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Australian Wildfires Death Toll Hits 84, 700 Homes Destroyed
By TANALEE SMITH
Associated Press Writer
HEALESVILLE, Australia (AP) -- Towering flames razed entire towns in southeastern Australia and burned fleeing residents in their cars as the death toll rose to 84 on Sunday, making it the country's deadliest fire disaster.
At least 700 homes were destroyed in Saturday's inferno when searing temperatures and wind blasts produced a firestorm that swept across a swath of the country's Victoria state, where all the deaths occurred.
A fire truck moves away from out of control flames from a bushfire in the Bunyip Sate Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of Melbourne, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing scores of homes, forests and farmland in the sunburned country's worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century. (AP Photo)
A fire truck moves away from out of control flames from a bushfire in the Bunyip Sate Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of Melbourne, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing scores of homes, forests and farmland in the sunburned country's worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century. (AP Photo)
Flames rise from a bushfire in the Bunyip Sate Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of Melbourne, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing scores of homes, forests and farmland in the sunburned country's worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century. (AP Photo)
"Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters as he toured the fire zone on Sunday. "It's an appalling tragedy for the nation."
Thousands of exhausted volunteer firefighters were still battling about 30 uncontrolled fires Sunday night in Victoria, officials said, though conditions had eased considerably. It would be days before they were brought under control, even if temperatures stayed down, they said.
Government officials said the army would be deployed to help out, and Rudd announced immediate emergency aid of 10 million Australian dollars ($7 million).
The tragedy echoed across Australia. Leaders in other states _ most of which have been struck by their own fire disasters in the past _ pledged to send money and volunteer firefighters. Funds for public donations opened Sunday quickly started swelling.
Witnesses described seeing trees exploding and skies raining ash on Saturday as temperatures of up 117 F (47 C) combined with blasting winds to create furnace-like conditions.
The scene was utter devastation Sunday in at least two regions _ the town of Marysville and several hamlets in the Kinglake district, both about 50 miles (100 kilometers) north of the state capital Melbourne.
In Kinglake, just five houses out of about 40 remained standing, an Associated Press news crew who overflew the region observed. Street after street was lined by smoldering wrecks of homes; roofs collapsed inward, iron roof sheets twisted from the heat. The burned-out hulks of cars dotted roads. Here and there, fire crews filled their trucks from ponds and sprayed down spot fires. There were no other signs of life.
Even from the air, the landscape was blackened as far as the eye could see. Entire forests were reduced to leafless, charred trunks, farmland to ashes. The Victoria Country Fire Service said some 850 square miles (2,200 square kilometers) were burned out.
"This is our house here _ totally gone," Wayne Bannister told Sky News, standing with his wife Anita amid a tangle of blackened timber and bricks in Kinglake.
Another man, who was not named, described to Sky battling the flames with a garden hose until he heard first his car gas tank, then a house propane tank, explode. He and his wife fled through a window.
"It rained fire," he said. "We hid in our olive grove for an hour and watched our house burn."
Witnesses said about 90 percent of the buildings in Marysville, a town of about 800 people located 20 miles (35 kilometers) west of Kinglake, had been ruined. Police said two people died there.
"Marysville is no more," Senior Constable Brian Cross told the AP as he manned a checkpoint in nearby Healesville on a road leading into the town.
The official toll climbed higher during the day, reaching 84 at 20 locations by Sunday night, according to a police statement. It was expected to keep rising.
Australia's previous worst fires were in 1983, when blazes killed 75 people and razed more than 3,000 homes in Victoria and South Australia state. Seventy-one died and 650 buildings were destroyed in 1939.
Police said charred bodies had been found in cars in at least two places _ suggesting people were engulfed in flames as they tried to flee.
At least 80 people were hospitalized with burns. Dr. John Coleridge of Alfred Hospital, one of the largest in the fire zone, said injuries ranged from scorches on the feet of people who fled across burning ground to life-threatening burns. At least three would probably die, he said.
Victoria police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said police suspected some of the fires were set deliberately.
Temperatures in the area dropped to about 77 F (25 C) on Sunday, but along with cooler conditions came wind changes that officials said could push fires in unpredictable directions.
Dozens of fires were also burning in New South Wales state, where temperatures remained high for the third consecutive day. Properties were not under immediate threat.
Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Government research shows about half of the roughly 60,000 fires each year are deliberately lit or suspicious. Lightning and people using machinery near dry brush are other causes.
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On the 'Net:
Victoria's Country Fire Service: http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/index.htm
Associated Press Writer
HEALESVILLE, Australia (AP) -- Towering flames razed entire towns in southeastern Australia and burned fleeing residents in their cars as the death toll rose to 84 on Sunday, making it the country's deadliest fire disaster.
At least 700 homes were destroyed in Saturday's inferno when searing temperatures and wind blasts produced a firestorm that swept across a swath of the country's Victoria state, where all the deaths occurred.
A fire truck moves away from out of control flames from a bushfire in the Bunyip Sate Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of Melbourne, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing scores of homes, forests and farmland in the sunburned country's worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century. (AP Photo)
A fire truck moves away from out of control flames from a bushfire in the Bunyip Sate Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of Melbourne, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing scores of homes, forests and farmland in the sunburned country's worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century. (AP Photo)
Flames rise from a bushfire in the Bunyip Sate Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of Melbourne, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing scores of homes, forests and farmland in the sunburned country's worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century. (AP Photo)
"Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters as he toured the fire zone on Sunday. "It's an appalling tragedy for the nation."
Thousands of exhausted volunteer firefighters were still battling about 30 uncontrolled fires Sunday night in Victoria, officials said, though conditions had eased considerably. It would be days before they were brought under control, even if temperatures stayed down, they said.
Government officials said the army would be deployed to help out, and Rudd announced immediate emergency aid of 10 million Australian dollars ($7 million).
The tragedy echoed across Australia. Leaders in other states _ most of which have been struck by their own fire disasters in the past _ pledged to send money and volunteer firefighters. Funds for public donations opened Sunday quickly started swelling.
Witnesses described seeing trees exploding and skies raining ash on Saturday as temperatures of up 117 F (47 C) combined with blasting winds to create furnace-like conditions.
The scene was utter devastation Sunday in at least two regions _ the town of Marysville and several hamlets in the Kinglake district, both about 50 miles (100 kilometers) north of the state capital Melbourne.
In Kinglake, just five houses out of about 40 remained standing, an Associated Press news crew who overflew the region observed. Street after street was lined by smoldering wrecks of homes; roofs collapsed inward, iron roof sheets twisted from the heat. The burned-out hulks of cars dotted roads. Here and there, fire crews filled their trucks from ponds and sprayed down spot fires. There were no other signs of life.
Even from the air, the landscape was blackened as far as the eye could see. Entire forests were reduced to leafless, charred trunks, farmland to ashes. The Victoria Country Fire Service said some 850 square miles (2,200 square kilometers) were burned out.
"This is our house here _ totally gone," Wayne Bannister told Sky News, standing with his wife Anita amid a tangle of blackened timber and bricks in Kinglake.
Another man, who was not named, described to Sky battling the flames with a garden hose until he heard first his car gas tank, then a house propane tank, explode. He and his wife fled through a window.
"It rained fire," he said. "We hid in our olive grove for an hour and watched our house burn."
Witnesses said about 90 percent of the buildings in Marysville, a town of about 800 people located 20 miles (35 kilometers) west of Kinglake, had been ruined. Police said two people died there.
"Marysville is no more," Senior Constable Brian Cross told the AP as he manned a checkpoint in nearby Healesville on a road leading into the town.
The official toll climbed higher during the day, reaching 84 at 20 locations by Sunday night, according to a police statement. It was expected to keep rising.
Australia's previous worst fires were in 1983, when blazes killed 75 people and razed more than 3,000 homes in Victoria and South Australia state. Seventy-one died and 650 buildings were destroyed in 1939.
Police said charred bodies had been found in cars in at least two places _ suggesting people were engulfed in flames as they tried to flee.
At least 80 people were hospitalized with burns. Dr. John Coleridge of Alfred Hospital, one of the largest in the fire zone, said injuries ranged from scorches on the feet of people who fled across burning ground to life-threatening burns. At least three would probably die, he said.
Victoria police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said police suspected some of the fires were set deliberately.
Temperatures in the area dropped to about 77 F (25 C) on Sunday, but along with cooler conditions came wind changes that officials said could push fires in unpredictable directions.
Dozens of fires were also burning in New South Wales state, where temperatures remained high for the third consecutive day. Properties were not under immediate threat.
Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Government research shows about half of the roughly 60,000 fires each year are deliberately lit or suspicious. Lightning and people using machinery near dry brush are other causes.
___
On the 'Net:
Victoria's Country Fire Service: http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/index.htm
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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It's a pretty moving picture.
It's from the HeraldSun website at www.heraldsun.com.au
It starts with a water and before you know it, they'll be sitting back together, sucking down a few beers on the back porch sharing stories.... :-)
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Permalink Reply by Ken O'Brian on
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Hi guys
They've now confirmed that three entire communities have been totally wiped out. Kilmore, Marysville, and a place called Strathmerton.
Strathmerton was a town of 200 homes and population over 2000. To this point they have found over 25 dead, and the only structure that remains - coincidentally - is a recently built fire station.
Many of you will have already been reading the stories and seeing the images from Kilmore and Marysville. The news is only getting worse day by day.
There are still over 25 fires burning out of control, threatening townships further east and north from these fires.
Police are close to being able to release images of some of the arsonists who they now have good evidence are involved in having lit these infernos.
Firefighters from around Australia are now pouring into Victoria to assist in the fight - 100 from Tasmania, 100 from South Australia, 50 from Western Australia, 100 from the ACT, and 250 from New South Wales. Additional resources are also on their way from New Zealand and the United States of America, due on the ground within 48hours.
Thanks to all for your prayers and support.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Vito on
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Additional resources are also on their way from New Zealand and the United States of America, due on the ground within 48hours.
hmmm....good thing Michael Schlags wish came true. Resources are coming across the pond. That's great news.
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Permalink Reply by stewart tickner on
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For info death toll has hit 173 today and still going up ........
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They've now confirmed that three entire communities have been totally wiped out. Kilmore, Marysville, and a place called Strathmerton.
We nearly purchased property around Kilmore (A place called Hidden Valley was where we seriously looked at) about 3 years ago, but then decided on the Macedon Ranges. Feeling lucky- for the time being....
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Hey Lutan
If you haven't looked me up yet, I'm from South West Victoria. Drove a tanker 4hrs on Saturday afternoon to Drouin/Waragul to do what we could for you guys, in spite of a 1300Ha fire only 10mins from my own home.
Glad to see things are slowly settling down over there - God help us all if a similar situation occurs in the Otway Ranges any time soon - it's a ticking time bomb here, substandard reduction burns for the last 10 years.
Talk soon.
Ken.
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Permalink Reply by Aussie_Wildfire on
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That's what scares me boys. This can happen again, a repeat of ash wednesday(dandenongs,macedon,surf coast) we were all warned friday how bad a day saturday would be. but how many listen and were ready?
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In order to listen, they first need to decide for themselves that the people doing the talking are worth listening to...
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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The news article was a pretty good one. Despite all the factual errors it still gave the right impression.
I've been out twice, luckily saw nothing of the nasty stuff. Other members of my Brigade did though. We're all feeling it.
Around my area we've been stood down from Strike Team duties for 48 hours. A pager message just came through about a briefing session tomorrow evening about weekend deployments. There are a lot of fires still burning out of control and the weather is expected to warm up a bit. Not what you'd call fun, but we keep doing it.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Montgomery on
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First group of Kiwi's including my Fire Boss and a small crew from Northland head over on Friday morning
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Hey Mark. I work with them last time at mansfield I'm off that way again. what your bosses name and do you know where they are being deployed too
I just remembered. I brought your injured a drink. any reports on how they are now?
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Two people questioned by police in bushfire area
TWO people are being questioned by members of the police bushfire taskforce after they were seen acting suspiciously today.
The two men were arrested in Taggerty about 11am this morning.
Detectives are making inquiries regarding the men's recent activities in the Taggerty area, according to a police statement.
Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said there were two people in custody who were being questioned.
He said the two were not suspected of lighting fires but was in relation to "suspicious activity" in the area.
Full article at: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25043706-661,00.html
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