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Don't storms also bring rain?Bureau of Meteorology tells us a large band of lightning & storm activity move across Vic bringing strong & unpredictable winds.#VicFires
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ABC News 24 12 minutes ago
Adelaide Hills bushfire Dozens of homes feared lost in SA s most dangerous day since Ash Wednesday crews battle blazes in Victoria - ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Hundreds of firefighters battled a devastating “Armageddon-like” blaze for a second day in Australia yesterday that has left two dead and at least 13 in hospital, with grave fears the death toll will rise. Cooler conditions and lighter winds aided crews as dawn broke with the bushfire not increasing in size, although South Australia State Premier Jay Weatherill said it would be days before it was fully brought under control. “Even though a significant proportion of the fire perimeter is under control and the conditions were milder overnight, many fire fronts are still active within the fire grounds and they’ll continue to be battled for some days,” he said. The premier late on Wednesday said two people had died in the inferno around the town of Pinery, about 70km north of Adelaide.
Unconfirmed reports said three people were missing. “Obviously, we have had the awful news of the tragic death of at least two people and we hold grave fears for many more,” Weatherill said. “We can’t be entirely sure that we have identified every single person within the fire ground. That work will continue this morning as we carry out a more detailed search of the fire area.” He added that 13 people were in hospital with five in either a critical or serious condition with significant burns.
Cattle walk past a burning shed on a farm near Freeling, Australia, on Wednesday amid a bushfire.
South Australia Health later tweeted that it had taken 15 people to hospital for burns, smoke inhalation and minor injuries. “We know that one of those people has burns to more than 80 percent of their body. Their condition is being closely monitored, but we do hold grave concerns for them,” Weatherill said. The blaze incinerated at least 16 homes, as well as outbuildings, farm machinery and vehicles as it raged across a 40km front, driven by strong, swirling winds late on Wednesday, he added. Livestock was also lost with reports that thousands of chickens and pigs were killed. Country Fire Service chief officer Greg Nettleton said it might still be early in the fire season, but the land in South Australia was incredibly dry and only long, soaking rain would cut the fire risk. “Until we get really substantial rainfall across the state, we’re in a dangerous fire situation for the summer,” he said.
Brendan Moten described how the sky darkened with ash as he fled his rural property and sought safety in the town of Kapunda as the fire raged around him and his family. “A lot of people were gathered in the main street and there was smoke and ash and it was Armageddon for a while,” he told reporters. “I feel lucky. Our place was under threat for a while... It was heading our way, but it didn’t get there. It went around.” The fire has hit rural communities in the area hard, with about 90,000 hectares of land destroyed and crops ruined. “There’s nothing left, it’s absolutely devastation,” grain farmer Peter March told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “This is my 59th harvest and I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Australian firefighters battling deadly inferno - Taipei Times
Two people have died and more than 100 homes have been destroyed in a huge bushfire, Australian authorities said yesterday, as firefighters battled to tame the out-of-control blaze. The inferno — which has razed about 71,000 hectares in Western Australia state — is the most recent in a series of bushfires that have started a hot summer season, with the latest deaths lifting the national toll to eight. The two bodies were found in burned-out houses in Yarloop, a historic mill town about 110km south of Perth that has been devastated by the bushfire — one of the worst to hit the region in the past few years. The bodies are believed to be those of two missing men aged 73 and 77, Western Australia Police said. “It’s just another day of catastrophe, isn’t it?” Tania Jackson, the head of the regional council, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) after news of the men’s deaths. “Each day that has gone by seems to bring worse news. It’s devastating.”
The bushfire — which yesterday entered its fifth day after reportedly being started by a lightning strike — has destroyed 143 properties, including 128 homes in Yarloop, the state’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services said. About 250 firefighters are fighting the blaze, which has a perimeter of about 226km, and authorities yesterday afternoon said that it was “contained” within the fire zone, but not yet under control, amid cooler weather. “Overnight and today, favorable conditions came in and it’s a lot cooler here today and that has allowed firefighters to gain more ground on the fire and to increase containment lines,” a department spokeswoman said. The department said several towns in the region remained under threat. “Unless you are ready and prepared to actively defend your property, evacuate to the south via the South Western Highway if safe to do so,” it said in an emergency warning.
A bushfire burns near Waroona, about 110km south of Perth
Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett said the event had been declared a natural disaster, a measure that gives residents access to greater financial support, adding that the “damage bill is going to be very significant.” Yarloop residents spoke of how the bushfire tore through their town in just seven minutes, as aerial footage showed blackened ground, burned-out shells of vehicles and houses reduced to brick fireplaces. “During the day, the hills were very dark and smoking,” dairy farmer Joe Angi told the ABC on Saturday. “But the wind picked up just on dark and she’s just come down from the hills, straight down, flat out. It was tumbling over itself like a wave of fire.”
Bushfires are common in Australia’s hotter months, with four deaths in Western Australia in November last year. Another two people perished in neighboring South Australia state in the same month. The worst of the bushfire season was yet to come, department commissioner Wayne Gregson said. “There is still another 10 or more weeks to go in what is predicted to be a difficult bushfire season,” Gregson told Perth’s Sunday Times newspaper. “Late January to early February is traditionally the most intense summer period, when we can experience hot weather with dry winds and seasonal lightning,” he said.
Death toll rises in Australian bushfires - Taipei Times
