Climate Change

[Keith Tindell]

Most brigades in the UK have teams that serve anywhere in the world for major incidents, they include dog search personnel, paramedic/firefighters etc, i would be very surprised if some of these teams have not been dispatched to OZ, but as you say Vic aircraft are really what is needed to supply large amounts of water, . Those guys on the ground must be totally knackered, and if they are not being paid in some way, their familes will be suffering. Here in UK all retained firefighters are paid a reasonable amount to respond, kt

[Keith at Tregenna]

According the UK Met Office the mild weather that we are having in the UK is caused by warm winds blowing 1,000 miles from the South, and are nothing to do with Global Warming or Climate change. The exact same conditions were experienced over 170 years ago according to records.
Vic

Any explanations for the rest of the world?

K.

[Doc Vernon]

I am not too sure as to which Countries have sent assistance but do know that some have which i know we are all here in Australia very grateful for.
As for Pay well i know that the actual Fire Fighters get paid as per Normal,but also know that the Volunteer Services did not get paid while they were assisting with the Fires.
This was a very big issue and thank the Lord just the other day the Government had emergency talks on it.
I am happy to say that there is now a plan in place (Immediately) to get the Volunteers paid some sort of Wage so to speak,it depends n the Circumstances of each Person ,and will include those who do not receive a wage from their Employer while on Fire Duties in the Field.
Although this is not a dramatic amount,it will however at least keep those who need the cash most .
The plan is that one has to be on duty for 10 days straight (with normal breaks of course) then they get a $300 a day payment up to a Max of $6000 Aussie Dollars,this is the normal amount of days one would get for annual leave some (20 days)

Again i am not 100% sure but if this is the case then i feel it is certainly not near enough for the work that these People are putting in,what happens after the $6000 is reached and those same people are still being called out for Fire Duties!??
To me i feel it is up to the Government to Pay these People all the time until all these terrible Fires are out and over! My Opinion though! ????

[Rodney Mills]

The BBC reports that the cause and effect of "The Frohen Effect," is the cause of the unseasonably warm weather in the U.K..


BBC and the weather channel.

"What is the Foehn Effect?
It occurs when moisture-laden, high humidity air is pushed over high ground by strong winds. As it rises, the air cools and condenses, forming cloud and rain.
Dry air then travels down the other side of the mountain, picking up heat as it goes and resulting in higher temperatures at ground level.
In the UK, this effect is commonly seen in eastern Scotland, north-east Wales and north-east England.


These systems are renowned for their rapid temperature rise on the downside - or lee - of higher ground. Central Europe enjoys a warmer climate due to the Foehn, as moist winds off the Mediterranean Sea blow over the Alps.

The effect of a Foehn wind on health and wellbeing is the subject of folk law in Alpine regions.

It has been linked to depression, suicide, madness, headaches, sleeplessness and crime waves.

There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that ‘Foehnkrankenheit’ - meaning Foehn sickness in German - is associated with migraines.

It is also blamed for avalanches in ski resorts, and the disintegration of ice shelves in the polar regions.

The combination of warm, dry air and high wind speeds can also cause the rapid spread of wildfires. Foehn winds are known as Santa Ana winds in California, which are responsible for the majority of major destructive wildfires."


No mention of its relationship to global warming that is paying havoc to the arctic regions and effecting global warming.

Cheers, Rodney

[Rodney Mills]

Vic. re #482.

Assistance to Oz from North America. I'm sure every "Friendly" country is offering assistance to Oz in this time of crisis:

North America.

"Several dozen more firefighters and support personnel from North American arrived in Australia at the end of last week to assist in the bushfire campaigns that have been ongoing in the western part of the country for weeks. Earlier this month Canada and the United States each sent 21 firefighters. Those were followed up around December 20 with another 30 from Canada and 9 from the United States. In addition “several ” Incident Meteorologists from the U.S. are in the country to help provide weather forecasts for the firefighters.

The U.S. National Interagency Fire Center reported December 20 that a total of 33 personnel had been deployed from the U.S. to Australia. (UPDATE: on December 27 NIFC revised that number to 32.)"

As for the planes used for N.A. fires. I don't know for a fact, but I believe they are modified old bombers, all the unnecessary guts (not essential to putting out localized domestic fires) removed for maximum capacity to load water or fire retardant cargo. If I'm correct in my assumptions that would make it impossible to fly across the Pacific. I feel I'm correct in my assumptions as the U.S. is very fast to offer aid to all who need it, let alone a staunch allied friend as Oz.

Cheers, Rodney

Source: "Wildfires Today". A publication since 2008 dedicated to bush fires world wide.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

We have at the moment firies from the US, Canada, and NZ, the guys from the US are mainly fire technicians who are helping in the helicopters, water bombers, and communications, I think the Canadians and Kiwis are on the ground.
We are impacted by the Bermagui fires only in the fact that we are getting thick smoke, all roads out of Cooma were closed at one point except the main Highway to Canberra. Our problem has been and is the thick smoke, I can't see the houses across the road today, not to bad if it was fog, but this smoke is causing us to cough all the time, realy bad for anyone with breathing problems.
As Cooma has a high priority rating owing to the Snowy Hydro Building that supplies power to 250,000 house and businesses we have a navy helicopter and a water bombing helicopter based at Cooma, they go up spotting for fires.
Brian, like you i thought that some of these fires might have been started by jihadists, but the police are keeping a tight watch on them.
They caught a farmer back burning on his property [A professional firies job ] the fire ended up burning over two hundred acres, court soon. and another old guy was caught coming out of the bush after lighting two fires, as i said before I would have dropped him in the middle of it.
The wind has dropped today so here's hoping the Firies can get on top of it, god bless them.
Des

[Keith at Tregenna]

If this report is even near true, no one can tell me that this is anywhere near normal.

Australia fires create plume of smoke wider than Europe as humanitarian crisis looms

People queue for hours for food with temperatures forecast to rise to danger levels again, in scenes likened to a war zone

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...box=1577911419

[Doc Vernon]

Unfortunately Keith its all too true.
Australia has never seen the likes of what is happening here now ,as said before we have had Fires in the past but no where near like these,all over Australia.
NSW has been hit so hard its really unbelievable to see and watch what is going on.
So far on the South Coast alone now 382 Homes completely lost burned to the ground.

( The last count for NSW was 875 Homes lost but is growing by the Hour )

I have said this before but you can only realise the devastation if you are here and experiencing this what i call and many others an Armageddon its Horrific to see what many many poor people have lost ,we have had our Fires here in Blackheath and were last Week very very worried,but when looking at the South Coast Fires and what it is doing , we are very lucky that it wasnt worse here!
Thousands of People are now trying to get out of most of the Holiday places down there,but it is very slow going with only one Road out. I was watching the Exit this Morning on the News ,my Lord the Cars are banked up for Miles ,let us hope that the slightly cooler conditions Today and possibly Tomorrow will allow most all to get out safely.
On Saturday again the Fire Chief has spoken and said that it could well be worse than the last few days of heat! Going up to the mid to high 40.s again with those Killer Winds ,so all over the State we are all on very High Alert once again ,there is no Rain either,a possibility of a wee bit on Sunday and possibly a day or two after but no where near what is needed for the Fires and the Dam Levels here!
This is to say Australia at its worst! It can be such a lovely Country most times but we now have to sit out this terrible times!

[Chris Allman]

I can only offer my sincere sympathies and my prayers that you will all remain safe. It must be awful to be at the mercy of such uncontrollable elements and situations. It is frightening when you know that there is nothing that you can do against the forces that nature puts one in. I really hope that your suffering may concentrate the minds of the disbelievers and lead them to support changes, no matter what cost, financial or otherwise, to society, that can lead to the world becoming a safer place for all that live in it, human and animal alike. Stay safe our Aussie mates our thoughts and our prayers are with you all.

[Keith at Tregenna]

RE; Just the animals.

Half a billion animals perish in bushfires.

A staggering 500 million animals are believed to have died in bushfires since September, sparking fears entire species have been lost.


https://www.news.com.au/technology/s...64cf186ab9f52c