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Aussie's Report
- Thread starter DickT
- Start date
yup 173 is latest update.
Many fires are still burning out of control. Over 1000 homeless.
No admin fees are being recovered from Red Cross charity appeal. All funds go directly to victim support. Please make a donation no matter how small.
http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm
Thanks
Many fires are still burning out of control. Over 1000 homeless.
No admin fees are being recovered from Red Cross charity appeal. All funds go directly to victim support. Please make a donation no matter how small.
http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm
Thanks
Some good news from the flooded north with water receding far enough to get trucks of supplies in. Still weeks of cleanup ahead of them there too.
the eucalypts get fairly tall and the forests are normally a mix of them, hardwood & cedars, couple that with 10 yr drought, 48 C (118 F) day & 60 mph winds.
If you watch footage taken at a distance every now & then you'll see what looks like a solar flare rise up about 3 times higher than the tree line...thats a eucalypt going up - they can throw burning embers up to a km ahead of the main blaze.
If you watch footage taken at a distance every now & then you'll see what looks like a solar flare rise up about 3 times higher than the tree line...thats a eucalypt going up - they can throw burning embers up to a km ahead of the main blaze.
Check out this vid, shows a Koala that survived a fire drinking water from a volunteer fire fighter drink bottle, pretty amazing wild Koals are not normaly real friendly.
http://player.video.news.com.au/news/#AChOHqKEQmKMfv52qA_TGucgz0BnnYkO
http://player.video.news.com.au/news/#AChOHqKEQmKMfv52qA_TGucgz0BnnYkO
Hows this. Satellite pic showing the smoke reaching New Zealand.
http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2009-02-10
Click the small pic for higher res.
http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2009-02-10
Click the small pic for higher res.
"Sam" the koala {from bottled water drinking fame} is recovering very well 
She's become quite a celebrity too
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29123220/
Koala love story wins hearts after Aussie fires
Caretaker: Rescued animals keep 'putting their arms around each other'
SYDNEY - A love story between two burned koalas rescued from Australia's deadliest bushfires has provided some heart-warming relief after days of devastation and the loss of more than 180 lives.
The story of Sam and her new boyfriend Bob emerged after volunteer firefighter David Tree used a mobile phone to photograph and film the rescue of the bewildered female found cowering in a burned-out forest at Mirboo North, 90 miles southeast of Melbourne.
Photos and a video of Tree, 44, approaching Sam while talking gently to her, and feeding her water from a plastic bottle as she put her burned claw in his cold, wet hand quickly hit video sharing Web site YouTube, making her an Internet sensation.
But it was after reaching a wildlife shelter that Sam met and befriended Bob, who was saved by wildlife workers on Friday, two days before Sam, in Boolarra, about 110 miles from Melbourne.
Tree, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 26 years, said it was extremely rare to get so close to a koala so he asked his colleague Brayden Groen to film him.
"You can how she stops and moves forward and looks at me. It was like a look saying, 'I can't run, I'm weak and sore, put me out of my misery,'" Tree told Reuters.
"I yelled out for some water and I sat down with her and tipped the water up. It was in my hand and she reached for the bottle then put her right claw into my left hand which was cold so it must have given her some pain relief and she just left it there. It was just amazing."
Love story
Sam was taken to the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson. Her story was reminiscent of a koala named Lucky who survived the 2003 bushfires that destroyed about 500 homes and killed four people in the capital of Canberra. Lucky became a symbol of hope.
Colleen Wood from the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter that is caring for Sam and Bob said both koalas were doing well while other animals like possums, kangaroos, and wallabies were also starting to emerge from the debris.
Koalas are especially vulnerable to wildfires because they move slowly on the ground.
Often mistakenly called koala bears because they resemble a child's teddy bear, the marsupial is actually a rather grumpy creature with a loud growl and sharp claws. It rarely comes down from the trees and doesn't like walking.
The wildfires cut through parks and forests and sent countless wombats and other native species fleeing. One resident reported seeing kangaroos bouncing down the road with flames at their backs.
The fires also razed farmland, killing or panicking sheep and cattle. Television footage showed cows running down the main street of a smoke-filled town.
A count of the animals killed has not been made.
'Giving each other hugs'
She said Sam had suffered second degree burns to her paws and would take seven to eight months to recover while Bob had three burned paws with third degree burns and should be well enough to return to the bush in about four months.
"They keep putting their arms around each other and giving each other hugs. They really have made friends and it is quite beautiful to see after all this. It's been horrific," said Wood.
Sam is probably aged between two to four going by her teeth and Bob is about four so they have a muchness with each other."
Wood said about 20 koalas had been brought into her shelter in recent days, several of whom had bonded as koalas are known to clump together, but none had garnered the same attention as the new Internet star Sam.
Tree, a volunteer with the Country Fire Authority Victoria, has visited Sam since her rescue and was delighted to see she had found a boyfriend in Bob.
"They've really taken a shine to each other as they are both burned and share the same burned smell," he said. "My heart goes out to the people in these fires and this was so innocent so people have used this to distract them from all the sad stuff that has gone on. It gives people a bit of hope."
Wood said there was no doubt the animal was wild, not domesticated, and that it would be released back into nature once a suitable habitat is found — the foliage in Sam's forest was all but destroyed.
"The hardest part is going to be trying to find enough habitat to support these guys," Wood said.
Koala love story wins hearts after Aussie fires
Caretaker: Rescued animals keep 'putting their arms around each other'
SYDNEY - A love story between two burned koalas rescued from Australia's deadliest bushfires has provided some heart-warming relief after days of devastation and the loss of more than 180 lives.
The story of Sam and her new boyfriend Bob emerged after volunteer firefighter David Tree used a mobile phone to photograph and film the rescue of the bewildered female found cowering in a burned-out forest at Mirboo North, 90 miles southeast of Melbourne.
Photos and a video of Tree, 44, approaching Sam while talking gently to her, and feeding her water from a plastic bottle as she put her burned claw in his cold, wet hand quickly hit video sharing Web site YouTube, making her an Internet sensation.
But it was after reaching a wildlife shelter that Sam met and befriended Bob, who was saved by wildlife workers on Friday, two days before Sam, in Boolarra, about 110 miles from Melbourne.
Tree, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 26 years, said it was extremely rare to get so close to a koala so he asked his colleague Brayden Groen to film him.
"You can how she stops and moves forward and looks at me. It was like a look saying, 'I can't run, I'm weak and sore, put me out of my misery,'" Tree told Reuters.
"I yelled out for some water and I sat down with her and tipped the water up. It was in my hand and she reached for the bottle then put her right claw into my left hand which was cold so it must have given her some pain relief and she just left it there. It was just amazing."
Love story
Sam was taken to the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson. Her story was reminiscent of a koala named Lucky who survived the 2003 bushfires that destroyed about 500 homes and killed four people in the capital of Canberra. Lucky became a symbol of hope.
Colleen Wood from the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter that is caring for Sam and Bob said both koalas were doing well while other animals like possums, kangaroos, and wallabies were also starting to emerge from the debris.
Koalas are especially vulnerable to wildfires because they move slowly on the ground.
Often mistakenly called koala bears because they resemble a child's teddy bear, the marsupial is actually a rather grumpy creature with a loud growl and sharp claws. It rarely comes down from the trees and doesn't like walking.
The wildfires cut through parks and forests and sent countless wombats and other native species fleeing. One resident reported seeing kangaroos bouncing down the road with flames at their backs.
The fires also razed farmland, killing or panicking sheep and cattle. Television footage showed cows running down the main street of a smoke-filled town.
A count of the animals killed has not been made.
'Giving each other hugs'
She said Sam had suffered second degree burns to her paws and would take seven to eight months to recover while Bob had three burned paws with third degree burns and should be well enough to return to the bush in about four months.
"They keep putting their arms around each other and giving each other hugs. They really have made friends and it is quite beautiful to see after all this. It's been horrific," said Wood.
Sam is probably aged between two to four going by her teeth and Bob is about four so they have a muchness with each other."
Wood said about 20 koalas had been brought into her shelter in recent days, several of whom had bonded as koalas are known to clump together, but none had garnered the same attention as the new Internet star Sam.
Tree, a volunteer with the Country Fire Authority Victoria, has visited Sam since her rescue and was delighted to see she had found a boyfriend in Bob.
"They've really taken a shine to each other as they are both burned and share the same burned smell," he said. "My heart goes out to the people in these fires and this was so innocent so people have used this to distract them from all the sad stuff that has gone on. It gives people a bit of hope."
Wood said there was no doubt the animal was wild, not domesticated, and that it would be released back into nature once a suitable habitat is found — the foliage in Sam's forest was all but destroyed.
"The hardest part is going to be trying to find enough habitat to support these guys," Wood said.
AAAaaawwww thats just too cute Pam.
Latest News:
Milder weather conditions have helped Victorian firefighters keep two main bushfires from merging to create a super fire.
Rain and cooler conditions overnight gave firefighters some respite as they continued to battle 21 fires that are still out of control.
Fears have now eased that two major fires, Gippsland's Bunyip Ridge blaze and the Yea Murrindindi fires to the north, may join unless protective work keeps them apart.
Melbourne's already drought-starved water catchments could also be under threat by fires sparked by lightning strikes near Healesville and Warburton, just east of Melbourne.
----------------------------
Death Toll may reach 300 with up to 1 in 5 dead in Marysville
5000+ homeless, many have only the clothes they wear having lost everything including I.D.
Firefighting agencies said last night they were bracing themselves for hot northerly winds to return to Victoria next week.
Latest News:
Milder weather conditions have helped Victorian firefighters keep two main bushfires from merging to create a super fire.
Rain and cooler conditions overnight gave firefighters some respite as they continued to battle 21 fires that are still out of control.
Fears have now eased that two major fires, Gippsland's Bunyip Ridge blaze and the Yea Murrindindi fires to the north, may join unless protective work keeps them apart.
Melbourne's already drought-starved water catchments could also be under threat by fires sparked by lightning strikes near Healesville and Warburton, just east of Melbourne.
----------------------------
Death Toll may reach 300 with up to 1 in 5 dead in Marysville
5000+ homeless, many have only the clothes they wear having lost everything including I.D.
Firefighting agencies said last night they were bracing themselves for hot northerly winds to return to Victoria next week.