The temperature today is hot hot HOT!

[Barklessdog]

That's insane. What are the average temperatures for this time of year?

[Freuds_Cat]

The mean maximum temperature in Adelaide for the last week of  Jan / first week of Feb (our hottest time of year) is about 30C (86F) with peaks on the occasional day of up to 36C (97F).

We had a cool change come through a few hours ago and the temp dropped down into the high 20C's

Phew! its weird but its now down to 18C (its 10.30pm) and it actually feels cold.


We fared a lot better than other places.

14 dead in Victorian inferno
Fourteen people are dead and at least 100 homes have been destroyed as fires burn over tens of thousands of hectares in Victoria and New South Wales.

Six have been killed at Kinglake, four at Wandong, three at Strathewen and one at Clonbinane. Police fear up to 40 people may have died.

[Freuds_Cat]

More hot animal pics






This little guy is quite young. Some of the full grown buck Koala's around the hills are as big as my 4 year old son.

This is not normal for these animals. They are usually very shy and generally nocturnal.

[Freuds_Cat]

The death toll from the Victorian bushfires now stands at 49, with 640 houses destroyed *Edit: 84 dead and 700+ homes destroyed
It is now Australia's worst bushfire disaster.

Man we got off lucky. It was hotter here and we have less people on the ground to deal with it when it happens, combined with a bigger area to cover.

Meanwhile 1/2 of Queensland is underwater   Its a bizarre world we live in.

[Freuds_Cat]

Queensland is underwater.






And Victoria is burned.






What a country 

[TBird1958]

wow........Just wow 

[Freuds_Cat]

Death toll now 108 



Firebugs relighting Victorian fires
At least one firebug is adding to the misery of Victorians and hampering the efforts of exhausted firefighters.
The Country Fire Authority says it is unsure of how many arsonists there are, or their identities, but has confirmed that some of the fires raging across tens of thousands of hectares are being deliberately relit.
Steve Warrington, the deputy chief of CFA  said:
"We had predictions yesterday that we thought there would be spotting of about seven or eight kilometres," he told ABC Local Radio.

"We know we do have someone who is lighting fires in this community. While we often think it's spotting, we also know that there are people lighting fires deliberately."

But he says even without arson, the fires have burned more intensely than anyone anticipated.

[Freuds_Cat]

The death toll from the fires has risen to 131.

Twenty-eight fires are still burning.

Smoke from bushfires in the Gippsland region east of Melbourne spreads out across Bass Strait on the afternoon of February 7, 2009

[Barklessdog]

I saw a special on Australia. They said it is one of the worst continents for mass fires, which happen regularly. I can't imagine this being a regular occurrence.

They also said that Eucalyptus trees are like incendiary devises that literally bursting to flames they are so flammable.

[Freuds_Cat]

These Victorian fires are worst in recorded history.  173 confirmed dead now.
This is our 4th straight year of drought.

This is from Wiki and is a pretty accurate account.

The Ash Wednesday fires were a natural disaster that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km (68 mph) per hour caused widespread destruction across the states of Victoria and South Australia.Years of severe drought and extreme weather combined to create one of Australia's worst fire days in a century.
Only the 2009 Victorian bushfires have claimed more lives.
In Victoria, 47 people died, while in South Australia there were 28 deaths. This included 17 volunteer firefighters who died across both states that day. Many fatalities were as a result of firestorm conditions caused by a sudden and violent wind change in the evening which rapidly changed the direction and size of the fire front. The speed and ferocity of the flames, aided by abundant fuels and a landscape immersed in smoke, made fire suppression and containment impossible. In many cases, residents fended for themselves as fires broke communications, cut off escape routes and severed electricity and water supplies. Up to 8000 people were evacuated in Victoria at the height of the crisis and a state of disaster was declared for the first time in South Australia's history.
Over 3,700 buildings were destroyed or damaged and 2,545 individuals and families lost their homes. Livestock losses were very high, with over 340,000 sheep, 18,000 cattle and numerous native animals either dead or later destroyed.
The emergency saw the largest number of volunteers called to duty from across Australia at the same time – an estimated 130,000 firefighters, defence force personnel, relief workers and support crews.

South Australia was let off the hook last week and while it is cool atm the temp will be rising back up to the high 30's during the coming weekend. Its not over yet.

The Ash Wednesday fires in '83 did to the Adelaide hills where I live, the same as the current fires did to King Lake in Victoria.

[Freuds_Cat]

25 bushfires still burning. 181 confirmed dead, 50 still missing.

Have a look at how the radiant heat from the fire has just vapourised the tyres on the tractor.


There is a helicopter that comes from the USA to Australia each year called Elvis. This has become the most famous helicopter  in Australian history. There would be very few people in this country that had not heard of Elvis the fire fighting helicopter.

I spotted this great pic of Elvis. I have seen him it fly over my house once or twice before.

[uwe]

Somebody dial down the sun please.

[TBird1958]

 That would be an CH-54 Skycrane..............looks good in orange.

[Freuds_Cat]

Thanks Mark. I have heard them refer to it as a Skycrane before but I didnt know the model/type. I've flown in a few military helicopters including Blackhawks, Iriquoi's and old Russian MI8's but Elvis is quite an amazing beast.

[Barklessdog]

Thinking some cold thoughts for you. Hope things have gotten cooler.


It snowed last night hopefully these pictures will give you a tiny bit of relief