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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 Robin Inman on
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This is so sad, my thoughts and prayers go out to you all.....take care and stay safe.
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Permalink Reply by Ken O'Brian on
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Looking down on Armageddon
Article from: The Herald Sun
Russell Robinson
February 12, 2009 12:00am
DENNIS Corrin has been a chopper pilot for 40 years, but nothing prepared him for Australia's darkest day.
"You might as well have pi--ed on (the fire)," he said yesterday.
"It was completely out of control. It was a horrendous sight to see the fire building and building.
"And then all you can really do is pull back and watch it go, because there's absolutely nothing you can do about it when it's up in the bush burning and roaring forward.
"It's the worst bushfire I've ever encountered. It's something I'll never forget.
Mr Corrin, 61, said he had been mentally prepared for Saturday's heat when he started operations that morning.
"But I never thought it would be as bad as it was," he said.
"We were working in one small part of Victoria. It wasn't until we got back at night to see what happened to the rest of the state that we realised how bad it was."
The New Zealander pilots the firefighting air crane, dubbed Bluey, which is leased by the CFA and DSS.
He travels the world battling fires in the US and Europe. Two years ago he was in Greece when bushfires killed 57 people.
Last week, the chopper crews were fighting fires in the Bunyip State Park and, until Saturday, believed they had them under control. But the wind changed and within 15 minutes it was Armageddon.
Mr Corrin said the spot fires quickly built up to the point where, 10km down the road, he could see flames and smoke followed by a roaring inferno coming out of the bush.
"It just carried on to the farmland and we spent the rest of the day racing around trying to save assets - which we did," he said.
"But lots of them still burnt in the process because we couldn't get there. The visibility was poor.
"The smoke was really bad."
Mr Corrin said two or three other choppers were flying in the area at the time.
They had only radio contact, in which the pilots would state whether they were out of water or out of the fire.
"So you can't go charging in there because you don't know where they are," he said.
He said when the southerly wind change came, the whole fire front switched direction.
The smoke build-up was immense, once again restricting Mr Corrin's vision.
"We could see houses burning from the air. It's frightening," he said.
"You'd also see a house with a shed nearby that was on fire.
"If we were on the way back to get water, then we'd think we'd race back and then put some water on that shed and it might save the shed.
"It might take us two minutes to get the water and then race back, but meanwhile the house is just a ball of flame and it's gone.
"It's completely out of control."
Because of the ferocity of the fires, Mr Corrin said the choppers were restricted to chasing up the spot fires.
"Once a column of flames like that goes, and is then generated by the wind, you get branches as thick as your arms sucked up into the air.
"And when those branches hit the ground, the ground bursts into flames and you start again from there.
"Normally, we can get in close. You can fly into the smoke. If it's too intense you can sort of turn as you go into the smoke and when you see the flames you sort of throw the water as you're turning out.
"But when this fire really let go, we couldn't get any closer than maybe 100m to 150m away."
There is a perspex bubble on the side of the cockpit, from which the crew can monitor the activity.
Mr Corrin said on Saturday they could feel the heat on their arms through the bubble.
The heat inside the cockpit was intense, with the temperature well above 50C.
Their only relief came from small fans, which in this case were ineffective, and some vents.
"I was soaking in sweat. It was as if I'd just got out of a shower," Mr Corrin said.
"I've never felt like it before."
Mr Corrin paid tribute to the CFA fighters on the ground.
"We can just turn around and steer away to get out of it," he said. "They can't.
"Sometimes I see them in a position where I wouldn't be there for money that hasn't been printed yet.
"They stand there with their hose ready to protect houses."
Mr Corrin says they are the heroes.
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Hi all.
As of around 5 hours ago, all fires burning in Victoria that are associated with the February 7th "Black Saturday" are burning within containment lines. Victorian fire fighters from various agencies, supported by fire fighters from around the Nation plus New Zealand and the USA, are working around the clock on the containment lines to ensure that this information stays accurate.
Our fire agency leaders are currently estimating two weeks until all of the fires are declared safe, weather dependent.
An intensive amount of community awareness information is being distributed through various areas of Victoria, including the Otway Ranges in Southern Victoria - an area which is also in the dangerous condition that could cause a repeat of this situation.
We thank you all for your support through this time, and will keep you updated as the full situation becomes further apparent. Unfortunately the disaster recovery teams (including teams flown in from New Zealand and Indonesia) are still finding bodies, and the death toll / homes lost count is certain to continue to rise as victims are identified.
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