Australian fires

[rambot]

I am really surprised that Australia's wildfires have not got any kind of look in here.

The size scope and impact on these fires dwarves everyone other fire we've seen recently; California fires are a joke, even the Amazon's burning is NOTHING compared to what's happening there.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/australia-bushfires-1.5414325

The pictures and stories are incredibly distressing.

 

[Larniavc]

It’s all over the British news. Seeing everything look so red is really haunting. I hope people can keep themselves safe.

But you need to keep things in perspective: it’s hardly as important as what toilet a person uses or the dangers of Yoga.

edit: anyone know what happened to Armoured?

 

[PloverWing]

It's been mentioned most nights on the PBS NewsHour here in the US. And it's been mentioned by some of our Australian CF-ers during discussions of other topics.

@Paidiske , @Zoii , @gordonhooker, @Radagast , @Tanj : How are you doing? Are you safe? Have you had to evacuate?

 

[Cimorene]

I am really surprised that Australia's wildfires have not got any kind of look in here.

The size scope and impact on these fires dwarves everyone other fire we've seen recently; California fires are a joke, even the Amazon's burning is NOTHING compared to what's happening there.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/australia-bushfires-1.5414325

The pictures and stories are incredibly distressing.

The Cali fires are not a joke even though they're much smaller than Australia's. They were still massive & so destructive. When LA was on fire few ppl here paid attn. Ella's family had to be evacuated in the middle of the fight bc of the fires. Someone finally made a thread here then ppl were really very nasty basically saying that they didn't care if Cali burned bc.......liberals. For real that was their attitude on this Christian forum. So the apathy about the fires in Australia while disgusting and horrifying aren't surprising. A lot of ppl embrace ignorance about climate change. Some feel like the fires confront their ignorance so they'd rather just ignore it, which of course is even worse.

Firefighters from Ontario are in Australia now fighting. It's hellacious.

 

[Nithavela]

MyFireWatch - Bushfire map information Australia

It looks like there won't be anything left of Australia in a few months. Y'all can come back to Europe.

Of course, no guarantee that europe won't be burning too in half a year lol

 

[rambot]

The Cali fires are not a joke even though they're much smaller than Australia's. They were still massive & so destructive. When LA was on fire few ppl here paid attn. Ella's family had to be evacuated in the middle of the fight bc of the fires. Someone finally made a thread here then ppl were really very nasty basically saying that they didn't care if Cali burned bc.......liberals. For real that was their attitude on this Christian forum. So the apathy about the fires in Australia while disgusting and horrifying aren't surprising. A lot of ppl embrace ignorance about climate change. Some feel like the fires confront their ignorance so they'd rather just ignore it, which of course is even worse.

Firefighters from Ontario are in Australia now fighting. It's hellacious.

Yes. That person was actually me Cimorene. I was crazy shocked that nobody in the US had discussed forest fires that destructive.

I'm sure it seemed like I was belittling the California fires. I did not mean to be. But the destruction caused by Australia's fires are INCOMPARABLY worse and FAR greater in size.

Families are being evacuated....TO THE SEA. Because they have nowhere else to go.

 

[Nithavela]

Yes. That person was actually me Cimorene. I was crazy shocked that nobody in the US had discussed forest fires that destructive.

I'm sure it seemed like I was belittling the California fires. I did not mean to be. But the destruction caused by Australia's fires are INCOMPARABLY worse and FAR greater in size.

Families are being evacuated....TO THE SEA. Because they have nowhere else to go.

Coming to a hemisphere near you in 6 months.

 

[Paidiske]

Checking in; I am safe, thanks for asking.

I'm in an inner suburb of a big city, so not near bushfires because not near the bush. But our air is full of smoke and conditions are hazardous for asthmatics (although we are getting some spectacular sunrises/sunsets).

Please pray for rain. It's supposed to rain today but I haven't seen any yet...

 

[Tanj]

It's been mentioned most nights on the PBS NewsHour here in the US. And it's been mentioned by some of our Australian CF-ers during discussions of other topics.

@Paidiske , @Zoii , @gordonhooker, @Radagast , @Tanj : How are you doing? Are you safe? Have you had to evacuate?

Thanks for the shout-out. I live inner Melbourne, so not in fire range, and am on the other coast which is unseasonably cold. My rural friends got out in time, the state of their homes is still TBD

 

[Paidiske]

We must be relatively near one another, @Tanj.

There's been rain this morning where I am; I hope, where the fires are, too.

 

[Occams Barber]

We must be relatively near one another, @Tanj.

There's been rain this morning where I am; I hope, where the fires are, too.

I'm keeping an eye on the ABC News channel which is covering little else apart from the fires. While there may be a little light rain down around the lower south coast of NSW and eastern Vic there is no expectation that it will make any real difference. On current projections these fires are expected to continue for the next couple of months or, possibly, longer.

We've had major fires where I am in northern NSW which were eventually quietened with a couple of days of significant rain. There are still small fires in the area. Given the heat and the winds the rain will dry off within days and we'll be back in the same boat.

The worst affected areas of burnt or burning bush now extend for a thousand miles from the Queensland border to eastern Victoria. This is not counting localised fires in WA, SA, Tasmania and Queensland.

Digital Earth Australia Hotspots (up-to-date map of Australian fire hotspots)
OB

 

[Paidiske]

Thanks, OB, I hadn't had a chance to catch up yet.

 

[Occams Barber]

No worries. I've been watching this for a few weeks since it became a personal issue with major fires up the road.

The scale/size of these fires is breathtaking. Five million hectares gone and still counting. From videos I've seen and talks with locals who were caught in it, the intensity of the fires ("exploding from one tree to the next") has to be seen to be appreciated with fire tornados capable of flipping a ten ton truck.

OB

 

[Cimorene]

Yes. That person was actually me Cimorene. I was crazy shocked that nobody in the US had discussed forest fires that destructive.

I'm sure it seemed like I was belittling the California fires. I did not mean to be. But the destruction caused by Australia's fires are INCOMPARABLY worse and FAR greater in size.

Families are being evacuated....TO THE SEA. Because they have nowhere else to go.

Trust me I understand how awful it is in Australia. I have a lot of friends there & have been hurting for them. I spent a month there this summer (for me) winter for them. I just wanted to be sure to say that the Cali fires really truly were terrible too, especially in Paradise. It's heartbreaking what has been happening in Australia to all the ppl, all the animals too. The saddest video I saw in 2019 was this lady in Australia who saw a koala burning alive, so she ripped her shirt off to run & save the animal. He was crying in anguish.

I know so many ppl have lost their homes, their stability. They are out of medical supplies. There's a fear of a measles outbreak which would be terrible on top of everything else. Ppl are already having a hard time getting medical care, ppl can't get their chemo, their insulin. Just normal stuff like having babies is horribly hard in the burn areas.

 

[Zoii]

My friend's house is gone - it is despairing.

 

[durangodawood]

My friend's house is gone - it is despairing.

Ugh thats awful.

I've been evacuated from wildfire before and my heart goes out to the whole country thats affected by smoke. Many of us dont know how miserable that is, even for people far from the fires.

 

[Cimorene]

My friend's house is gone - it is despairing.

I'm so sad for your friend and everybody else who has lost their home and is scared. I so wish you could breathe in clean air and live normally and peacefully w/o this trauma.

 

[PloverWing]

@Occams Barber : Oops, I forgot you were in Australia too. I'm glad you're unharmed, but I'll be thinking of you, with the fires so close.
@Zoii : I am so sorry for your friend. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts as well.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

It's been pretty full on for over a month now. This was the view when I flew back into Sydney just before Christmas...

 

[Zoii]

Twenty Minutes ago, the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, again confirms that his government will not be altering its emission reductions - referring to international criticisms that Australia is not taking its responsibilities to reduce emissions, seriously.

His statements though, have avoided repeats of previous comments that suggested no links between the natural disasters ravaging the nation, and climate change fuelled by CO2 emissions.

In the mean time, The UK has moved forward with substantial uptake of renewable energy
Renewable electricity overtakes fossil fuels in UK for first time

And New Zealand signs legislation committing to zero carbon emissions by 2050.
New Zealand passes law aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050

My generation is angry - This is an existential crisis.