84 killed in deadliest-ever Australian wildfires

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Quote:

84 killed in deadliest-ever Australian wildfires By TANALEE SMITH, Associated Press Writer – Sun Feb 8, 7:59 am E. HEALESVILLE, Australia – 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.

"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.

[Nan]

Thanks for posting this, Pam. I spent most of yesterday (Sunday) checking the news updates in horror.

My hometown is about 30-40 miles from where much of the damage has happened (Kinglake and Marysville) and when I rang my sister Sabbath afternoon they said they were evacuating, partly because they help an old lady

with mobility problems. But that was a false alarm and that town is OK this time. I have a cousin at Kinglake but she and her house are OK, must be one of the 22 said still to be standing in the area. Five of my erstwhile sisters-in-law live in the area of another major fire but they and their houses are all safe too.

The fire potential in a drought stricken area, with eucalypts - the oil from the leaves evaporates into the

air and is just ripe to burn and explode - is terrifying, given the conditions at the weekend.

I am in Sydney, there are some fires in this state but nothing of the magnitude described.

Aldona is in Victoria but not directly affected at this time, as far as I can tell. We are all reeling from

the tragedy of it all.

[Amelia]

I saw the pictures. Just horrific. Praying for all involved. I can't even imagine... and how does one survive after losing everything? Look down Father and ease the pain.

[aldona]

Quote:

Aldona is in Victoria but not directly affected at this time, as far as I can tell.

Not directly affected in the sense that my life and property is not at risk, but the past weekend has been one of the most scary experiences of my life...

Our church choir went to Bairnsdale (4 hours drive east of Melbourne) on Sabbath to provide music for the church service and put on an afternoon concert/ outreach program.

We were OK on the way there in our air-conditioned bus, but as the day progressed we knew it was getting hotter and hotter. Each time we stepped outside from the nice air-conditioned church, it was like an oven.

We finished our concert and left Bairnsdale about 5.30pm. About 15 minutes out, the air conditioner on the bus stopped working because of the extreme heat. (about 45 C = 113 F outside at this stage.) I think I know now what hell will feel like. We had to open the window otherwise we would have suffocated, but then all we got was 113 F hot moving air and by now we were getting increasing amounts of smoke and ash.

The road was too narrow and the bus too large to pull over for another 15-20 minutes until we got to the next town (Stratford). Here we entered what looked like a huge wall of smoke with the wind blowing flying ash and cinders everywhere. We could see smoke from the fires at Dargo (to the north). We realized that we could not go any further and by now one of our ladies was having a bad asthma attack (thank God I had my medical kit bag with me, including a Ventolin inhaler).

So we put the lady with asthma, and another couple of our eldest and most frail people, into another choir member's car which was travelling behind us (and which still had air conditioning), and headed back to Bairnsdale. The bus followed as best they could with no air-conditioning. We took the lady with asthma to the hospital - she was OK once she got a supply of her usual medication, which she had left in Melbourne.

Then the folks from Bairnsdale church put all 40+ of us up for the night in a school camp property owned by one of the members. We had food and shelter and everything we needed - toothbrushes, toothpaste, changes of underwear, toiletries, diapers for the babies, you name it. But we were stuck 4 hours from home and no idea when we would be allowed back - all roads leading into Melbourne were blocked and the only options were (a) to sit and wait or ( to head north to Canberra (another 5-6 hours).

Sunday morning we checked with the police and the roads were still closed, so our hosts organized a boat tour of the Gippsland Lakes for a couple of hours, which kept everybody distracted and relatively happy. (weather much cooler but heavy smoke hanging in the air everywhere.) We were mentally preparing ourselves for another night at the camp ground but it was a huge relief when the main highway was re-opened and we left Bairnsdale at 3.30pm. (Air conditioning working again!) We got back into Melbourne about 7.30 or 8 pm and we could see along the way some of the areas that had been burnt. Thank the Lord that we are all OK and the only damage to the bus was a thick layer of ash all over.

This has been the biggest fire disaster in our nation's history (no, I'm not exaggerating). The newspaper headlines are using words like "Armageddon" and "apocalypse". When I last checked, the death toll was 108 and still expected to rise as emergency personnel enter and search some of the devastated areas. The army has now been called in to help the other emergency services.

The whole town of Marysville has been effectively wiped off the map. I think there was one building partially left standing. This area was home to a lot of SDA members and independent ministries.

The biggest trauma hospital in the state (the Alfred Hospital, with the main burns unit) is full to capacity and ran out of morphine at one stage yesterday. Red Cross is running a big appeal urging people to donate blood.

The place where I work in Monbulk is not directly affected but my colleagues told me they got a lot of flying ash, embers and smoke on Saturday night from the fires at Kinglake/ Yarra Valley to the north. A lot of people I have spoken to have friends or family in the affected areas. One of the doctors I work with knew a person who had died.

I'm at work now so I'll have to sign off now but I will check back later - have not had a chance to check the ADRA website to see what our church is doing and where to donate money/goods. My fellow musical geeks and I are already talking about putting on an informal benefit concert or musical evening and donating the proceeds to the fire victims.

Pray for all those involved and thank God for our dedicated fire fighters, police, paramedics and volunteers.

aldona

[Woody]

I am so sorry. And I will pray for all you down under.

Have they determined what group of people would want to burn all this land and people? Has a group or individual accepted responsibility?

I've never understood arson. Is it an illness in some? Or is it extremists that just like to destroy?

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Aldona, I'm so glad you and your group stayed safe, but under such conditions must have been traumatic. From the news reports that I've seen, the Aussie fire fighters, paramedics, police, and medical teams have done a superb job under horrendous conditions.

We are praying for you all .... please - keep us updated!

[Gail]

I just cannot imagine! Thank you for your update, Aldona- much appreciated and I'm glad that you are all back in your homes safe and sound.

Is the weather due to turn soon? What is the forecast for the near future?

[Nan]

The official death toll is now 131.

The Blood Bank has been overwhelmed with donors.

And just for the record, I heard the director of ICU at the Alfred say that the hospital had not run out of morphine but they had to call pharmacy staff in to replenish their ward stocks.

ADRA has given $150 000 to be used through the Red Cross, and the Victorian Conference is supporting local members and friends in need with a donation and a special offering this Sabbath.

There are still many fires burning. Some are thought to be arson, but fires can start in many ways in the incredible conditions. The arsonists if convicted will be treated as mass murderers - which means a long jail

term, there is no death penalty in this country.

Aldona, I am so glad you and your group are safe.

[Liz]

Lots of prayers and hugs.

[phkrause]

Heard that the death toll is over 170 now. What a tragedy. Will put you in our prays.

pk

[aldona]

Here's an update from the Victorian Conference of the SDA Church...

http://vic.adventistconnect.org/

Some of the fires have been downgraded to "controlled", others are still burning.

The public response to the tragedy has been wonderful to see.

One of the docs at our clinic is volunteering some time in the affected area (so I might have to pick up some of the slack at our end.)

Some of our church folks are organizing collections of food, toys, clothes and other goods. I have just dropped off some bags of stuff at the St Vincent Society and Salvation Army drop-off points on my way to work.

I know a few people in the Healesville/ Marysville/ Toolangi areas but am not aware (yet) of any of them being personally affected. A lot of the country churches have their own branches of ADRA, which would no doubt be extremely busy right now.

We will be taking up a special collection at all the churches in Victoria this Sabbath.

aldona

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Aldona, thanks for the update! I've been wondering & worrying how you all are faring...

[Stan]

I detest this kind of trauma that people suffer..

BUT I rejoice so much when non affected people pool together to help those in tragedies like this, about the only good thing that comes out of this.

[aldona]

It didn't take long for the religious funny-mentalists to come out and start identifying various sins that have brought God's judgment on the nation... in this case, the vote that passed in Victoria a few months ago to decriminalize abortion.

read the story here

Quote:

PASTOR Danny Nalliah was not surprised by the bushfires due to a dream he had last October relating to consequences of the abortion laws passed in Victoria. He said these bushfires have come as a result of the incendiary abortion laws which decimate life in the womb. CTFM has called on all Australian Bible-believing, God-fearing Christians to repent and call upon the Lord Jesus Christ for his mercy and protection over Australia once again. "Yesterday (Monday) the front page of the Herald Sun newspaper reported 'the darkest hour' for Victoria. A few months ago the news media should have reported the darkest hour for the unborn, but unfortunately the decriminalisation of abortion bill went through parliament and was passed, thus making many people call Victoria the baby-killing state of Australia," Mr Nalliah said. "In my dream I saw fire everywhere, with flames burning very high and uncontrollably. With this I woke up from my dream with the interpretation as the following words came to me in a flash from the spirit of God. That his conditional protection has been removed from the nation of Australia, in particular Victoria, for approving the slaughter of innocent children in the womb. "Can we stop the fires? Yes we can! But it will take God's children to rally together and repent and cry unto him as in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (The Holy Bible)."

I'm not going to go into the whole abortion debate but needless to say, this makes me so angry I'm almost speechless. I would like "Pastor" Nalliah to have the guts to say this to the face of the parents of the 8-month-old baby who perished in the fire and who is featured on the cover of today's Melbourne Herald-Sun (and who obviously did not have her aborted).

I use quotation marks around his title on purpose, as those religious leaders who are true pastors (i.e. shepherds of God's flock) are the ones who are out there manning relief stations, giving out food and clothing and providing shelter, and comforting the bereaved and displaced.

Any religious believer has the right to believe in a God who punishes the innocent to teach the guilty a lesson, if that is what they choose to believe, but to come out with these kinds of statements at a time when the flames have not yet been extinguished and more tragedies occur every day, is not what Jesus would do, in my humble opinion.

aldona

[phkrause]

He he also an Adventist Pastor too? If he is or not I guess it doesn't matter but you'd think that an SDA Pastor would know better. For that matter all should know better. I guess when they say things like that you have to wonder how well they really know the Father in heaven!!!

pk

[aldona]

No, Danny Malliah is not an Adventist - he is a leader of "Catch The Fire" ministry, which I believe is Pentecostal. He has been in the media more than once in the past for making inflammatory remarks, and has been found guilty under the "racial vilification" law that we have in this state, for making comments about Muslims that were seen as inciting hatred.

From Adventist pastors and organizations, I have seen and heard only support and practical help.

The crisis is still not over...many fires are still burning, there is a different list every day of town and communities that are under threat, and yesterday there was fear that the two largest fires would join together to form one monster blaze that could threaten the whole eastern half of Victoria.

Where I work, we are not under direct threat but these two large fires are about 40-50 miles to the north and 30-40 miles to the east respectively. Most of my patients and staff have friends and family members in the affected areas, and many of the local people are volunteer firefighters so they have been called up to help.

Every shopping mall and supermarket has a donation point for food, clothing and other goods. The amount of stuff donated in a short period of time has been phenomenal.

Another thing that I have really noticed was that as I drove to work in the mornings this week, everybody I saw out on the street and in other public places seemed permanently glued to their mobile phones. Probably trying to get in contact with loved ones or trying to get updates from emergency services.

I guess it is a natural response after a disaster of this magnitude, but it is unfortunate to see people starting to point the finger and assign blame for what has happened. The religious zealots blame sinners, the people blame the environmentalists, the environmentalists blame the government, the government and police blame arsonists, and everybody has got all the answers as to whose fault it is and how it could have been prevented if only things were done their way.

...or, in a parody of the fire safety advertisement that we have all heard and seen so many times recently...

"It's bushfire season in Victoria and it's time to activate your Blame Plan. If you're going to blame, blame early."

aldona

[aldona]

To give you an idea of the distance between the city and the fires, here is the view of Melbourne as seen from Kinglake West (which has been completely destroyed by fire).

I have seen caps and other memorabilia appearing on EBay with messages such as "We Will Rebuild Marysville" and "We Will Rebuild Kinglake."

aldona

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Incredible photo, Aldona... the burnt-out area with Melbourne just above it.. so close.

And now for people to start playing the Blame Game... I think you're right - it's the consequence of a catastrophic event. But it certainly isn't going to help anything now.

Keeping all of you in prayer...

[Nan]

Today Healesville is under threat, on the western side. To the east of Healesville is the

famous wildlife sanctuary, famous for lots of things including its platypus breeding program.

So far Warburton which (perhaps selfishly) is the focus of my interest is not under direct threat

but it is not much more than 20 miles from Healesville.

Last night I spoke to my cousin who lives in East Kinglake, they had built a nuclear warfare strength bunker under their garage and took shelter there with neighbours, 6 dogs, 2 cats and a guinea pig.( sometimes you have to smile so you do not cry.)

One of the touching if less dramatic video clips, which you may have seen, showed a koala accepting a drink of water from a bottle held by a fire fighter. Normally these little guys do not need to drink water, he must

have been totally parched.

[Nan]

I read a very good reply to that mad 'pastor' in yesterday's paper. The writer quoted the book of Job, saying

we do not always have the reason but we know we have God's support, and also those words of Jesus when He said

that the people killed when a tower collapsed were not any worse than their neighbours. There was more generally supportive writing too.

[Gail]

Re:the blame game

Didn't someone say once that this very blaming pastime would happen before Jesus comes?

Seems to me we haven't seen the end of it...

[Amelia]

Pastor Danny Nalliah = froot loop

Apparently this little gal drank 3 bottles of water!

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I'm so glad they found her!!!!!

[aldona]

"Sam" the koala now has a new friend - a male koala named Bob, also rescued from the fires. (A great story just in time for Valentine's day, and something to smile about among the bad news!)

Koala Sam finds love after the bushfires

Koalas don't normally drink much water unless they are really dehydrated. They can usually get all the moisture they need out of the eucalyptus leaves they eat. (The word "koala" is Aboriginal for "doesn't drink.")

I'm at work at the moment and there is a smoky haze hanging in the air everywhere from the fires at Healesville, just to the north. The sunlight shining through the smoke (4 p.m.) makes everything glow with an eerie golden-red light. Driving up Monbulk Road towards Lilydale you can actually see the plumes of smoke rising up from behind the mountains.

I have been running behind all week because just about every single patient knows somebody who is affected in some way - and a lot of them just want someone to talk to about it.

We are not under threat at this stage but some of the nearby towns are starting to be mentioned in the fire brigade's regular updates, as places that need to be on alert and prepare to activate their fire plans if necessary. (Warburton, Millgrove, Wesburn, Woori Yallock, Launching Place, Seville and Wandin).

The Adventist retirement village in Warburton is set up ready for evacuation if necessary, but so far it has not come to that.

Will no doubt find out more at church tomorrow.

aldona (alarmed but not alert...or is it supposed to be the other way around?)

[Neil D]

Koalas don't normally drink much water unless they are really dehydrated. They can usually get all the moisture they need out of the eucalyptus leaves they eat. (The word "koala" is Aboriginal for "doesn't drink.")

So, I guess this means that this koala, which 'doesn't drink', is really an "anti-Koala"....

I wonder if he would take/drink Seven Up or Ginger beer...? Wouldn't that be a sort of 'anti-cola'?

Ok, this is bad and it's late and my mind is workin' weird....

Good night folks...stay safe please...I want to type at you all later...