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Bushfire Disaster Deaths

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wgtngirl
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« Reply #75 on: February 12, 2009, 06:43:01 am »

We heard late last night that young friend and her family are safe although a bit burnt.  They managed to escape in their 4WD but said that it was like trying to get out of a furnace.  Burns were just from the heat of the fire and feel like severe sunburn.  They have also lost their home....totally destroyed.  Thank God they are safe.....my heart goes out to those who have perished in the fires.
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Lovelee
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« Reply #76 on: February 12, 2009, 06:48:02 am »

Well thats great - great that they have their lives, Wellie  Smiley
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wgtngirl
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« Reply #77 on: February 12, 2009, 06:50:55 am »

Yeah lovelee, it is great.  Material things don't mean diddly squat when your life is at stake.....they can be replaced but your life can't. Smiley
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« Reply #78 on: February 12, 2009, 08:30:59 am »

Police did not update the official death toll of 181 yesterday, although many more bodies were found across the state. A two-year-old girl lost her fight for life after being critically burned in the fires.

The girl, whose name has not been released, was in intensive care at the Royal Children's Hospital since the weekend, but she died late on Tuesday.

Senior police now believe that most of last weekend's fires were not deliberately lit, but the hunt continues for arsonists believed responsible for the fatal Gippsland fires.

The Assistant Commissioner, Danny Moloney, said the Phoenix Taskforce, which was announced yesterday to investigate the causes of the fires, had divided the bushfires into six regions, only one of which was now being treated as suspicious.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4844910a12.html?source=RSSworldnews_20090212
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Megan Au
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« Reply #79 on: February 12, 2009, 11:51:45 am »

Police say two people have been arrested in relation to Victoria's deadly bushfires after behaving suspiciously in between Seymour and Yea.


Police said detectives had responded to a call from the public about the suspicious behaviour in the state's north.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/arson-suspects-arrested-20090212-852y.html

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Newtown-Fella
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« Reply #80 on: February 12, 2009, 12:11:44 pm »

if just one fire is thought to be arson and they catch the arsonist and presumably charge him / her with X murders two things will arise

1 . How many Life Sentances will he / her get ? [ 1 per life lost ? ]

2 . he / she wil become apart of Aussies " heroes " 

... the person who murdered the most people in Australian history 2009 Joe Bloggs

sad but true but he / she will have made a name for hemselves forever written into aussie history books just like Ned Kelly
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« Reply #81 on: February 12, 2009, 12:15:39 pm »

Red tape held up national bushfire warnings

It has emerged that a nationwide bushfire alert system could have been in place before the weekend's devastating fires in Victoria, but it was held up by bureaucratic wrangling.

The scheme to use Australia's telephone network to issue mass warnings to residents in areas threatened by disasters has been before the Federal Government since 2004.

The early warning system would allow emergency services to access the national database of fixed-line and mobile-phone numbers so they could telephone and send messages to people in danger.

Emergency services would target people using their addresses in the database, as well as the locations of their mobile phones at the time of the threat.

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland says he regrets that the system was not in place before this bushfire season.

Mr McClelland has told ABC Radio's AM program several factors still need to be addressed, following delays in amending privacy legislation.

"What the issues have been is to ensure the system would not crash - in other words, that you wouldn't dislocate the normal emergency phone line - but it's also been necessary to get the states on board," he said.

"A lot of work's been done, the legislation is ready to go and it is an important system."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/12/2489357.htm
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Megan Au
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« Reply #82 on: February 12, 2009, 12:55:18 pm »

A New Zealand woman has given birth to a baby boy just hours after fleeing the deadly bushfires in Victoria.
Caspar Alexander Densem was born at noon (AEDT)on Sunday in Shepparton, north of Melbourne , after his parents were forced to flee the flames that have so far killed more than 180 people, The Press newspaper in Christchurch reported on Thursday.

Former Christchurch residents Jonathan Densem, 39, and his wife, Emma Smetham, 40, decided to flee their home in Buxton on Saturday night.

Densem said he spent two hours on Saturday clearing gutters, running hoses and wetting everything down.

"All that time I was going, `Hmm, I don't know about this'," he said.

"I decided I didn't like it, it looked too angry. And just at that moment, the fire crested the ridge about a kilometre from our house."

Densem told his pregnant wife, his three-year-old son Otto and his parents-in-law, who were visiting from Christchurch, that they had to leave.

They tried to drive to Melbourne so they would have access to medical care in case Smetham went into labour, but nearly every road was closed.

Instead, they drove to a Shepparton hotel, arriving exhausted and covered in dirt at 11pm on Saturday.

Smetham went into labour about 2am and the couple's second son was born at noon on Sunday.

"That was the only thing that had no drama," Densem said.

He had no idea when his family would be able to return to their Buxton home, but he had been told it was still standing.
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Calliope
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« Reply #83 on: February 12, 2009, 02:50:46 pm »

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A love story between two badly burned koalas rescued from Australia's deadliest bushfires has provided some heart-warming relief after days of devastation and the loss of over 180 lives.

The story of Sam and her new boyfriend Bob emerged after volunteer firefighter Dave Tree used a mobile phone to film the rescue of the bewildered female found cowering in a burned out forest at Mirboo North, 150 km (90 miles) southeast of Melbourne .

Photos and a video of Tree, 44, approaching Sam while talking gently to her, and feeding her water from a plastic bottle as she put her burned claw in his cold, wet hand quickly hit video sharing website YouTube (), making her an Internet sensation.

But it was after reaching a wildlife shelter that Sam met and befriended Bob, who was saved by wildlife workers on Friday , two days before Sam, in Boolarra, about 180 km from Melbourne .

Tree, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 26 years, said it was extremely rare to get so close to a koala so he asked his colleague Brayden Groen, 20, to film him.

"You can how she stops and moves forward and looks at me. It was like a look saying "I can't run, I'm weak and sore, put me out of my misery,"" Tree told Reuters.

"I yelled out for some water and I sat down with her and tipped the water up. It was in my hand and she reached for the bottle then put her right claw into my left hand which was cold so it must have given her some pain relief and she just left it there. It was just amazing."

INSPIRING LOVE STORY

Sam was taken to the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson. Her story was reminiscent of a koala named Lucky who survived the 2003 bushfires that destroyed about 500 homes and killed four people in the capital of Canberra. Lucky became a symbol of hope.

Colleen Wood from the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter that is caring for Sam and Bob said both koalas were doing well while other animals like possums, kangaroos, and wallabies were also starting to emerge from the debris.

She said Sam had suffered second degree burns to her paws and would take seven to eight months to recover while Bob had three burned paws with third degree burns and should be well enough to return to the bush in about four months.

"They keep putting their arms around each other and giving each other hugs. They really have made friends and it is quite beautiful to see after all this. It's been horrific," said Wood.

"Sam is probably aged between two to four going by her teeth and Bob is about four so they have a muchness with each other."

Wood said about 20 koalas had been brought into her shelter in recent days, several of whom had bonded as koalas are known to clump together, but none had garnered the same attention as the new Internet star Sam.

Tree, a volunteer with the Country Fire Authority Victoria, has visited Sam since her rescue and was delighted to see she had found a boyfriend in Bob.

"They've really taken a shine to each other as they are both burned and share the same burned smell," he said.

"My heart goes out to the people in these fires and this was so innocent so people have used this to distract them from all the sad stuff that has gone on. It gives people a bit of hope."

Donations for bushfire support can be made to the Country Fire Authority Victoria via their website at http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about/supportingcfa.htm.
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Brownie55
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« Reply #84 on: February 13, 2009, 01:49:29 pm »

Man arrested over bushfire - reports
BREAKING NEWS: Australian police have made a breakthrough in Victoria's massive arson investigation with the arrest of a Gippsland man this morning.


The 39-year-old Churchill man was arrested by members of police taskforce Ignis, which has been investigating the cause of the fires.

He is expected to be charged with arson causing death.

The maximum penalty is 25 years. At least ten people died as a result of the Churchill blaze and police expect the toll to rise.

The man is expected to appear in court later today
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4846886a12.html
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k1w14ever
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« Reply #85 on: February 13, 2009, 02:36:08 pm »

from what i read they could him lighting fires after the ones had been put out.  They ar enot sure wethere he lite the ones that coursed all the deaths.

even if he did not he will be in deep shit in prision if he is found guitly.  They have rules in the prisions . 
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Lovelee
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« Reply #86 on: February 13, 2009, 02:47:59 pm »

Seems the media did the beat up over the Koala, they are now saying that happened over 2 weeks ago.
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k1w14ever
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« Reply #87 on: February 13, 2009, 09:11:17 pm »

yes it is a bit of a ham type thng .

Having said that there is a lot of sick or dead animals out htere.
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Ferney
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« Reply #88 on: February 13, 2009, 09:52:37 pm »

We had an email today about the pulp mill at Maryvale.  Its near where they have arrrested 2 people for starting fires.  It didn't burn but is full of ash.  I went and stood with the reels of paper and wondered about the workers and whether they were safe or not.    I cannot imagine how terrifying it must be.   
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« Reply #89 on: February 14, 2009, 06:21:31 am »

U get your paper from there Ferney??

 Cry
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Lovelee
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« Reply #90 on: February 14, 2009, 04:17:33 pm »

There is word that the death total is about to jump up.

Information about Marysville has been withheld for days as the town is searched and investigated.  For the last 3 days Victorias disaster victim team have been searching the town, confirming the survivors from the towns fear that the hundreds lost - are in fact dead.
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Ferney
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« Reply #91 on: February 15, 2009, 09:17:57 am »

Some of it Lovelee, though most from Europe.   Majority of A4 paper in NZ comes from Maryvale mills.   Its not Marysville.   Further south east.   
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« Reply #92 on: February 16, 2009, 08:59:22 am »

Fire's intensity leaves no trace of victims


Australian police have been unable to find any trace of the bodies of some of Black Saturday's victims because the fires were so prolonged and intense.

With one academic estimating the fire temperature reached 1200 degrees, police fear they may never be able to formally identify some victims reported missing by relatives. More than 150 forensic police are continuing to painstakingly search the ruins of Marysville, north-east of Melbourne, where about 100 people are believed to have perished.

In some cases they have had to sift ashes for jewellery or other personal articles, the only way victims could be identified.

Police sources said the difficulty in matching remains with a list of those reported missing was one of the main reasons why police stopped publicly updating the death toll.

The announced toll was 181 last night but this could rise to 300 or more.

Police working in Marysville, where almost every building was destroyed, say it will take at least another week of intense work to satisfy themselves they have not missed any remains among the ashes.

"The trouble is human ash looks pretty much the same as the ash of everything else," a forensic policeman told The Age. "And there are tonnes and tonnes of ash."

Marysville remains a strictly enforced crime scene.

Residents were not allowed off three buses that took them back to the town for a brief visit on Saturday.

They have been told it will be weeks before they can return to see if anything is salvageable in the ruins of their homes.

Forensic police from around Australia who have been deployed to the devastated areas are using the most advanced DNA techniques to identify some unrecognisable remains.

Kevin Tolhurst, Melbourne University senior lecturer in fire ecology and management, said flames would have been about 1200 degrees when they roared across the state.

He said he had calculated the areas burnt and energy released from the fires equalled 400 to 500 Hiroshima atomic bombs and generated 80,000 kilowatts per metre of flame front.

Dr Tolhurst said people caught in the open would be charred and could be identified by forensic tests.

But some of those in vehicles and buildings could have been obliterated.

"In some cases, unless there was jewellery or some other identifying article, there would be nothing left but ashes," Dr Tolhurst said.

Over the weekend, counsellors started to prepare some residents of the tight-knit Marysville community for the possibility that not all the bodies would be found and identified.

Ivor Jones, a Baptist pastor whose house and all his possessions were destroyed in Marysville, said it would be even harder on the families of victims if they did not have a body to bury.

Favourable weather until at least Wednesday will help firefighters build control lines and, with luck, get the upper hand on bushfires still raging in Victoria.

Light winds and cool nights across the weekend will continue through the week, with wind expected from the east or southeast until Wednesday but little chance of rain anywhere except East Gippsland, Department of Sustainability and Environment spokesman Kevin Love said.

"The weather has held off and we are getting much more mild weather than we were expecting," Mr Love told AAP.

"We're getting favourable weather for the construction of control lines, but what would be great would be a big storm."

Eight fires remain out of control in Victoria.

The largest, the Kilmore East-Murrindindi Complex North fire, has burned almost 145,000 hectares.

Mr Love said the fire had burned up to control lines in the Black Range, near Alexandra, and was burning northeast towards control lines in the nearby Blue Range.

Fire crews had made "good progress" on control lines and backburning the southern section of that fire, which has burned 60,000ha to protect towns including Healesville and Toolangi, just east of Melbourne.

Beechworth, in the state's northeast, is now considered "close to contained", Mr Love said.

"That fire is burning 100 per cent within control lines but we still need to work on a couple of areas close to the lines before we can say it is contained," he said.

Backburning continued overnight on the Bunyip Ridge fire in West Gippsland, while the nearby Churchill-Jeeralang blaze has been "very quiet", Mr Love said.

Fires in inaccessible country have burned more than 13,000 ha at Dargo, in the high country north-east of Melbourne, and about 8,000 ha in inaccessible country in the Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Mr Love said the fire was burning north and its earlier progress west had been halted by a control line.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4849282a12.html?source=RSSworldnews_20090216
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« Reply #93 on: February 16, 2009, 06:43:30 pm »

 Victorian bushfire death toll creeps higher
New 7:54PM Monday Feb 16, 2009

Melbourne - The death toll from Victoria's bushfires has reached 189, police say.

Monday's figure is the first update given by police since the figure reached 181 last Thursday.

It included 43 from the town of Marysville, which is expected to have lost 100 of its 500 residents.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said the toll would rise further.

Police had said uncertainty over the identity of remains found among the ash and rubble in devastated towns prevented them updating the toll earlier.

Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana said earlier on Monday, police did not want to issue an update until they were sure everything was "spot on".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10557066&ref=rss
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Lovelee
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« Reply #94 on: February 18, 2009, 06:57:42 am »

Bushfire toll reaches 200

Updated at 9:53pm on 17 February 2009

Victoria's bushfire death toll has reached 200, with the confirmation of 11 more deaths by police in areas surrounding the township of Kinglake.

The hardest-hit community from the devastating fires is Strathewen, on Melbourne's northeastern fringe, where 42 people out of about 200 residents are confirmed dead.

The number of dead confirmed at Kinglake is 37, four more than on Monday.

The Kinglake area, covering a vast section of Victoria's central highlands, now accounts for 139 of the 200 deaths.

The toll at Marysville, which stands at 39, is expected to rise sharply as the search for the remains of missing people continues.

Meanwhile, the federal government has given almost $13 million in emergency relief payments to fire victims.

Another 10,000 people affected by flooding in Queensland have also received help.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/02/17/12459e42b4e4
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Nitpicker1
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« Reply #95 on: February 27, 2009, 09:14:23 am »

more expected today
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/fires/updates/report/index2.htm?time=Sun%20Feb%208%2013:44:10%20UTC+1100%202009
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