Aussie Bush Fires
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Aerial footage of the Woodgate fire (and others):
https://newsroom.psba.qld.gov.au/Content/Home/Home/Video/Video-Library/-2/-2/1009
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This is from a little town in northern NSW where 2 people lost their lives. The author is the husband of the mayor of Glen Innes
Wytaliba had been back burning before fatal fire: Sparks
Badja SparksI have been a member of the Wytaliba community near Glen Innes for 40 years.
We lost two of our community members in last Friday's bushfires, and the father of my great grandson is in Royal North Shore Hospital being treated for severe burns while trying to save his house and his deceased neighbour.
Nearly 50 per cent of our able adults are members of the Wytaliba RFS, a figure envied by many other brigades. Over those 40 years on our 3500-acre property, we have had more than a dozen out-of-control bushfires that were successfully controlled, the majority in recent years.
Over the last three years, in co-operation with NSW Forestry, National Parks and the RFS, we have had very extensive controlled burning in the state forest and national park on our perimeter.
On September 14, after an outbreak of fires across the Northern Tablelands, high winds caused embers to spot more than 10 kilometres onto the the centre of Wytaliba.
After an initial emergency the fire weather abated, but over the next week the fire spread across much of the property.
In a large operation more than 20 RFS trucks, more than 100 fire fighters, bulldozers and waterbombers were successfully deployed to help defend our homes. All were saved. Much of Wytaliba was blacked out.
Carol (Glen Innes mayor with 20 year RFS service medal) and I have a large cleared area around our double brick house.
That September fire burned to our perimeter. This was just two months ago.
Everything that should be done, was done and lots more.
The fire that came last Friday was of another order of magnitude altogether. A crown fire roaring in from the west on a hot afternoon with an 80km per hour wind, it wasn't on the ground, it was a firestorm in the air, raining fire.
There was no fuel on the ground, it was already burned.
The heat ahead of the fire front ignited nearly everything in its path.
Our house was severely damaged but not destroyed. We weren't home. Others were not so lucky.
Wytaliba has lost two lives and more than half our homes, our school, our bridge our wildlife and 40 years of work to build a community. What was our paradise is now ash.
Thanks to the heroics of Wytaliba RFS and residents, and the Reddestone RFS who incredibly crossed the burning bridge to help us, some was saved.
"Today's not the day to talk about climate change".....No, yesterday was the day, or the day before, or the month before, or the year before,....but it didn't get a mention.
Now we have the reality and the mention it gets is, "don't talk about it now".
So, the politicians (and the media) turn the talk to hazard reduction burns, or the lack of them, as something else to blame on the inner-city raving lunatics.
We had a bushfire two months ago that burned most of our property. It didn't matter. It burned again.
This is climate changed. We're in the worst drought recorded. A million hectares of bush has burned. Barnaby says it's Green voters and the sun's magnetic field.
Pray for rain, pray harder for leadership.
Badja Sparks is a longtime resident of Wytaliba. His home was badly damaged in Friday's fires.
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@NTA said in Aussie Bush Fires:
This is from a little town in northern NSW where 2 people lost their lives. The author is the husband of the mayor of Glen Innes
Wytaliba had been back burning before fatal fire: Sparks
Badja SparksI have been a member of the Wytaliba community near Glen Innes for 40 years.
We lost two of our community members in last Friday's bushfires, and the father of my great grandson is in Royal North Shore Hospital being treated for severe burns while trying to save his house and his deceased neighbour.
Nearly 50 per cent of our able adults are members of the Wytaliba RFS, a figure envied by many other brigades. Over those 40 years on our 3500-acre property, we have had more than a dozen out-of-control bushfires that were successfully controlled, the majority in recent years.
Over the last three years, in co-operation with NSW Forestry, National Parks and the RFS, we have had very extensive controlled burning in the state forest and national park on our perimeter.
On September 14, after an outbreak of fires across the Northern Tablelands, high winds caused embers to spot more than 10 kilometres onto the the centre of Wytaliba.
After an initial emergency the fire weather abated, but over the next week the fire spread across much of the property.
In a large operation more than 20 RFS trucks, more than 100 fire fighters, bulldozers and waterbombers were successfully deployed to help defend our homes. All were saved. Much of Wytaliba was blacked out.
Carol (Glen Innes mayor with 20 year RFS service medal) and I have a large cleared area around our double brick house.
That September fire burned to our perimeter. This was just two months ago.
Everything that should be done, was done and lots more.
The fire that came last Friday was of another order of magnitude altogether. A crown fire roaring in from the west on a hot afternoon with an 80km per hour wind, it wasn't on the ground, it was a firestorm in the air, raining fire.
There was no fuel on the ground, it was already burned.
The heat ahead of the fire front ignited nearly everything in its path.
Our house was severely damaged but not destroyed. We weren't home. Others were not so lucky.
Wytaliba has lost two lives and more than half our homes, our school, our bridge our wildlife and 40 years of work to build a community. What was our paradise is now ash.
Thanks to the heroics of Wytaliba RFS and residents, and the Reddestone RFS who incredibly crossed the burning bridge to help us, some was saved.
"Today's not the day to talk about climate change".....No, yesterday was the day, or the day before, or the month before, or the year before,....but it didn't get a mention.
Now we have the reality and the mention it gets is, "don't talk about it now".
So, the politicians (and the media) turn the talk to hazard reduction burns, or the lack of them, as something else to blame on the inner-city raving lunatics.
We had a bushfire two months ago that burned most of our property. It didn't matter. It burned again.
This is climate changed. We're in the worst drought recorded. A million hectares of bush has burned. Barnaby says it's Green voters and the sun's magnetic field.
Pray for rain, pray harder for leadership.
Badja Sparks is a longtime resident of Wytaliba. His home was badly damaged in Friday's fires.
I had someone come to give me advice on clearing fuel around the house etc, he basically said if you get a decent fire no amount of fuel clearing will help. We have too many mature Eucalypts and we are too close to the bush. Basically said better to have a good escape plan and know ahead of time what you will save and where you will go.
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Another potential issue moving forward is the ability to get home insurance in areas that have a higher than normal fire risk. I know we struggled to find someone that was willing to insure our place. We already pay a fairly high premium, if they refuse to insure us we have a pretty high risk asset.
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@chimoaus said in Aussie Bush Fires:
Another potential issue moving forward is the ability to get home insurance in areas that have a higher than normal fire risk. I know we struggled to find someone that was willing to insure our place. We already pay a fairly high premium, if they refuse to insure us we have a pretty high risk asset.
Can you have a mortgage if you don't have insurance?
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@booboo said in Aussie Bush Fires:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Bush Fires:
Another potential issue moving forward is the ability to get home insurance in areas that have a higher than normal fire risk. I know we struggled to find someone that was willing to insure our place. We already pay a fairly high premium, if they refuse to insure us we have a pretty high risk asset.
Can you have a mortgage if you don't have insurance?
and what's a place worth if no-one can get a mortgage?
See also: sea level rise and flooding risks. Insurers insure until they don't; when the risk becomes likely, insurance no longer works. It's scary stuff
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@booboo said in Aussie Bush Fires:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Bush Fires:
Another potential issue moving forward is the ability to get home insurance in areas that have a higher than normal fire risk. I know we struggled to find someone that was willing to insure our place. We already pay a fairly high premium, if they refuse to insure us we have a pretty high risk asset.
Can you have a mortgage if you don't have insurance?
@nzzp said in Aussie Bush Fires:
@booboo said in Aussie Bush Fires:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Bush Fires:
Another potential issue moving forward is the ability to get home insurance in areas that have a higher than normal fire risk. I know we struggled to find someone that was willing to insure our place. We already pay a fairly high premium, if they refuse to insure us we have a pretty high risk asset.
Can you have a mortgage if you don't have insurance?
and what's a place worth if no-one can get a mortgage?
See also: sea level rise and flooding risks. Insurers insure until they don't; when the risk becomes likely, insurance no longer works. It's scary stuff
I don't think you can get a mortgage without insurance. If a house become uninsurable it pretty much becomes worthless, this is a risk some may face in the future for sure. I read there is a town in Wales that will be pretty much fucked with sea level rise and at this point no compensation for home owners. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/18/this-is-a-wake-up-call-the-villagers-who-could-be-britains-first-climate-refugees
I wonder how the insurance cost is now after the flooding in Townsville and other areas. The insurance companies will be well aware of trends and it would be interesting to get data from that industry to see if there have been any significant changes in payouts for bush fire damage, flooding etc.
If I eventually cannot get insurance on my block and my house burns down I may have to get a tiny home on wheels that if a fire comes again I can tow my home away
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@chimoaus probably not the place, but fuck insurance. North Queensland is basically not in most companies risk appetite now. It's getting really expensive to insure a house, if you can get coverage. And it took 3 months to find coverage for our business assets after our previous insurer dropped us.
The insurance industry can lick my balls
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@mariner4life said in Aussie Bush Fires:
The insurance industry can lick my balls
They'll charge you for that, with an excess and a declined claim 😀
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@chimoaus said in Aussie Bush Fires:
476 Homes lost in NSW and Perth has its hottest November day ever since records began in 1897.
Heat wave Tuesday this week too.
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Woke up this morning to a smokey house - back burning efforts around the Mount Gosper fire and winds have pushed smoke into the Sydney Basin, with increasing intensity this morning.
It is like a light fog, but the sun is far more prominent. At work today you can see and smell the smoke inside the building.
Some photos:
- My street this morning just before 0800 DST - we woke up to smoke so had to close all the windows which I left open for the cool air overnight. Looking south.
- On the way to work about 10 minutes later - looking NNW toward the fire zone approx 85km away (past :
- From the top floor of the building at work, looking north toward the Blue Mountains. Normally on a clear, hot day like this you can see all the way across the greater Sydney basin. Now the visibility is under 1km.
As the day heats up (39C predicted here, 32 on the coast) the winds will dilute the smoke somewhat. In the peak heat of the day it will get still again. At that point we're all smoked out for the next 12 hours or so.