My Nation Is Burning

Discussion in 'Weather & Natural Disasters' started by Craig Wilson, Dec 18, 2019.

  1. Craig Wilson

    Craig Wilson Veteran Member
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    Unprecedented hi temps are fanning massive wildfires in four of six Australian states. The worst are in my own state NSW where a enormous blaze.. already the size of Greater Sydney(12,000kms) is threatening to join with another smaller fire to transform it into a catastrophic blaze that threatens my home city of 5.5 million.The large blaze.. in a national park.. north of our famed Blue Mountains..is close to wiping out one of the world's oldest trees.. the Wollombi Pine. To conservationists this is a monumental disaster. I live in southern Sydney well away from the major fires to the north but strong winds have fanned a thick smoke haze over much of Sydney. I have woken to a pungent smoke smell at least a dozen times this month. I have had to remove fire embers and debris from my pool almost every day for the past week. Medical authorities are now saying to avoid ingesting the smoke particles as they are equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes. This warning is a touch too late as the smoke haze has been choking Sydney now for the best part of a month.
     
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    Last edited: Dec 18, 2019
  2. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Temperatures must be awfully high. Paper burns at around 480 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the type of wood, dry wood catches fire between 300-580 degrees Fahrenheit. Allowing for differences between types of cooking oil, it ignites somewhere between 750-815 degrees Fahrenheit. Even without the fires, people can't survive those temperatures.
     
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  3. Craig Wilson

    Craig Wilson Veteran Member
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    Early 40sC (102-104F) in those states..Western Australia, South Australia, Qld and NSW that are burning. Met Bureau is saying they may rise to 45/6C (113F) this week and that is outer Sydney not the regional areas..which usually are a couple of degrees warmer.
    Most of the initial blazes started from forest fuel and spread like a rolling snowball. This undergrowth needed to be cleared or burned in the cooler months but apparently a good portion of has been neglected.
     
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  4. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    Are their any proposed solutions for relief or at least how long this is going to last? I'm assuming most people do have air conditioners, but with
    such high volume usage, generators can start to blow. The utility bills will also be hard on lots of people. When we had the bad forest fires in Jacksonville about 10 years ago, people were sealing off windows and all but one door with a variety of things (taped tarps, plastic food wrap, etc) just to keep as much smoke out of the house as possible. I'm so sorry all you guys are having to go through this.
     
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  5. Craig Wilson

    Craig Wilson Veteran Member
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    You mean staying away from the smoke haze or out of the heat? Just close all windows/doors. Staying out of the heat for some is impossible as many work outdoors. I am lucky having a air con.. but only use it on extreme heat days to save cost.. besides we have excellent rooftop insulation. Today it is not yet midday and already the temp in southern Sydney is not that far off 100F.
     
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  6. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    It's important to keep the smoke out of your house. Not only is it a health issue, but the smell settles in your carpet, rugs and other fabrics. When we had the problem here, when even downtown Jacksonville one could barely see across the street, they had all sorts of warnings for people who worked out of doors. The best thing is for them to at least use a mouth mask. Keeping children and the elderly indoors was also a big deal. It's a shame y'all have all this heat along with a water shortage. What a mess for everyone.
     
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  7. Craig Wilson

    Craig Wilson Veteran Member
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  8. Craig Wilson

    Craig Wilson Veteran Member
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    It sure is Bess. This is the cross we bear as one of the hottest continents on the planet.. behind only Africa as I understand. If this doesn't make our politicians wake up that something is drastically amiss.. nothing will.

    Mercury has just hit 42C (107F) at 2pm here in southern Sydney.. a cool 45C in the west of the city.o_O
     
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  9. Milla Jonas

    Milla Jonas Very Well-Known Member
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    44c ~ 112f here in very hot Mildura ( Victoria ) today
     
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  10. Craig Wilson

    Craig Wilson Veteran Member
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    This is mad weather Milla. Hot and getting hotter every year.
     
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  11. Patsy Faye

    Patsy Faye Supreme Member
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    Saw this on the news Craig, so sorry for all of you over there - I'm praying as I write :(
     
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  12. Craig Wilson

    Craig Wilson Veteran Member
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    You are most kind Patsy.:)
     
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  13. Milla Jonas

    Milla Jonas Very Well-Known Member
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    Mildura is branded to be the hottest place is Australia to day 47 c ~ 116f
    I need to get a few things no way ..........I’m not even opening my front door let along tackling the shops
    full of screaming little darlings ...oh dear !,! can I still say that :confused::(
     
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  14. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
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    You've had bad fires in the past. I thought you were going to burn up a few years ago.
    Australia, land of fires and floods, or so it seems from reading Silver Peers over the years.
     
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  15. Craig Wilson

    Craig Wilson Veteran Member
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    Ceduna in South Oz recorded 48.8c yesterday. It was a degree hotter on the Nullabor. What is Mildura's water suppy like Milla. Read my post about Sydney running dry in six months if no substantial rain falls over our main catchment..
     
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