TheBanyanTree: Victoria is burning - Part 2

[Red Pepper]

Some facts and figures about our fires.

-- more than 4300 people are fighting the fires, not including residents 
who are protecting their own properties. 47 firefighters from New 
Zealand, 240 from New South Wales (our northern neighbours who have 
their own fires to deal with as well - many thanks!), 1500 staff from 
the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (much of the 
fire is in public land), and 2800 members of the Country Fire Authority, 
who look after fires in all areas outside the Melbourne metropolitan 
region.  Our local fire brigade has been called upon to help, and we are 
hundreds of kilometres away from the fires.

-- there are 43 aircraft, 480 tankers and 180 bulldozers working on the 
fires. The bulldozers are being used to help build containment lines, by 
clearing areas of the bush.

-- only one death so far. 16 houses destroyed, according to today's 
tally. Total property losses - 21 (includes things like sheds).

The Thomson Dam appears to be safe today, with improved conditions last 
night allowing the firefighters to strengthen a 60 km containment line 
around the catchment area.  However, residents in Glengarry, Heyfield, 
Glenmaggie, Newry and Maffra West Upper are stranded, with all roads cut 
off by the fires.  Hopefully they will be okay.

There is also some emerging criticism of Parks management, with claims 
that fire trails into the parks had previously been closed to protect 
the parks, so firefighters were unable to get in. I am certain that when 
all this is over, there will be a lot of finger-pointing between rural 
residents and parks management over the environmental procedures and 
their impact on (contribution to?) the fires.

Fires are also raging in the North-east corner of Tasmania, our southern 
neighbour. Seventeen houses and a number of other buildings have been 
lost there, as the fire moved unexpectedly quickly in some parts.

To quote our metropolitan daily, describing the conditions in Gippsland 
(south-east part of Victoria) yesterday:
'Much of Gippsland was in darkness by mid-afternoon, with thick smoke 
blocking the sun and ash falling. Les White in Sale said: "I've never 
seen anything like it in my life. It's like dead black like night here . 
. . There's burnt leaves and ash falling from the sky - it's just like 
Armageddon."'