around Melbourne, but along with cooler conditions came wind changes that could push fires in unpredictable directions.

On Saturday, steel-gray smoke clogged the air and flames roared to two-story heights, while homes and businesses burned. At least one fire truck was charred, though the crew escaped injury and went on to rejoin the fight, officials said.

In the town of Taralgon, resident Lindy McPhee watched in fear as a fire front edged closer to the town until rain began falling late Saturday.

"It's raining black soot," McPhee told Sky News television.

In nearby Wittlesea, organizer Sally Tregae described feeling terror as the fire approached.

"I saw trees explode in front of me," she said. "It's a horrible thing, and a horrible thing to see."

Rudd said he was "absolutely horrified" by the disaster and promised blankets for victims in the near term and money for them later.

Victoria's Country Fire Authority deputy chief Greg Esnouf said Saturday's conditions were "off the scale" in terms of danger.

In New South Wales state, police detained and questioned a man in connection with a blaze but released him without charge.

Fires were also burning on Sunday north of Sydney in New South Wales and in South Australia. No properties were immediately being threatened.

Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Government research shows that about half of the 60,000 fires on average each year are deliberately lit or suspicious. Lightning strikes and human activity such as use of machinery near dry brush cause the others.

Australia's deadliest fires were in 1983, when blazes killed 75 people and razed more than 3,000 homes in Victoria and South Australia.

[ausus-2009]

PythonCharly,

hkl47cats is right. There is no Haliburton connection. Are you talking about the SES, an organisation made up of local volunteers and metropolitan bureaucrats? The CFA, an organization also controlled from Melbourne?

If there is a problem, it is that those in control of these bodies are based in Melbourne and have no real understanding of the rural situation.

[hkl47cats]

Sorry PythonCharly, that is incorrect. Australia does not have a "FEMA" equivalent. And as much as the former government would have liked to suck up to Bush and his cronies, its network of State managed emergency response agencies has always worked at levels of efficiency, effectiveness, and cooperation that FEMA and Halliburton could only dream about. If anything, the Aussies would be training FEMA.

[hkl47cats]

Sorry PythonCharly, that is incorrect. Australia does not have a "FEMA" equivalent. And as much as the former government would have liked to suck up to Bush and his cronies, its network of State managed emergency response agencies has always worked at levels of efficiency, effectiveness, and cooperation that FEMA and Halliburton could only dream about. If anything, the Aussies would be training FEMA.

[creeper00]

My heart goes out to Australians who are facing these fires. May rain come soon.

What is the vegetation there that burns so well? Are there high-oil-content shrubs and trees? Looking at pictures it''s striking how quickly and how hot things burn.

May I point out that "global warming" is a misnomer. "Global climate change" is the accurate term.

[michael886]

some of the fire are 20 minute from were i grew up and i grew up in the suburbs no bush in sight

[michael886]

like i said two years ago in our summer it snowed melbournes waether is always one extreme to the other

we dont get alot of thunderstormes whoever asked sorry there was one time i remeber once that there was a flash of lightning every second over night but there was no thunder it was like a strobe light

the places wherer the fires are are normaly the wet spots but because of our heat strak last week its had dryed out everything and the ground was still warm which meant on a hot day the bark might just combusts

it was about 3 years ago we had fires and i rember everywhere was covered in smoke and it was all you could smell these because of the winds has pushed most of the smoke up so we havent had alot of it around and it has started to rain again

ill ever have to wear a jumper today its a bit cold

[michael886]

86 now deceased weather for today will be quitew cold not much rain yet queensland it flooded give us some not to much wind hopefully we can try and get on top of things

[gaye5]

rheola and panache26, so you live in Australia also...
I must be tired also, as I said, strange country that I love in, but I meant live in, and yes I love it.. We came here from NZ, and will never go back..

[gaye5]

No tonight which is ahead of you guys by many hrs there is now 85, and at the top end of the country some die from massive floods.. strange country that I love in...
Luckily we are in Brisbane and as yet we are fine..
Many of the fires were lit by people, so far they have caught two of them, one being a fireman himself. They should be charged with mass murder...
What makes a person set out to destroy the lives of people like this.. it was horrifying..

[panache26-2009]

Update:

Death toll 9:35pm now 86

[panache26-2009]

Just confirmed at 9:30pm Melbourne time that former Channel Nine Newsreader in Melbourne Bryan Naylor was found dead

[panache26-2009]

Lastest news, as at 8:45pm Melbourne time.

76 Dead - prediction 100+ deaths once they get into the affected areas.
700 houses destroyed
A number critically ill with severe burns not expected to live over night.

Town north of Beechworth in the north of the state surrounded

Former channel nine (Melbourne) news reader''s wife confirmed one of the dead (For those who knw - Bryan Naylor)

This has been confirmed as the worst Bushfire in Victoria''s history (EVER!!) Even worse than Ash Wednesday in 1983

I am listening to news radio 3AW - Melbourne it is streaming on the web and they are reporting all through the night here in Melbourne

[usanative1]

Good luck with your fires and check your nieghbors and friends .

[rheola-2009]

I will answer your queries about Perth at another time

Have a good night.

[rheola-2009]

Erasmus.

Shouldn''t you be in bed, surely it has passed midnight in Vancouver.

No the speed of the fire was at times up around 100kmh which I think is about 65 mph.
There has been an enormous loss of cattle, and yes the recovery time for the farmers will be at least 12 myhs, when you consider they have to replace everything, shedding, machinery, fences, houses, animals and pasture.
What you will not realise, some of these people in Gippsland were burnt out just 12 mths ago, but only a small number.

The authorities have not yet got into Marysville, the losses there are going to be high.

Also they have just arrested and charged a 31 year old with lighting a fire which caused considerable damage at Peats ridge here in N.S.W. yesterday

The floods in Ingham which is approx 1000 miles north of here have been particuarly bad, e.g days of rain of between 4 and 10 inches a day, and today the rain has begun all over again, even though the previous floods have not gone down.

About time you went to bed.

Have a good night.

All the best

[erasmus606]

I can see my spelling and grammar are getting bad, time for bed!

Good night Rheola!

[erasmus606]

"Hope you get this in time, begins in 7 mins at 7.00 pm our time."

Posted by rheola at 02:53 AM : Feb 08, 2009

I was thinking that you were 17 hours ahead of me, but you are 19 hours ahead.

Just before I got your message to go to that news site, I was checking out pictures of Wyoming and Perth. They were breathtaking. I can see I am going to have to do some travelling before I die.:)

There are some strange looking flowers in Perth.:) Like that "Flower Power". Also I noticed that Pirate Ship called "The Duyfken". Actually I think there is 3 of them, isn''t there? A.J. would love that!

[erasmus606]

"and kept *** it up."

Posted by erasmus606 at 03:54 AM : Feb 08, 2009

Geez. That should say, "and kept s-c-r-e-w-ing it up".

[erasmus606]

erasmus.

If you go to
www,abc.net.au
our national broadcaster is doing a half hour special news which will be streamed live.

Hope you get this in time, begins in 7 mins at 7.00 pm our time.

Posted by rheola at 02:53 AM : Feb 08, 2009

I went to this site earlier, but this time I was having a hard time getting it. I think it was because I was hurrying and kept *** it up.

That fire is unbelieveable! I thought I heard one guy say something about the fire moving 100 miles an hour. Is that right? No one would have a chance to get out of the way. And they were saying that the ranches or farms would take up to a year to get going again. I''m surprised they got all the cattle out. Mind you I guess some probably didn''t.

And then after that, it showed all the flooding in that Ingam? And the people are still in their homes!

It''s really devastating.

The biggest fire has already burnt an area of about 350 square miles with another 450 square miles endangered. The total area burnt so far in Victoria and New South Wales exceeds 1200 square miles (about the same area as the state of Rhode Island)