Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 It is pitch black here. We are under ember attack. Pray for us please 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said: We have evacuated. Both of my sons at two different fires rang at exactly the same time and told us to get out within the next few hours. We took it very seriously. We are currently in Orbos thinking of you there! Edited December 30, 2019 by Ausmumof3 Just saw the follow up post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Praying for you and your family, Melissa, and for the whole situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Weather conditions were nowhere near as severe here as expected though bad for other parts of the state. DH is still out but should be all ok. Vic looks so scary really thinking of you Melissa and the boys firefighting. Hope it’s not too traumatic for the twins if they’re with you. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 As far as I can tell, the main fire is still 15 from Melissa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Ds 22 just came by. He said we need to be more worried around midnight, when the wind changes. He said they are no longer updating the vicemergancy maps. The fire is just everywhere. We have no power and no radio. I think the mobile tower only has batteries for 2 hours so soon I will have no reception 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 The fire is 4 km away 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 1 minute ago, Melissa in Australia said: The fire is 4 km away You are in a town with some cleared space/solid structure? Praying for you 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 5 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said: He said they are no longer updating the vicemergancy maps. The fire is just everywhere. I was afraid of that. 😣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said: You are in a town with some cleared space/solid structure? Praying for you The cricket ground seems to be the evacuation point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 30 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said: You are in a town with some cleared space/solid structure? Praying for you We are at relatives place. Right beside the highway. The bush and fire is on the other side of town. We are beside the cemetery, so some clear ground 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 My relative also has a water tank that they filled yesterday with town water. So if the town water pressure drops we still have water to fight embers with. the fire must have slowed down or something . There are no embers, just lots and lots of ash falling 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 The change is just about here. Getting windy. The town fire siren just went off. I have heard that up the road 2 small towns have been burnt out 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Praying for you and your family, Melissa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Multiple fires right round the town. We can hear the fire roaring. People in 2neary towns have died 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 My heart is in my throat reading all this. How terrifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Praying!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Praying for you, Melissa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 Holding you all in my thoughts, Melissa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 It is really bad. The north part of town is on fire. Dd twins me sil and her kids just made a dash for the community refuge centre in the middle of town. My DH, ds16 ds22 2 brothers and my parents are trying to defend my parents house. It is really bad 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 ((Melissa)) Still praying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 4 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said: It is really bad. The north part of town is on fire. Dd twins me sil and her kids just made a dash for the community refuge centre in the middle of town. My DH, ds16 ds22 2 brothers and my parents are trying to defend my parents house. It is really bad I really hope all are safe! I’m so sorry things ended up here I’m also just going to put this up here in case and hope desperately that it’s not needed. SO WHEN THE BUSHFIRE EMERGENCY MESSAGE IS “It I s too Late to Leave, You Should Take Shelter and Stay Indoors” - WHAT SHOULD YOU ACTUALLY DO? IF YOU CANNOT SHELTER IN A BUILDING * Shelter behind a wall; beside a large fire resistant tree (that has no flammable undergrowth); in nor beside a car; in a dam (if no vegetation is near either), in a ditch, (cover yourself with earth or blanket); crouch beneath a blankets (must be PURE WOOL) on bare ground or an already burnt area. IF YOU CAN SHELTER IN A BUILDING Before you go inside: * Shut off gas and electricity at the mains. * Put pets inside: dogs on leash, cats in covered cages. * Take in outdoor furniture, doormats, hanging baskets, plastic pot plants. When you are inside: * Make sure all doors and windows are securely shut. * Turn off air conditioners; cover their internal vents. * If windows are unshuttered, cover with blankets (must be PURE WOOL), heavy quality quilts, foil or wet towels. *Move flammable furniture away from windows. * Close internal doors to limit fire spread if embers enter and ignite inside. * Put on protective clothing and nose mask and drink often. * Keep blankets (must be PURE WOOL) handy. * Cool off when possible. * Watch the conditions outside if possible through a small window or peephole. Do not open a door or window to look outside. * When you are sure flaring shrubs have blackened, it’s safe to go out again. (Burning tree trunks do not generally emit killing radiant heat.) PASSIVE SHELTERERS * DO NOT SHELTER IN AN INNER ROOM. Not in the hallway. Not in the bath. If you shelter in ANY kind of inner room – no matter how many doors it has – you could be trapped. Embers may have ignited sub-floor or wall cavities or rafters in the ceiling space,. Flaming walls or ceiling could collapse on you. Toxic fumes from smouldering furnishings, synthetic furniture or wall linings could overcome you. * STAY BY A DOOR THAT EXITS TO OUTSIDE in protective clothing and with blankets (must be PURE WOOL). * It is vital for passive shelterers to exit as soon as the potentially killing radiant heat from fames has died down. ACTIVE SHELTERERS * Take hose, sprayers and ladder inside with you. * Fill bath & troughs with water, immerse towels, roll up and place at door gaps and window ledges. Plug keyholes with play dough, blue-tack or soap. * Fill containers (e.g. garden sprayers) with water; put these, with dippers, mops etc, in each room. * Watch for invading embers. Particularly in the ceiling space, through windows, gaps under doors. Spray or hit with wet mop any sparks, embers or smouldering furnishings. * If any ignition cannot be extinguished, close the door of that room. * Maintain easy access to an exit door. * Never go outside during a flame front to douse an outside ignition. EXITING * Exit with great care, preferably from a door that is sheltered from the wind. * Wear protective clothing & nose cover, cover yourself with your blanket (must be PURE WOOL), crouch, lower your eyelids and open the door gradually. The quintessential bushfire survival resource is a HEAVY DUTY PURE WOOL BLANKET. Covered with their blanket and with a flask of water people have withstood the most catastrophic conditions. Extracted from my Essential Bushfire Safety Tips (CSIRO 2012), www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6969.htm (If you can't afford to buy - most libraries have it.) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Thank you for the info. We had all that ready at the house. But when the fire started rolling over the north part of town my ds23 yelled get the kids out now. My 2 brothers were CFA. My ds a remote area fire-fighter Dewalp. He had just worked 30 hours straight and came to help defend the house. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Praying for your and your loved one's safety Melissa. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Praying for you and all in harm's way there. Edited December 30, 2019 by ScoutTN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 The fire front has passed. We have left the refuge centre and gone back to my parents to get 2 hours sleep they announced it safe to do that. It is 4.30 am. There is another front that will arrive in approx 3 hours. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 It is daylight. The whole sky is thick grey smoke. Ds23 thinks his house is probibly lost. He ought it 8 months ago The village our house is in is going to burn today We are still at my parents house. Waiting for the next fire front 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 This was taken 6 pm yesterday. It should have been daylight still then. It was an awful nighy 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 So scary!! How are the twins doing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkTulip Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Praying for you and all of your family Melissa. Please keep us updated as you can - I know there are many of us who are worried about you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherwith4 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 So scary. You have been on my mind all day. I am praying for you and your family. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 So glad you are ok at this stage. Looks very intense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 3 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said: Thank you for the info. We had all that ready at the house. But when the fire started rolling over the north part of town my ds23 yelled get the kids out now. My 2 brothers were CFA. My ds a remote area fire-fighter Dewalp. He had just worked 30 hours straight and came to help defend the house. Yeah I figured you would have it sorted, but glad you weren’t there to be honest. the shifts those guys are doing at the moment is so insane. I do feel like more gov money needs to go toward it (Where it’s gov run) so they can afford to employ enough people. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 They are updating the fire maps at Vicemergency. We are currently in Orbost. The fire to the north was the one that impacted on the early hours of the morning. The one to the west of the town is the one that may impact today. There are 2 fires heading to my coastal village today from different angles 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) There is a coastal town called Mallacoota right at the end of the state. It has a pop of 1000. At the moment there are 4000 tourists trapped there. They are all sitting on the beach with blankets over them as the fire trucks make a wall of vaper to protect them. The fire front is going through the town rightnow. Houses are burning Edited December 30, 2019 by Melissa in Australia 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 Melissa, still thinking of all of you. This defies imagination. And the folks in Mallacoota... Stay safe. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 38 minutes ago, StellaM said: Are they safe there ? Is the beach protection against radiant heat ? So scary. How you doing ? Just waiting for afternoon wind changes, or ? Safer location not safe similar happened in the Yorketown fire though on a smaller scale seaweed fires is also a think aside from the bigger risk from radiant heat and embers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 18 minutes ago, StellaM said: 😞 I guess this is why there have been constant requests for people to delay non-essential travel. I have never heard of seaweed fire before. It's all simply unimaginable. Hopefully the day will end without loss of life; loss of property seems a foregone conclusion. We’ve had them here but obviously depends on the nature of the beach. We are talking the kind of beaches where it mounds up and dries. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Tragically another RFS volunteer killed yesterday also 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 1 hour ago, StellaM said: 😞 I guess this is why there have been constant requests for people to delay non-essential travel. From CNA https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/mallacoota-beach-australia-bushfire-crisis-victoria-12221750 “Authorities had for days been warning up to 30,000 tourists enjoying Australia's summer holidays to leave the area, which is just one of the hundreds ravaged by this devastating bushfire season. "We've got three strike teams in Mallacoota that will be looking after 4,000 people down on the beach there," Crisp said. "We're naturally very concerned about communities that have become isolated." Preparations were reportedly under way for a sea or airborne evacuation if needed. On social media, residents said they were putting on life jackets in case they need to seek refuge from the fire in the water.” 1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said: Tragically another RFS volunteer killed yesterday also From same link 😞“On Monday, around 100,000 people were urged to flee five Melbourne suburbs as the spiralling bushfire crisis killed a volunteer firefighter battling a separate blaze in the countryside. ... A volunteer firefighter died in New South Wales state and two others suffered burns while working on a blaze more than five hours southwest of Sydney, the Rural Fire Service said. ... But city officials said Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks would go head, but a similar event has been cancelled in Canberra and several regional towns.” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jentrovert Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 I am so sorry. How awful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Have firefighters from other countries offered to help/relieve some of the firefighters? This is so horrible! I wish there were some tangible way I could help! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Sending hugs full of the deepest empathy to all of you in Australia. Like many here in California, I've lived through a couple of terrifying fires, but nothing, just nothing compares to the current situation in Australia. I'm just heartsick for all of you. And I'm stunned at the tone deaf behavior of your government officials. A vacation in Hawaii? Holding the Sydney fireworks? I know the big display is over the harbour and makes for stunning photographs that people around the world love to see. But really. Do you in Sydney need more smoke in the air? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 I am sorry that I am so late to this thread. Prayers being said here. I wish there was more I could do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 7 minutes ago, Junie said: I am sorry that I am so late to this thread. Prayers being said here. I wish there was more I could do. I will wonder what is wrong with my country if it doesn't spend a bit more time attending climate strikes, I gotta say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 2 hours ago, wilrunner said: Have firefighters from other countries offered to help/relieve some of the firefighters? This is so horrible! I wish there were some tangible way I could help! There is a team from US I think and I know NZ had people here 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 6 hours ago, StellaM said: Apparently the tourists in Mallcoota couldn't be evacuated, couldn't leave, due to fires in several directions. People taking shelter on the beach now in another seaside tourist town, Bateman's Bay. The one road out was driving words the fire on a very long, very windy road through thick coastal scrub. Unconfirmed half of the town burned down. But they haven't done the actual count yet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 We have returned home. There is a fire just a few km away, but the wind is blowing it west of us. We will be leaving either as son as the wind. Hangers or before the end of the week as the tempretureis meant to rise to 42 again. We have no idea if my son's house is gone or not. There is fire around that small town right now. He, of course, is back at work. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 (edited) 33 minutes ago, CuriousMomof3 said: So good to see you here! Is the fire still coming towards you or did the front pass? There are still many fires all around us, but it is cooler and the wind has shifted. It is going to be bad until their is either nothing left to burn or we have 100 mm of rain. As there doesn't seem like any chance of rain for a very long time wil will be living with fires most likely until there is nothing left to burn Edited December 31, 2019 by Melissa in Australia 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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