Posted on 03/01/2009 2:31:51 PM PST by naturalman1975
WIND up to 150km/h threatens to turn Victoria into an inferno just weeks after the state's worst bushfire disaster.
Gale-force wind is forecast to howl from tonight with the mercury tipped to hit the high-30s tomorrow.
"It's going to be a terrible, terrible day," Premier John Brumby said.
"It'll probably be the second-worst day we've had.
"I can't put it any more bluntly than that."
Emergency services fear the northerly wind could send bushfires roaring towards towns that narrowly missed the devastation of February 7.
A strong southwesterly wind change late in the day is expected to blow for 24 hours, heightening bushfire fears.
Victoria faces a total fire ban day and parents have been advised that many schools could be closed.
Travel or recreational plans should be reconsidered unless critical, emergency services warned.
Towns in the firing line include Warburton, Healesville, Yarra Glen, Yarra Junction and Warburton East.
The wind change also puts Jamieson, Rubicon and Enoch Point in danger.
The Bunyip fire in Gippsland has the potential to spread towards Drouin, Jindivick and Labertouche. Daylesford residents are on alert after a major blaze last week.
CFA chief officer Russell Rees said fire plans should be activated today to avoid panic and traffic jams in the event of fire outbreaks.
"You need to put in place your plan . . . because it may be that if you think you're going to move Tuesday morning, the trees are down across the road, fire is already in your area," he said.
The risk is so high, police will withdraw teams still searching for bodies in the bushfire zone northeast of Melbourne.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Still?
More Prayers Up!
Let it burn naturally.
I hope those people are evacuating.
OK - and how many people do we sacrifice to let that happen?
We lost over 200 people three weeks ago in fires. We can’t just let these things burn.
We do let a lot of fires burn themselves out naturally when they do not endanger human life. But these are not normal bushfires.
Many will. Some will stay and defend. If you are prepared, then a lot of the time, defending is a viable option. It wasn’t on Black Saturday but they were the worst fire conditions in Victorian history. While winds will be bad tomorrow, temperatures will not be as hot - that should make a big difference.
Most of the people who died were those who weren’t prepared to defend and who didn’t leave early enough - or those who panicked and tried to leave once the fires had arrived.
Besides the high temperatures and winds, are these also arson?
Some of them are. Others have been caused by lightning strikes, and others by accidents.
After hearing of all the tragedies and horrific stories, especially regarding the children, my family and I were pretty shaken up about it. I am still so incredibly sad about what happened to our Australian friends. My prayers are with them.
And how many more firemen do you want to sacrifice ??
It’s obvious you cannot do much with a raging fire....
I’m a volunteer firefighter myself and I’ll almost certainly be out there tomorrow.
Hundreds of lives were saved on Black Saturday by fire crews. They couldn’t save everyone but they saved a lot. Yes, there are some fires that are beyond our ability to control - nothing could be done to save Marysville, for example - but there’s plenty that we can knock down and do knock down.
We don’t sacrifice firefighters - but we’ll take the risks we have to take. If it comes down to it, there’s worse ways to go out than doing it saving lives.
I wish you a good luck then and perhaps some rain.... that would be the best help !
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