Auistralian Wildfires--Again

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue Dec 24, 2019 11:59 am

As happened in 2016, Australia is being ravaged by record heat and a nationwide outbreak of wildfires threatening a wide range of property, including preserved railways.

Although I've yet to hear of any catastrophic destruction like the historic Yarloop shops being reduced to a pile of ash and metal in January 2016, one report is in so far: The Zig Zag Railway has suffered some damages and losses, including four carriages, one the oldest in Australia. Rather than copy and paste, I'll just send you to their Facebook page for dramatic photos and video stillls:

https://www.facebook.com/ZigZagRailway/

The thread here on Yarloop in 2016:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=38983

More reports likely to come, I'm sure.

Time to start reviewing your emergency plans, folks.

Alan Walker · **Posted:** Tue Dec 24, 2019 2:30 pm

Looks to be another bad fire season in Oz. Particularly worrisome that the fires are starting this early in the season.

joe6167 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 24, 2019 4:55 pm

https://www.thesenior.com.au/story/6553 ... ld-fires/#!

Quote:

Almost 100 firebugs have deliberately started blazes across Queensland that have destroyed homes and consumed thousands of hectares of bushland.

Some 65 fires continue to burn across the state on Friday, jumping from 55 reported on Thursday, as the fire threat deepens heading into the weekend.

As firefighters remain on high alert, police revealed 103 of the destructive fires that have lashed Queensland since September were deliberately lit.

Figures obtained by AAP reveal 98 people - 31 adults and 67 juveniles - have been dealt with by Queensland police for deliberately setting fires.

A 16-year-old boy was found to have started a fire that razed 14 homes in central Queensland and dealt with under the state's Youth Justice Act.

Two more teens, 14 and 15, were charged with endangering property by fire over a blaze that destroyed two homes and forced hundreds to flee.

More than 120 fires are still being investigated and more people could be charged.

The firebug revelations come as fire crews continue to face challenging conditions as a strong upper ridge sweeping across the southeast combines with fresh east northeasterly winds on Friday.

The volatile conditions have prompted the weather bureau to reissue a severe fire warning for the Darling Downs and Granite Belt, Central Highlands and Coalfields, and the eastern parts of the Warrego and Maranoa districts on Friday.

Areas of localised severe fire danger are also in place for the eastern parts of the Central West district.

Residents in Cainbable, west of the Gold Coast, have been told to prepare to leave, as a bushfire in the Lamington National Park continues to threaten properties.

Firefighters continue to keep watch on the dangerous fire burning on multiple fronts at Lowmead near Gladstone, where authorities now confirm three homes were lost earlier in the week.

The eastern side of the fire is burning in the vicinity of Cross Road, Hills Road, Whytallabah Road and Kirkpatrick Road.

Firefighters will continue to work with heavy machinery and waterbombing aircraft to strengthen containment lines.

Sunshine Coast residents also remain on alert after being forced to evacuate a volatile bushfire on Wednesday.

Forty-three homes have been destroyed in Queensland since August 1 with fires blackening more than 240,000 hectares of land.

Conditions are forecast to improve along the Queensland coast into next week but residents across the state should remain on alert about the several fire and heat warnings, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

"It is vital not to become complacent when hearing these continued warnings,' forecaster Rosa Hoff told media on Friday

"The danger is as real as it was the first day we experienced it in Queensland."

Australian Associated Press

Chris Webster · **Joined:** Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:45 am **Posts:** 1087

Australian Fire Tracker Map

Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:

Time to start reviewing your emergency plans, folks.

The climate crisis is the biggest threat to preservation we face.

Bob Hall · **Joined:** Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:37 am **Posts:** 152

As I'm not on Facebook, I'm happy to stand corrected, but from what I saw on this link, it all seems to be old content.
Coming from this part of the world, I've been watching the bushfire app pretty closely in recent weeks and nothing I've seen there or on the news indicates that Zig Zag has been hit again.
Mind you, there are huge fires all around.....
Also, the NSW Railway Museum at Thirlmere seems to have had a lucky escape. The fires came very close and I dare say a considerable part of the line (known locally as The Loop Line) has probably copped considerable damage.
One village on the line, Balmoral, lost about 20 homes. Buxton, which is where most of their local trains run to, had severe fires hit it. This is the place where 2 firefighters lost their lives when a tree fell on their fire truck.
Earlier in the week, the Museum ran three tankers full of water to Buxton to help fight the impending fires.
Having said all that, we're a long way from being out of the woods.
We are in the grip of an enormous drought and no rain of any substance is predicted in this part of the country until February, at least.
The reasons for such massive fires is firstly that the bush is so dry and secondly, we've had unseasonably high winds for weeks on end.
Fire plus fuel plus an injection of large quantities of air equals catastrophe.
In the last few days, the winds have eased, giving firefighters a chance to try and contain these fires, but without rain, the fires won't be properly extinguished.
Also, this is only the start of the bushfire season. The thought that this could go on for months is really worrying, especially when you consider that most of our firefighters are volunteers.
They're exhausted already. How they'll cope with a long season like this is one thing we're all pondering.
Things are so bad that our coal-loving government is finally softening just a tad and starting to concede, very slightly, that there might be such a thing as climate change!
Cheers, Bob

Bob Hall · **Joined:** Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:37 am **Posts:** 152

I stand corrected. I've just read on another link that a spot fire did cause some damage at Zig Zag. A few outbuildings and some old carriages that weren't slated for restoration.
Not nice, but at least not on the scale of the last one!
Cheers, Bob

Alan Walker · **Posted:** Thu Dec 26, 2019 11:40 am

Bob Hall wrote:

I stand corrected. I've just read on another link that a spot fire did cause some damage at Zig Zag. A few outbuildings and some old carriages that weren't slated for restoration.
Not nice, but at least not on the scale of the last one!
Cheers, Bob

Not yet at least. Remember, this is just the start of bush fire season down there.