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Topic: 181 Dead in Victoria's Bushfires...
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John Wilson
Film God
Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 02-10-2009 03:41 PM
Last Saturday saw the state of Victoria endure 43 degree celsius (109 degrees fahrenheit) temperatures and very strong winds.
So far, 181 people have lost their lives in the inevitable firestorms that resulted...many of them were apparently lit by arsonists. Entire townships have disappeared. Many residents are still unaccounted for and there are fears the death toll may reach 300. This is by far the worst peacetime death toll in Australia's history.
Years ago there was a day they called Black Sunday where a firestorm destroyed multiple properties and took dozens of lives. One man who went through that disaster has said Black Sunday was a BBQ compared to what flew through on Saturday...blazing a trail of destruction at up to 40 kilometres per hour.
Story from today's Sydney Morning Herald
Police fear 300 dead in the ashes
* Robyn Grace
* February 11, 2009
POLICE now fear that as many as 300 people may have died in the bushfires, and several regions are still under threat as fire crews scramble to contain the growing disaster.
The official total stands at 181, but police have yet to enter some areas where they know there will be more fatalities. They have been told to brace for the death toll to rise steeply.
A Country Fire Authority spokeswoman said increasing southerly winds were a concern.
Firefighters are using cool conditions to strengthen control lines but there are fears that strong southerlies might flare 23 fires that are still out of control.
More than 750 properties properties have been lost and at least 350,000 hectares have also been razed.
The Healesville and Toolangi communities, north-east of Melbourne, came under heavy ember attack yesterday. There were no immediate reports of lost property or lives.
The authority spokeswoman said the Maroondah-Yarra blaze was a concern, as were fires in the Kinglake-Whittelsea area, where 147 people died at the weekend.
The Victorian Premier, John Brumby, said support for the victims had been overwhelming.
More than $14 million has so far been donated to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund. A condolence book has been started for messages to bushfire victims and emergency crews.
"Across the state, many lives have been lost, many people have been injured, houses and possessions have been wrecked and whole communities almost completely destroyed," Mr Brumby said.
"Victorians are responding to the tragedy by pulling together to assist those whose lives have been changed forever by these devastating bushfires."
Victoria Police announced a new taskforce to investigate whether the fires had been deliberately lit. Police say they are closing in on an arsonist thought responsible for the Churchill-Jeeralang fire in Gippsland and recent fires at nearby Boolarra.
It is expected police will soon make public an image of a man sought for questioning over the fires.
Authorities fear the worst of the fires could take weeks to contain.
Specialist teams used in the aftermath of the Bali bombings have been recruited for the task of locating and identifying victims. Mr Brumby announced a royal commission to examine the state's emergency response and possibly review the longstanding "stay and defend or leave early" policy.
Interstate fire crews and disaster identification experts have joined Victorian crews to tackle the fires. The reinforcements include 300 firefighters from NSW, 95 from the ACT, 93 from Tasmania and 22 from Western Australia. A further 70 firefighters from South Australia are expected to arrive in Melbourne tonight.
A toll-free number has been set up for offers of temporary accommodation to victims.
The electricity supplier SP AusNet has crews working around the clock in an effort to restore power to 6000 homes that lost electricity.
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Last night a cricket match was played in Adelaide between Australia and New Zealand. That one match raised over $6 million for the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. There were about 40 volunteers walking around with donation buckets...they raised over $115,000 alone. It was a truly amazing coming together of a country.
My thoughts and prayers are with those who've lost loved ones and their homes.
This is a terrible tragedy.
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Rick Raskin
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1100
From: Manassas Virginia
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 02-13-2009 05:28 PM
AP is reporting an arrest has been made in at least one of the fires:
Suspect arrested in deadly Australia fires
By TANALEE SMITH – 19 hours ago
YEA, Australia (AP) — Police arrested a suspect Friday in connection to one of the deadly wildfires in southern Australia that killed more than 180 people and left about 7,000 homeless.
Police did not release any details about the suspect, but a newspaper report said he was a 39-year-old man who would likely be charged with arson causing death in what police call the Churchill fire.
At least 21 people died in that fire, one of hundreds that swept across Victoria state on Feb. 7, destroying more than 1,800 homes. The official death toll is 181 and is expected to exceed 200.
Officials have vowed to pursue murder charges against alleged arsonists if the evidence supports it.
After The Age newspaper published a report about the arrest on its Web site, Victoria state police spokeswoman Marika Fengler confirmed to The Associated Press that a man had been arrested in connection to the Churchill fire. She would give no further details.
The newspaper reported that the man was from Churchill and was expected to appear in court later Friday.
The report came as a blaze in the nearly burned-out wildfire zone flared up and menaced the town of Healesville — in a reminder that the country's worst fire disaster may not be over yet.
In one of more than a dozen blazes firefighters still struggled to contain, flames hit a patch of extra-dry timber in a valley about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from Healesville, flaring up and sending embers and smoke over the town, said Stuart Ord of Victoria state's Department of Sustainability and the Environment.
The Country Fire Authority said later that the immediate threat to homes had eased, but warned residents to remain vigilant.
The scale of the disaster became clearer Friday. The tally of homes destroyed in the wave of wildfires that swept Victoria state a week ago jumped to more than 1,800. The Victorian government also raised the number of people left homeless, to 7,000.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced plans for a national day of mourning, without immediately naming a date.
"It is very important that the nation grieves," he said Thursday.
Firefighters raced to take advantage of cooler weather, rain and lighter winds and lit controlled burns Friday in efforts to prevent further breakouts, and smoke still clouded the sky over part of the 1,500 square mile (400,000-hectare) disaster zone.
Officials said the nation had pledged a total of more than 75 million Australian dollars ($50 million) in donations to various charity funds for survivors. Rudd ordered military bases to be opened to house some of the homeless.
Hundreds of people who lost their homes in the weekend infernos moved into tent cities erected by the army near hard hit towns.
Compounding the sorrow for families of victims was that the state coroner's office was still identifying bodies and officials said it could take up to two weeks before they are released for funerals.
Arson specialists have concluded that the fires had six separate sources, four of which were not suspicious. Foul play was suspected in the fire that destroyed the town of Marysville — where more than 10 percent of the population may have perished. Police have said they are nearly certain the Churchill fire was arson.
Wildfire arson carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. A murder conviction carries a maximum life sentence.
The high death toll has increased the urgency for a nationwide fire warning system, which has been snarled partly by bickering between state officials over funding for years.
"I am determined to see this thing implemented across the nation," Rudd said during a television telethon Thursday night to raise money for victims. "If it means cracking heads to ensure it happens we'll do that."
Officials partly blamed the dramatic death toll on the number of people who appeared to have waited until they saw the fast-moving blazes coming before trying to flee. Many bodies were found in burned-out cars.
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