tragedy in yarra

[Ken Gargett]

i'm in mornington peninsula for a pinot event and reports in about bushfires ravaging yarra valley and places. mates have lost vineyards, homes. reports 40 or more dead.

vineyards and wineries burnt to the ground. absolute tragedy.

spare a thought.

it is about 1am now and rumours endless. place in shock.

gives you an idea, if katrina and more didn't already show it, how brutal, swift and merciless nature can be.

i'll report more tomorrow night - hopefully head home, roads/fires etc permitting - tomorrow morning. there but for the grace...

a really mindnumbing evening. such a contrast - drinking great wines from some of the makers fighting for lives/homes/vineyards. i can't make sense of it.

[Ken Gargett]

just spoke to one mate - a few others yet to be found - unbelievable devastation.

we'd heard his winery burnt to ground. fortunately not all. next door vineyard of 80 acres burnt to nothing in around 60 seconds. horizon completely burning. stll fireballs. now lightning.

victoria has had more than 400 fires today. my mate had 60 foot flames within 12 feet from the winery. some of yarra's biggest names - domaine chandon, tarrawarra, st huberts, giant steps, train trak, coldstream hills, yarra yering and more could be gone. no one knows. reports changing every minute.

healesville lost homes. kinglake obliterated. etc etc. death toll 14 confirmed and possibly four/five times that. place was tinder box dry from days of heat. today hit 46 plus and very strong hot dry winds, which are changing direction still.

feel numb.

[Huckins]

Looks like a terrible tragedy. Ours prayers are with you and those in the midst of this devastation.

Raging wildfires kill at least 14 in Australia

The Associated Press

Sat, Feb 7, 2009 (5:18 a.m.)

Raging wildfires swept southeastern Australia on Saturday, killing at least 14 people and razing some 100 homes as scorching temperatures and gale-force winds combined into a deadly inferno.

Victoria state police said the death toll might exceed 40 as dozens of fires burned unchecked into the night. Some officials described the day as the worst in the sunburned country's history of wildfires.

More than 30,000 volunteer firefighters were battling fires after dark, when helicopters and planes that hand-dumped millions of tons of water on the flames returned to base for safety reasons.

Residents in the paths of the fires reported seeing their towns ablaze, and television footage showed flames leaping at least 25 feet (8 meters) in the air.

"The whole township is pretty much on fire," Peter Mitchell, a resident of Kinglake town, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "There was no time to do anything ... it came through in minutes."

Officials said chaotic scenes on the ground and ongoing firefighting efforts had hampered the collection of information, including the number of deaths and properties burned.

Victoria deputy police commissioner Kieran Walshe said 14 people were confirmed dead at four different sites, all connected to the same fire in Gippsland, a large farming region dotted by small towns and national parks of old-growth eucalyptus trees.

The deadly fire burned on a front of up to 12 miles (20 kilometers) and was moving at around 40 mph (60 kph), officials said. At least 115 square miles (30,000 hectares) was burned out by that one fire.

Of those killed, six died in the same vehicle at Kinglake town, Walshe said.

"This has been an absolute tragedy for this state," he told a news conference. "We believe this figure may only get worse, we are concerned that this figure could even reach up into the 40s."

Victoria's fires were by far the worst of blazes in three states Saturday as temperatures soared to 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius).

Victoria's Country Fire Authority deputy chief Greg Esnouf said the conditions on Saturday were "off the scale" in terms of danger, and warned that the forecast for Sunday was the same.

Police said they believed some of the fires were deliberately lit and were questioning one man in relation to a fire near the Victoria state capital of Melbourne.

Wildfires are common during the Australian summer, as rising temperatures bake forest land tinder dry and blustering winds fan embers. Some 60,000 fires occur each year, and about half are deliberately lit or suspicious, government research says. Lightning strikes and human activity such as use of machinery near dry brush cause the others.

Australia's deadliest fires were in 1983, when blazes killed 75 people and razed more than 3,000 homes in Victoria and South Australia. In 2003, hundreds of houses were destroyed and four people died when a huge blaze tore into the national capital, Canberra. In 2006, nine people died in fires on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula.

[Habanos2000]

The news makes me feel terrible. We hear of these wildfires in the states as well, sometimes it sounds like the entire state of California is going to burn to the ground. Obviously the material things can be replaced, but the human lives lost are just devastating.

[jwm8592]

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those involved in this tragedy, have a safe return Ken.

[DocRKS]

Thoughts and Prayers go out to all there - the news pix here are showing how horrific this tragedy is - how much greater it is when you actually know the people involved..... God Bless All There

[greenpimp]

My thoughts are with you guys. We've had a couple brutal fire seasons here in California and I've come to know it too well. Half of Big Sur burned last year.

Hope your weather changes soon, without anymore loss of life.

[Ken Gargett]

about 7 am here. reports are now that some 25 people confirmed dead. could go higher. reports are plenty of fires still burning. not much else as yet.

[DocRKS]

from the AP story just run here in NY:

"Residents in the paths of the fires reported seeing their towns ablaze, and television footage showed flames leaping at least 25 feet in the air.

Victoria Premier John Brumby, whose parents' house was among those saved by firefighters Saturday, said the death toll was expected to rise "considerably."

"It's been, I think, the worst day in our history," he said.

'It came through in minutes'

"The whole township is pretty much on fire," Peter Mitchell, a resident of Kinglake town, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "There was no time to do anything ... it came through in minutes."

Prayers & Thoughts with you.......

[anacostiakat]

I just happened across this on cnn and hopped over here to see what was going on.

Our prayers and thoughts are with all those affected in what sounds like a real hell.

[Guest rob]

I feel so sorry for all the people affected and especially for those who lost their lives.

Here in Canberra, we lost over 500 houses to terrible bushfires in 2003. It felt almost a miracle at the time that only 5 were killed. Still, 5 to many.

I still have nightmares and bouts of anxiety from having been personally affected at the time.

I trust all the people currently affected in Victoria have the fortitude to regroup and rebuild.

[Ken Gargett]

just at the airport watching the news.

now some 50 fires in nsw. still ten fires in vic not under control and apparently a hot change coming through this evening - so they are desparate to try and hold them before that otherwise, it is all on again.

hot change might seem odd when you had 46 plus degrees yesterday but it went quite cool late last night. temp dropped 17 degrees in one hour. crazy weather. quite cool now.

apparently a lot of these fires lit by morons. i am not particularly fond of the death penalty (except where it is murder or rape of a child) but for these scum, i would happily be the bloke to pull the trigger (and those who know me know what i think of guns) and i would not lose a second's sleep.

[Ken Gargett]

and just to show mother nature is even handed, up in queensland, in the north, vast tracks of the state are under floods. thousands of square miles.

reports are that it will get worse with more rain due.

[sharks]

apparently a lot of these fires lit by morons. i am not particularly fond of the death penalty (except where it is murder or rape of a child) but for these scum, i would happily be the bloke to pull the trigger (and those who know me know what i think of guns) and i would not lose a second's sleep.

I'm with you on this one Ken..

When you get airborn the view must have been devastating if you can see anything at all?

The footage on the tv I dare say only gives us a glimse of what its actually like there.

Fingers crossed for all those involved and abig thankyou to the CFA guys who do a fantastic job

and without them it would have been alot worse..

Sharks

[Ginseng]

An unbelievable tragedy. My heart and thoughts go out to all those affected. Utterly sobering.

Wilkey

[SmokinAl]

An unbelievable tragedy. My heart and thoughts go out to all those affected. Utterly sobering.

Wilkey

Just heard the death toll is in the low 40's now.

[rckymtn22]

Just read that the death toll is at least 84 people. That is worse than "Ash Wednesday". Unbelievable. I hope they catch the person or persons that started the fires.

My heart and thoughts go out to people affected.

[sounddust]

This is a tragedy made incomprehensible by the thought that the fires could have been deliberately started by your own countrymen.

Made infuriating by the idea that these murderers would probably never be caught.

My thoughts and good-wishes to the good people of Australia. You guys are a tough lot, be strong.

[Trevor2118]

Just read that the death toll is at least 84 people. That is worse than "Ash Wednesday".

Unfortunately the fires are still raging, and this morning we wake to hear that the death toll is confirmed at 96 lost.

Edit: 108 now confirmed dead.

[Van55]

Unspeakable tragedy!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7877178.stm

[Caesar]

Thoughts and prayers are with our Australian friends.

Just a sickening story.

[First Lady]

Just watching these poor people who have lost everything- house , belongings, pets, family members..... there is nothing you can do to these bastards that lit the fires... I say leave them in a room with these families and hopefully there is nothing left... I don't give a flying leap if they have problems and it is a condition they should be charged for mass murder.

My husband have had tears in our eyes watching the devestation and feeling totally helpless.... My prayers are going out for them

Lisa

[Fuzz]

Truly a devastating summer.

All those firebugs should be made to stand in the path of the fires they started. Let them burn to a crisp.

And during all this tragedy, of all the stupid/irresponsible things one could do, while driving down the M4 I saw 2 drivers fling their cigarettes out the window.

[aavkk]

Just back in town and saw this... wow. This is such a tragedy and to think that much of the devastation and loss could have been avoided?!?!? My thoughts are with those who have lost friends and family through this.

[Chicago]

My God. My prayers are with our friends in Australia.