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Post by George61 on Dec 6, 2006 7:51:41 GMT 7
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Post by Lone Traveller on Dec 6, 2006 17:58:40 GMT 7
yikes! 
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Post by Lotus Eater on Dec 6, 2006 21:59:02 GMT 7
And I wonder how many of them were set by bloody idiots, careless smokers/campers and farmers doing unnecessary burn offs that got away?
Bet very few were from natural causes!
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Post by George61 on Dec 7, 2006 3:28:07 GMT 7
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Post by George61 on Dec 9, 2006 0:16:32 GMT 7
We have experienced a few fires over the years. Fighting them is no fun!!.....
"BLACK DAYS IN VICTORIA'S HISTORY
1939
Fires burned almost 2 million hectares between December 1938 and January 1939, and came to a head on January 13 — so-called Black Friday — when several outbreaks joined up "in a devastating confluence of flame" that swept across eastern Victoria, according to the subsequent official inquiry. Seventy-one people died, more than 650 buildings were razed and the township of Narbethong was destroyed. The fires came at the end of a long drought that had brought many towns to the brink of running dry while Melbourne endured severe water restrictions. Out of the ashes was born the Country Fire Authority, which has evolved into a volunteer fire-fighting force of more than 29,000.
1944
Fires burned throughout January and February in central Victoria and in the west, as well as around Morwell and Yallourn, killing 32 people, destroying 700 homes and more than 1 million head of livestock. People were quick to brand the summer as fierce as the one five years earlier that had led to "Black Friday". On January 14, with temperatures nearing 40 degrees, gale force north-easterly winds fanned a bayside fire that destroyed more than 50 homes in Beaumaris and Mentone, while the next day a huge grassfire swept through the Western District wiping out the towns of Derrinalum, Mount Bute and Berrybank. The season climaxed on February 14 when the Yallourn open cut coal mine caught fire, with 13 people killed.
1969
Torrid conditions prevailed on January 8 — 38 degrees, record low humidity and winds of up to 120 km/h. More than 230 fires broke out, many on Melbourne's urban fringe with the most destructive at Lara, about 50 kilometres south-west of the city. The fire started west of the town and raced across the plains and onto the Princes Highway. Eighteen people died when they left their vehicles and tried to outrun the fire. Other fires were fought at Warrandyte, Diamond Valley and Kangaroo Ground. The day's toll was 23 dead with 230 homes lost and 21 schools, churches and public halls destroyed. "Nature may have provided the conditions which made the flames uncontrollable," said The Age, "but in many cases man provided the spark."
1983
A significant day on the Christian calendar in February 1983 now marks one of the state's blackest bushfire events. The "Ash Wednesday" fires took 47 lives, destroyed more than 2000 houses and scarred vast tracts of Victoria. More than 180 blazes erupted on a day when the thermometer reached 44 degrees and gale-force northerlies fanned the state, left bone dry by one of the longest dry spells on record. Conditions were fierce: there had been several days of total fire ban during the summer and a week before an extraordinary dust storm had blanketed the capital, dumping thousands of tonnes of soil from parched Mallee and Wimmera farms. The worst outbreaks on February 16 were around Macedon, in the Dandenongs and at Warburton, as well as along the south-west coast. The toll included 12 volunteer firefighters trapped near Upper Beaconsfield.
2003
Lightning strikes started 87 fires in eastern Victoria's alpine region on a total fire ban day early in January. Most were extinguished within a couple of days but a number spread and eventually joined to produce a conflagration not seen since 1939. Raging for 70 days, the fires burnt more than 1.3 million hectares of land — about 5 per cent of Victoria or 15 per cent of the state's public land — destroying 41 homes, three bridges and 213 other structures. One firefighter was killed when her vehicle was washed into a stream in a flash flood. Ultimately, the fire linked with blazes in NSW and the ACT to form a front stretching 800 kilometres."
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Post by Dr. Gonzo on Dec 9, 2006 1:39:06 GMT 7
Here in SA, it was 40C yesterday, the same today with strong winds.
Normally firies from all over Australia would be helping out in Victoria, but at the moment we're all waiting for our own little tinderboxes to ignite.
I still clearly remember loading up our car , fleeing the "Black Sunday" fire of 1955[?], to be told there was no room for my cricket bat.
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