This is a very moving picture...the level of trust for that animal, and the compasion from that fire fighter..as if they are holding hands, to say "everythings going to be ok" My heart goes out to all you ausies, and your loved ones..My prayers are with you and your families...please take care
I am from Australia and i have lived in san diego for 6 years,my family are still there away from the fires,but today i got a call at work to tell me a friend died in her car as it was engulfed in flames,it really hit home that even though i am on the other side of the world i can be directly affected,i worked with this woman and she was a great person,i will miss her.The above photo shows that human and animal can share andunderstand the pain of what is going on,all barriers are broken in times like this,trust in somone else like the koala to the human is all that koala has.And we think we have problems.
just heard from my old man paul hoffman is fine the fires are moving away from his part of healesville at the moment. cant trust that wind though.
Well it may not have been deliberate, but how fucking stupid can you be!!!!! In that heat and wind to be outside grinding was idiotic!!!! I'm speechless...... We had a 2 printouts of the areas burnt since Sunday to this morning..... MY GOD!!! Its around 20 times bigger and its still going
I'm not going to pretend to know what you all are going through, because i cannot begin to fathom it! My thoughts and prayers are with you, though!
God speed to all the emergency services personell putting their safety on the line for us, and thank god for Elvis and his mates! Fingers crossed this stays away from the main reservoirs....
Hi Bob, as best I can learn Boolara copped the brunt of that fire and Mirboo North is mostly in tact. If I learn anything more I'll let you know.
Some more perspective from a local news service: Former national secretary of the Salvation Army Lieutenant Colonel Don Woodland has assisted at some of Australia's most traumatic events, including the Kempsey bus crash, Bali bombings, the Port Authur massacre and the Thredbo landslide. He is currently at Whittlesea, one of the most fire ravaged areas in Victoria, and says it is hard to comprehend the destruction. "I've never seen anything like it in my life and I've heard a couple of people here and there describe it as our Hiroshima and that's what it looks like," he said. "It must have been horrendous to be involved in it. The mind just can't get around it, but as far as people are concerned their responses are identical to every other situation we've been in..............
Allthough like most money is thin on the ground at the moment, We have a shitload of baby/toddler (toys and clothes that we were going to pass on to relatives etc) stuff that we have been looking to donate the the cause but no one will take them-money only. On the news there is continual reports of people with only the shirts on their back. Short of driving down myself(which I am thinking about) and giving to some one has anyone got any suggestions?
Try your local CWA ,there should someone listed in the local phone book. They would be more than willing to help,even it is only to contact their branches in Victoria and coordinate the contacts to help you . NSW branches,there has to be someone near you .And if anyone knows the trials of bush life,the members of the CWA do. http://www.cwaofnsw.org.au/branchesGroups/division.do
My heart goes out to all those people affected by these terrible bushfires. To think also that some of these fires were deliberately lit especially in the Kinglake area were over 140 people lost there lives does my fuckin' head in. Hope they find these pricks and throw them in a deep dark hole! That is mass murder pure and simple. Like many others I grew up watching Brian Nyler on the news, he was one of the most familiar faces on television, to think that such a decent person lost his life, as well as that of his wife's, defending his home against a fire that was lit by some absolute fuckin' zero is beyond belief. Boner
It's too far to send stuff from here on the Gold Coast, so the local radio station is organising a huge 'car boot sale' with donated goods being sold and turned into cash which can be sent. Australia is so damn big and we're all so spread out the cost of freighting donated goods just makes it impractical. Cheers, Glen.
Some of us grew up watching him host a variety show called 'Sunny Side Up', when Telivision was just a baby. A report today from a friend who spoke to them by phone as they were preparing to leave may give an indication to the speed of the fire front. Seems they were relaxed and preparing to leave thinking they had plenty of time before it arrived, they never made it to the car.
A Radio Station here started a benefit monday morning to collect clothes, bedding and tinned food to send down A freight company donated A container and free freight to get it down ...... By Monday afternoon they had ........ 5 full containers A guy who drinks at my local is the logistics manager for the freight company ...... they have a total of ten containers allocated......mostly 40 footer hitops I bought a box of tinned stuff and dropped it over ..... BIG queue of people doing likewise.
My good CFA mate of 30 years here was out on a firetruck with 5 other blokes last Sat north of Warragul 'putting the wet stuff on the red stuff' and they saved about 10 houses and lost 2 in the afternoon on their own. These guys are real heros and hardly ever talk about it. He reckons the toll will go over 300. a lot of houses are just to 'hot' yet to search. We have firefighters here from NZ and 3 other states now and the fires are still going. Ive talked to some people who fled the fires and they said there where fireballs 5 stories over their heads at times. One family lost the car they were in when the wiring caught fire. their mates in the car in front of them came back to investigate and saved them. There will be many untold stories Im sure. DADSEH
Newstead is only a hop/skip/jump from here, they were assisting with the Bendigo fires along with trucks from Ballarat.
carps ,we rang our cousin today and hes ok the fires missed him by about a mile,the guy with the koala is his friend,lets hope it rains soon,,stay safe guys,bob
oz , very sorry for your losses ! my wife worked fires for 30 yrs , so we are very familiar with the damage . i hope it ends soon . good luck to all ........... steve
I've just realised who Tina is! She moved to Aussie with her folks when she was in her early teens. Her parents where hot rodders in Whakatane NZ where I grew up, Tina was a couple years behind me through School etc, she had an Aunt in my year at school. Very very sad news, my sympathies to her partner Sam and her folks , John and Jean. As a kid Tina went everywhere with the biggest brightest grin, and was a gentle caring breath of fresh air.
Unfortunately Tina and the kids didn't make it. They were trying to escape but got trapped by the fires and took refuge with neighbours who had a sprinkler system on their house.
Only on the HAMB - the real stories of what has/is happening in a country we lived in and loved. A really sad time for all involved. All our best, Al
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