Milleflore Images Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I am not sure where Patrick is on the island Annie, bu it certainly does not look good Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick Cooper Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I'm fine here, thankyou for asking. Penneshaw (where I am) is safe and unaffected. But this is an incredibly grim situation. It sounds like just about half of the island is on fire. Annie, I only heard tonight that the Great Southern Lodge is burning. That is horrible that people are trapped inside - I did not hear of those details before. And I hear that Seal Bay has been evacuated. My family and I visited Seal Bay less than a few days ago. I can see smoke / haze on the horizon where I am. 5 Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 That is good to hear Patrick, stay safe ok! Like many places this is going to be devastating for the island! Link to post Share on other sites
Milleflore Images Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 37 minutes ago, Patrick Cooper said: I'm fine here, thankyou for asking. Penneshaw (where I am) is safe and unaffected. But this is an incredibly grim situation. It sounds like just about half of the island is on fire. Annie, I only heard tonight that the Great Southern Lodge is burning. That is horrible that people are trapped inside - I did not hear of those details before. And I hear that Seal Bay has been evacuated. My family and I visited Seal Bay less than a few days ago. I can see smoke / haze on the horizon where I am. Phew! I am so relieved. It looks horrific. The wind has changed outside and I can smell the smoke and that horrible burning ash smell, and we are over 100+km away. Keep safe! Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 15 minutes ago, Milleflore Images said: Phew! I am so relieved. It looks horrific. The wind has changed outside and I can smell the smoke and that horrible burning ash smell, and we are over 100+km away. Keep safe! Annie they can even smell the smoke in New Zealand and the ash is discolouring the snow fields there ... which will make the melt faster ...https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/02/new-zealand-glaciers-turn-brown-from-australian-bushfires-smoke-ash-and-dust Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick Cooper Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 It was reported on the news that roughly half a billion animals have been killed in Australia's fires. Of course it would be impossible to give an accurate number. Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 24 minutes ago, Patrick Cooper said: It was reported on the news that roughly half a billion animals have been killed in Australia's fires. Of course it would be impossible to give an accurate number. absolutely impossible. They also do not know how many species have been totally wiped out. Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick Cooper Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 3 minutes ago, Wendy Townrow said: absolutely impossible. They also do not know how many species have been totally wiped out. I hope there haven't been extinctions with some species. Though that would certainly be a possibility with some animal species being so few in number before the fires. Absolutely devastating. Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Patrick considering how many species are vulnerable and only found in certain places it is quite likely. As well as that we may have lost species that we dont even know about yet. Link to post Share on other sites
Sheila Fitzgerald Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Australia is looking like a significantly larger version of California I hope they are able to get the fires under control soon. Hard to do without some rain. Make sure you guys are stocked up on the N95 face masks. We are taking a weekend photo excursion. Dragged the hubby with me this weekend and so far it's been a productive half day. Light is coming in the wrong way for the elephant seals this afternoon but we'll head back in the morning (which was my original plan anyway, just figured I'd see what we could get when we arrived this afternoon) and the bay where we have our hotel is filled with otters. So much fun Just had dinner and now chilling in the room. Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 definitely larger and could burn for months yet .. lots of places are inaccessible. Have fun on your excursion I would love to get away for a photo excursion. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 and they are only estimations ... and also dont take into account the Queensland, Victorian and South Australian fires. Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick Cooper Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 By far, the worst bush fires in Australia's recorded history. Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Hear how bad it was on KI Patrick, please stay safe! Just heard on the news that Victoria has had about a million hectares burned Link to post Share on other sites
Sheila Fitzgerald Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 I heard California fire fighters are on their way to Australia to help with the fires there (they're probably already there since I'm way behind on the news being away for the weekend and all). I hope they are able to help! I know they've learned alot about the new fire behaviors that are being seen from our experiences with the fires we have had the last few years. Weekend was productive over all. Got one camera downloaded and initial sort done today. Uploading video clips as I'm working. Still need to download the other camera but there's always tomorrow. It's amazing how fast time flies when one is glued to a computer screen. the girl starts back to school in the morning. She's not thrilled, but at least she won't have a zero period class anymore so she gets to start at a normal hour. The college apparently doesn't start back up til the 20th of the month. Thinking I have plenty of yard projects my son can help me with while he's got this extended vacation time (doubtful that idea will go over well) Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 They are here yes Sheila, they will learn a lot from these fires too as they are very different to anything that has gone before I think. Victoria had some rain and that has eased some of the threat. It has not put the fires out, it will need a lot more rain to do that. You sure sound busy as usual. I am glad the girl child does not have that early start this year. lol on the boy child not being thrilled. Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick Cooper Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 The wildlife losses on Kangaroo Island alone are devastating. Thousands of animals gone. It's estimated that about 25,000 koalas have been killed over here. And only recently, I learned that dunnarts are on the island. It was believed that without the fires, the dunnarts were going to become extinct during the next decade. So the fires have sealed their fate much sooner. And due to the loss of habitat, any dunnarts remaining on the ground would likely fall prey to feral cats (being so tiny.) I heard on one part of the island, a number of wallabies were trying to outrun a fire but it overtook them. I think that says a lot about the incredible speed that fire can move across ground. Wallabies are super fast when they hop away from perceived danger and yet even they could not outrun a fire. Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Townrow Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Patrick you are so right .... Link to post Share on other sites
Sheila Fitzgerald Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Very sad Are you leaving water out for the animals patrick? They suggested that here. Since the wild animals have no access to water, to leave bowls of water out for them for when they pass by. We aren't close to any of the burn areas here or I'd be doing it too (although I do have small bowls out anyway because my cats come in and out when ever they want). Commercial review times are still quite fast tonight. had to re do a few discriptions though as they apparently didn't like the way i described the images (I sometimes put information about animals in addition to the scene discription, I guess there's a new reviewer or two that doesn't like that). Anyway, off to relax and read a book. Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick Cooper Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Sheila, that is a good idea - leaving water out for the animals. Though the fires are a long way from where I am. I'm based in Penneshaw which is considered one of the few safe places on the island. Link to post Share on other sites
Linda Bestwick Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 I've been listening to the news on the fires. I haven't popped in on this thread over Christmas so just catching up on how it's effecting you folks now. I only heard this morning how bad it is on Kangaroo Island, I had to come and check you were safe Patrick. Good to hear that you are OK. Annie, I hope the fires stay away from you. Are any fires near you Wendy? And Sheila too, how are the fires in Cal? Has it ever been this bad? All the devastation and suffering, it's just beyond words Stay safe everyone x Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick Cooper Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Linda, it's never been this bad before. The fires are the worst in Australia's recorded history. I think people are overwhelmed by it. Just recently, the army arrived on Kangaroo Island to help out. Link to post Share on other sites
Linda Bestwick Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 It's awful, but good to hear you are getting extra help. Though until your temperatures come down and you get some rain I guess it's not going to ease up Link to post Share on other sites
Sari ONeal Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Yeah, I think that what "normally" burns in Australia during the fires is just a tiny teeny fraction of what's burned this year already, and the really bad part is that the "fire season" will go on for a long time yet. It's horrendous, and I can't believe the head honcho (ScoMo) is just skirting the problem, and that people don't kick his a$$ out already. Someone needs to put in his place that actually takes measures to help with the situation. The whole deal is sickening. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now