Firestorm

Firestorm: Day 5

Bush fire – 2013 

Monday- 21/10/13

It is paradise here this morning. The Koels and Dollar Birds have arrived from up north to breed and their song was the first I heard this morning. Dawn chorus began with a Koel then Yellow Robins, Kookaburras and then Magpies. Everybody seemed to be making up for the last couple of smoke filled days.

The frog chorus last night was as good as it gets. I think every species that is here was calling, except the one we call the Rain Frog - The Bleating Tree Frog. They only call when the pressure changes as a weather front moves through and showers are on their way. That won't be till wednesday evening, till then its 30 plus degrees and hot nor-westerly winds again. Wednesday is predicted to be a horror with wind gusts up to 90 km/hour.

There were 800 fire fighters out over night doing back burns, containment and mop up. There are 200 more coming in from intersatate today and there should be nearly 2000 firies on the fire grounds today.

The news is full of the fear of the two big fires at Lithgow and Springwood merging to form a megafire with a 300km fire front. If that happens before or on wednesday they are worried about it descending on Western Sydney itself.

Such a fire will leave the Blue Mountains black and hundreds more homes destroyed. Apparently its the worst fire season here in 45 years and a state wide emergency has been declared for the next 30 days. Fire fighters will have the right to force people to evacuate and to demolish burning buildings if they are a risk to other infrastructure. I don't think I've ever heard of those sorts of powers being granted before.

There was a report yesterday of looting up at Lake Macquarie where evacuees hadn't yet returned to their homes. The fire there was particularly fierce with it topping 30-40 metres high as the crown fire rushed from tree to tree. Many had to get onto boats to escape because all the roads were closed. Apparently the police video every vehicle going in and out of evacuated areas in case someone dissappears or looting occurs. If you dont live there they know it and the full force of the law will come knocking on your door!

Well it's lunch time and the wind has changed and the city is blanketed in smoke, probably only 300-400 metres visibility. 

It's blowing a northerly at 20ks so the smoke from all the fires to the north has blow south over us. I've finished clinic for the morning so I won't be contributing to people coming out and breathing this stuff. Such a contrast one wind change can bring and this is only 20ks. Ive never had to face a fire storm with 100k winds and the thing roaring like a fleet of 747's but that is what happens when a fire front fanned by those sort of winds comes at you.

I remember one of the stories from the devastating victorian fires a few years back. This chap had built his house in the forested mountains using his dad's experience from the tragic Mount Macedon fires mid last century. All exterior fittings were fire proof with no plastic anywhere. All the windows were plugged with silicon and they used metal fly screen mesh anywhere they thought embers could blow into a roof space or cavity of any sort.

They then fitted high temperature soldered copper pipe at the eves and the verandah floor level with a small fixed sprinkler head fitted every two metres. He had built his house on top of a large water tank and his own emergency generator in a special room down there as well. With a flick of a switch from inside the house the genny could start and the water pumped into the pipes to form a wall of water all around the house.

They made their own firefighting clothes from woollen blankets. When the fire emergency sounded during the Black Saturday fires this bloke packed up the wife and kids to the evacuation centre and he and his dad waited to defend their home. The fire storm front hit so loud they couldnt hear each other even standing shoulder to shoulder. They stayed inside till the front passed and then dressed in the woollens went outside to fight the spot fires. For an hour or so they would stand in the water curtain then rush out to put this flare up out or hose down a part of the house and then rush back in and cool down, then back out again. I get tears every time I remember him telling the story. Imagine the determination and bravery that father and son had, let alone the trust they had in each other. 

They saved the house but lost a couple of out buildings. A small price for a life times investment. Many others weren't so lucky and died in cars as they tried to escape along smoke blanketed mountain roads.

One group had sought safety in a specially built fire shelter but died when the fire storm breached the fire door. One young man was on the phone to his family when this happened and his dad heard his death screams as he was burnt alive by the super heated air till the phone went dead.