Greetings OZ..

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Yeah.. Up here its being reported over 200 people have been arrested to date for arson..
Thats a lot of new (strategically placed???) fires potentially..

Happy new year boatie.

I reckon that number of 200 might be some Euro media beat up or at least a distortion of the facts.

While it might be right, I have not heard anything like that in the mainstream media here in Oz and I sure that if it was true, it would be a huge news story here.

Certainly a handful get arrested each year and presumably many escape detection.

Very sadly a significant number of those caught are also volunteer firefighters - they put a huge dark stain on the rest of the fine individuals who give up so much of their time and loss of wages etc to fight these fires. Some dumb enough to waiting at the station before the alarm is even raised.

I don't know about other countries but in Oz, most of the bushfire firefighters are volunteers and often under resourced. Plenty of promises made of better equipment when things are hot but forgotten when the pressure is off.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Happy new year boatie.

I reckon that number of 200 might be some Euro media beat up or at least a distortion of the facts.

While it might be right, I have not heard anything like that in the mainstream media here in Oz and I sure that if it was true, it would be a huge news story here.

Certainly a handful get arrested each year and presumably many escape detection.

Very sadly a significant number of those caught are also volunteer firefighters - they put a huge dark stain on the rest of the fine individuals who give up so much of their time and loss of wages etc to fight these fires. Some dumb enough to waiting at the station before the alarm is even raised.

I don't know about other countries but in Oz, most of the bushfire firefighters are volunteers and often under resourced. Plenty of promises made of better equipment when things are hot but forgotten when the pressure is off.

Sadly you are pretty much correct on all counts, but, hey look on the bright side, we are all blessed with our fearless leaders hope and prayers.

[Wotname]

^^ Naughty Uncle Bob, naughty.....

but let me fix it for you

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Sadly you are pretty much correct on all counts, but, hey look on the bright hillside, we are all blessed with our fearless leader's hope and prayers.

How good is the beer in Hawaii

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Wotname

^^ Naughty Uncle Bob, naughty.....

but let me fix it for you


How good is the beer in Hawaii

Moi, naughty, nooooo surely not.
As to the beer, so good it apparently takes one's mind off all else.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Moi, naughty, nooooo surely not.
As to the beer, so good it apparently takes one's mind off all else.

Are you people talking about my mate Nero?

The fires around NE Vic and E Gippsland are almost without exception the result of lightning strikes in remote high country over the last few weeks. One exception being a person of no fixed abode charged with recklessly lighting a fire and drug offences in regard to a small fire near Lakes Entrance... I think there may be a link in there somewhere.....

I've been in the north east of Vic for over 40 years. In that time we have had two fires start from lightning strikes on our property, one of those was a strike within 50 metres of where I was sitting at the time... that was 'interesting'.

Maybe 6 or 7 lightning strikes on neighbours' properties within 2 miles. Only other 'local' fire in all those years was started by a stock carrier dropping a fag end near an neighbour's cattle yards.... many fires seen along freeway median strips are 'fag out window' events.
Two 'interesting' fires have impacted us in recent years... one caused by a tree over power line event... a very common cause which I suppose can be called 'man made'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Saturday_bushfires
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday_bushfires

The other was caused some people recklessly discharging a home made cannon - I kid you not - down on Reedy Creek.

We have had at least one home grown arsonist. Half a dozen derelict houses around our old gold mining town burnt down over a period of a year or more. They eventually caught him in the act.... he was a bit intellectually challenged ... said he was tidying up the town... 'fessed up to 5 of the 6.

The 6th? It was owned by the local CFA chief..........

To the north of us is 'grassland' country.... fires usually started by farm machinery or campers along the Murray.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Are you people talking about my mate Nero?

..........

Well Nero fiddled didn't he...this joker stands around with his hands firmly in his pockets.

Seriously, he has been doing it for years, look at the footage; it anything less than a formal occasion, his hands are hardly ever out of his pockets. He even walks with them in his pockets.

I can still remember Dad telling me 60+ years ago to get my hands out of my pockets and do something useful with them.

How good are pockets!

Some 8 years back a very serious fire was started near Perth that put 400+ house at serious risk in a matter of a hour. Mid summer, high winds, dry grass and scrub and an off duty copper using a angle grinder outside his shed in tall grass. He had a red face for weeks and had a hard time living it down. The community forgave him because he was so apologetic!

[GILow]

I suspect the “200 arrests” is a media distortion of what are probably at least 200 people on watch lists due to their prior histories or mental health issues linking them with starting fires. Here in South Australia that list of individuals were put on notice very publicly that they were being watched by the police a month or so back. No idea if that helps or not.

[GILow]

Meanwhile I am watching the Gippsland fires with particular concern as my parents live just on the edge of the evacuation zone. I know they will stay and fight if the fire comes their way. In theory, if dad’s firefighting setup works, there will be a cloud of steam big enough to be seen from space when the fires reach their house.

But it all has to work on the day.

Scary stuff.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Well Nero fiddled didn't he...this joker stands around with his hands firmly in his pockets.

Seriously, he has been doing it for years, look at the footage; it anything less than a formal occasion, his hands are hardly ever out of his pockets. He even walks with them in his pockets.

I can still remember Dad telling me 60+ years ago to get my hands out of my pockets and do something useful with them.

How good are pockets!

Some 8 years back a very serious fire was started near Perth that put 400+ house at serious risk in a matter of a hour. Mid summer, high winds, dry grass and scrub and an off duty copper using a angle grinder outside his shed in tall grass. He had a red face for weeks and had a hard time living it down. The community forgave him because he was so apologetic!

I don't think the Minister for Kirrabilli will be going back to Cobargo for a while....
For them as haven't been keeping up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0gEtQJKFLw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC1D7trKKa4

[JPA Cate]

What I haven't heard is any suggestion of treating starting bushfires like treason in wartime....



Ann

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

What I haven't heard is any suggestion of treating starting bushfires like treason in wartime....



Ann

Ann, what a bloody great idea
That guarantees that our priceless pollies won't touch it.

[El Pinguino]

Meanwhile... latest news
https://chaser.com.au/national/scomo...man-handshake/

https://chaser.com.au/national/pope-...rce-handshake/

0630 today... heading out round the farm.... yes that's the sun...
Captain Jack has lost his voice due to the smoke... currently a squeak rather than a bark...

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Meanwhile... latest news
https://chaser.com.au/national/scomo...man-handshake/

https://chaser.com.au/national/pope-...rce-handshake/

0630 today... heading out round the farm.... yes that's the sun...
Captain Jack has lost his voice due to the smoke... currently a squeak rather than a bark...

May your fires be small ones. or non existent.

[Wotname]

Looks like our Kiwi mates are ready to help out (as always). The RAAF has been scrambled to N'zud to pick up much needed supplies of emergency equipment including a package of Jarcinda which should help with the dwindling supplies of empathy and leadership in Australia.

More here:
https://chaser.com.au/national/new-z...ected-regions/

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

May your fires be small ones. or non existent.

Thanks Bob, hoping for non - existent. Not feeling threatened by existing fires ( am just south of Chiltern current fires are all to the south of me) but a bit concerned about chance of a new one up towards the Hume tomorrow -ie NW of us - in the arvo.
Moving cattle to a 'safe' paddock in the morning... 'safe' = 'bare as a badger's arse' ... sending the cook and the domestic staff up to Wodonga to a friend's 90th birthday party...