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Thread ID: 97438	2009-02-15 23:51:00	Victoria Bushfires	wratterus (105)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
748266	2009-02-15 23:51:00	Found the following set of pictures. www.boston.com	wratterus (105)
748267	2009-02-15 23:59:00	Amazing pics Wrat - bloody horrific :waughh:	nofam (9009)
748268	2009-02-16 00:03:00	As picture 6 shows: The enormity of wildfire will lead to a major rethink of Australia's relationship with the bush and how homes can be safely woven into the delicate fabric of the forests and scrubland . Many of Australia's native plants burn easily . The eucalypts' high oil content makes them particularly fire prone . Vast swathes of dry grass - common in mid-to-late summer - are also extremely flammable . Urban design expert Dr Danny O'Hare told Sydney's Daily Telegraph that it is time Australia learned to live sensibly - and securely - in the bush . Long periods of dry, hot weather and natural vegetation that burns easily makes Australia particularly vulnerable to bushfire . Australian bushfires can be particularly severe as eucalyptus trees contain large amounts of oil which can burn very fast and very hot . Other human management factors which have contributed to the severity of bushfires include high fuel loads, a change from fire prevention to fire fighting measures and not building adequate buffer zones to protect built assets (Nairn Inquiry, 2003) . In 1967 southern Australian was experiencing drought conditions . On 7 February, 264,270 hectares were burnt in southern Tasmania in just five hours . Of the 110 fires burning that morning, the worst was the Hobart fire . The fire made its way over Mt Wellington and encroached on the city's western suburbs . Sixty-two people died, and 1,400 homes and other buildings were destroyed . In the summer of 1983, conditions in Victoria and South Australia contributed to extremely high ignition levels . Drought conditions with a heatwave with temperatures of 43 degrees Celsius meant that forests were highly combustible . On Wednesday 16 February (now known as 'Ash Wednesday'), around 180 bushfires were burning across both states, the largest of them starting in Victoria . In mid-January 2003, extreme weather conditions led to multiple outbreaks of fire in Namadgi National Park to the south of Canberra . Strong winds pushed the fires into forested areas adjoining Canberra and on the afternoon of Saturday 18 January, firestorms fanned by high winds hit Canberra suburbs . Thousands of hectares of forest and park lands were burnt out .	pctek (84)
748269	2009-02-16 00:27:00	It's the way things work over there. There will always be bushfires. Obviously people shouldn't be ****wits and light them deliberatley. That guy is dead right when he says they need to work on prevention rather than cure. If you want live in the middle of nowhere, cut down eucalypts near buildings, keep large areas around buildings free of anything that can burn and keep grass mowed short as possible. Have a large water supply and pumps/generators available. They ought to create some permanent fire 'barriers' in trouble spots and keep them well maintained, as well as around small towns. That's a tiny cost compared to what they have to face now.	wratterus (105)
748270	2009-02-16 01:25:00	Amazing pictures and all very sad for those at Ground Zero, especially those who have lost loved ones . :( But bush fires are all part of the natural cycle in Australia (and elsewhere - west coast of USA, for example) . Regrowth after a burn-off (and a shower or two of rain) is incredible! The fact that fires are actively prevented from occurring, on account of encroachment of human activities (such as building and farming), means that the fires, when they do occur - and however they are started - are far more severe than they would have been had they not been prevented in the first place . Regular small fires get rid of dead wood and scrub which clear the ground preparing it for the next cycle of growth . A clean broom as it were . . . .	johcar (6283)
748271	2009-02-16 02:22:00	I dont think how the bush fires started is relevant. If an arsonist didn't start the fire something else would, the dry grass and undergrowth is a ticking time bomb its going to go sooner or later. Downed power lines, glass acting as magnifying glass, cigarette butt, lightening, spark from exhaust of vehicle its just going to happen. Some of those houses are akin to sitting on a powder keg of gunpowder. The grass should have been back burned in Spring and any trees cleared like we do in Nouvelle Zealande called fire breaks.	prefect (6291)
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