Probably been done in which case forgive me. Although I have not posted here for some time the news from Australia regarding the terrible fires has turned my mind to some of the folk who live there and post on here. All I can say is you are in my thoughts and stay safe.
Hi, OMG. Thanks for the kind thought – so far the flames have stayed down in NSW and not bothered us in Queensland, which is just as well as our new house backs directly on to the bush (a tree’d hill with masses of dry undergrowth in this case). Why ever did we buy it, we wonder. 😦
Nice to see both of you, even in such unauspicious times.
Yes, well said OMG. We have our fair share of bush fires here, fortunately rarely in highly populated areas as we see too often in the States and Oz.
Bearsy, are you able to clear a firebreak behind you? If so I would have it done.
Here where we all back onto forest, and some properties are in the forest, we all have gates for vehicle access to our neighbours so that people may escape forest fires from uphill. One cannot always use the roads.
Bearsy: as CO said, if you can clear a firebreak do so. Also, see if you can plant fire-resistant wildflowers. It does help.
Christina
No chance! We’d be up for big fines for removing trees.
Imagine our horror when a few weeks ago we saw our next door neighbour tending an open fire in his back yard… I believe the neighbours the other side told him that it wasn’t legal. Some people have no brains at all.
Boadicea: you may have heard about the Yosemite wildfire a few months ago. It was started by idiot campers with a poorly tended fire.
An 11 and a 14 year old have been charged with starting some of the fires:
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news-2/boy-11-quizzed-over-fire-military-on-standby-rfs-puts-families-on-alert-and-sydney-blanketed-by-hazardous-air-as-nsws-300km-wall-of-fire-continues-its-destruction/story-e6frfkp9-1226743863985
And it seems that the Department for Defence seem to be responsible for the fires in the Blue Mountains:
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/defence-department-admits-to-starting-state-mine-fire-around-lithgow-and-blue-mountains/story-fni6ulvf-1226745502977
It really makes one wonder…..
Bo and Bearsy It is not the trees that you need to fell, it is the underbrush that makes the fires carry, get in there and clear out the small stuff, it hinders passage quite remarkably.
Don’t your fire departments declare no burn times? We are never allowed to burn in the Summer until the Autumn comes and it has rained to dampen down all the vegetation. There are large notices outside all the fire stations. Round here the Sheriff would have you so fast it wouldn’t be true, very large fine and if you caused a real fire you are looking at jail time automatically. And quite right too!
Perhaps it should be suggested to the Council?
Hey, Tina – like we have all sorts of things like danger indicators all over the place, and fire restrictions and bans – some permanent, some transient (and many that you can ignore if you’re officially an abo) with laws and penalties and the blokes from round the corner to enforce.
Remember we’re talking mainly eucalypts, so ignore them at your peril. The fires are an essential part of their life-cycle. Back-burning is a favourite trick of the firies (firemen), not that it always has the desired effect. Fires regularly jump multi-lane freeways when the wind changes – ordinary country roads are a doddle.
Austrayia is not the UK, nor is it the USA. Economically we’re way out in front, and so we are bushfire-wise. When the California fires start, who did / do they call? Not Ghostbusters, but the various Austrayian Rural Fire Services, that’s who!! 🙂