10 Days in 100 years

Bill.L

Bill.L

Hi all,

I've been in the local fire brigade for 20 years, tomorrow err today, we have an event that is potentially lethal across the state. The conditions are predicted to be as bad as they can get. Any small fire will quickly explode into a large fire.

The messages coming across my pager from the CFA ring of panic and are basically telling local brigades that they could be on their own because of the conditions.

I have never experienced such 'panic' across the pager before.

I am well prepared, we have massive water reserves, several fire fighter pumps, plus our own generator and electric pumps. We will possibly end up with quite a few neighbours here if fire strikes the area.

However in the conditions predicted, nothing is guaranteed. Fire is unpredictable, lots of things can and do go wrong.

It sort of reminds me of 'life' or 'markets', where totally unpredictable types of things can happen, coming out of left field.

Victoria as a state will easily survive, but many people will be affected in any areas that fires ravage. We will not know if it is our turn until it happens, but there are nine more days in the next 100 years to go, if we are lucky tomorrow/ err today.

If you don't hear from me for a while, you will know that I am busy :(

bye
 
Yes, going to get a little wild.

0900hrs north west Vic.........36c I think expected to reach 47ish.

wind speed................28 kph forecast to get up around 80.

Thank goodness for direct drill, country not blowing.

Total fire ban naturally.
 
Applaud your vigilance and that of others like you.
Similar conditions are expected here in S.A. It's comforting to know there are people like you at the ready.

Stay safe
 
Bill.L said:
Hi all,

I've been in the local fire brigade for 20 years, tomorrow err today, we have an event that is potentially lethal across the state. The conditions are predicted to be as bad as they can get. Any small fire will quickly explode into a large fire.

The messages coming across my pager from the CFA ring of panic and are basically telling local brigades that they could be on their own because of the conditions.

I have never experienced such 'panic' across the pager before.

I am well prepared, we have massive water reserves, several fire fighter pumps, plus our own generator and electric pumps. We will possibly end up with quite a few neighbours here if fire strikes the area.

However in the conditions predicted, nothing is guaranteed. Fire is unpredictable, lots of things can and do go wrong.

It sort of reminds me of 'life' or 'markets', where totally unpredictable types of things can happen, coming out of left field.

Victoria as a state will easily survive, but many people will be affected in any areas that fires ravage. We will not know if it is our turn until it happens, but there are nine more days in the next 100 years to go, if we are lucky tomorrow/ err today.

If you don't hear from me for a while, you will know that I am busy :(

bye
Click to expand...

I hope it works out well for you Bill,..willair..
 
I don't know where Bill is located but hopefully nowhere near Bunyip State forest. I heard early this morning that flames were already 10m high . Crews have apparently been pulled out as fire has broken containment lines. I hope everyone is safe. Hearing about these days makes me very uneasy after being burned out in the Ash Wednesday fires. Our place in Mt Macedon was, like many, hit by a massive firestorm. We wouldn't have survived had we stayed, as the speed and ferocity was just too great. The unpredictability is what scares me, especially when I hear on the radio that you should decide early to stay or go. I can tell you from having been through it that I would always decide to go, and would tell everyone else to go. Then again, we weren't on a property with stock. What happens to the farm animals is devastating. We lost everything but everything we lost was just stuff. I often think that it was a great blessing that it happened. It taught me a rare lesson as a teenager about the value of things.
 
Hi Bill,

Thank you for giving your time and expertise to protect us all. Today's been terrible and I really hope it picks up for you soon.

We've seen 46 degrees here in the southwest and it's been less than comfortable, but I have little to complain about given that we're safe over here and not in the stressful and dangerous position that you put yourself in for the benefit of many.

So once again, thanks.
 
Its 4.30pm and the fires are being reported from many areas. I can see thick smoke drifting over me from the Kinglake/Whittlesea area.

The wind is incredible. I haven't heard any reports from Bill's area yet but with so many being phoned in to the radio its hard to keep track.

Good luck Bill and all your colleagues

Chris
 
Thankyou Bill for your Firey work.
I hope you and the many hundreds of others who give their time to do such dangerous exhausting work to help others, keep safe.

You are Heroes in every sense of the word

I can just remember how hot it can get in the area that Our Obsession lives.
Lucky you havent got a dust storm YET!!!
Keep safe everyone
cheers
yadreamin
 
...actually Yad, looks like the Horsham Golf Club has been destroyed, 3 houses and 1800 ha (in the Horsham west area), sounds like more on outskirts of the built up area, also, the Dimboola fire brigade unit and several sheds have also been destroyed in fire ..

-hit 37.8c here, winds only reached 36kph though, which was bad enough if you are out fighting fires in it.

- I think most of the guys and gals and rest of district's units have all been/were called to Horsham area to help.

-Bendigo was reportedly fighting to save Spotlight store, few? houses destroyed in that area of city..

Rough day.

Check out the Country Fire Authority website incidents/updates page:

http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/incidents/incident_summary.htm
 
5 houses or so lost in Narre Warren. Not to take anything away from the terrible regional fires, but I can only imagine the shock of those in suburbia who from reports had their houses go up in a matter of minutes.

Everyone in the state needs to be that much more vigilant this weekend. Unconfirmed reports on the Herald website about lives lost, just awful for those affected.
 
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of drought and flooding rains,

And ain't that that the truth!

Here I am in Nth Qld developing web feet after a month and a half of constant rain while you guys in the south suffer heat we never see up here.

We live with the threat of cyclones in summer but I think I'd prefer that to fire-storms.

Take care Bill.
 
Sunfish said:
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of drought and flooding rains,

And ain't that that the truth!

Here I am in Nth Qld developing web feet after a month and a half of constant rain while you guys in the south suffer heat we never see up here.

We live with the threat of cyclones in summer but I think I'd prefer that to fire-storms.

Take care Bill.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking the same thing Sunfish, looking out at all the rain we're having and the comparatively cool temperatures (in high 20's) and wishing there was some way we could share all this abundance of water with everyone in the hot dry burning south.
All the best to everyone near the fires. We're thinking of you.
 
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