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Post by msdani1981 on Dec 31, 2019 23:10:49 GMT -5
My heart is with everyone experiencing the devastating fires in Australia.
I hope our members in OZ are safe. 💕
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 5, 2020 18:43:56 GMT -5
You have no idea of the magnitude of these fires. Lives have been lost. Homes are gone. Our wildlife is decimated. For weeks, we have been living with these monsters. The one near me sends live embers 30 kms in front of it and I have spent many days and nights watching out for these embers. It has a fire front of 1,500 kms - and this is only one of the major fires currently burning through my state. Other states are also experiencing major bushfires. Even if we get rain, it is thought that it wont help as the rain would need to be torrential and over many days. I cannot tell you how depressing and upsetting it is. Our firefighters are extraordinary. Most of them are volunteers and put their lives on the line every day so they can save us. The Aussie spirit of helping those in needs is magnificient. I don't know how we will ever recover from these fires as we have never experienced anything like it before.
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Post by Caseysmom on Jan 5, 2020 23:05:23 GMT -5
Jan I can’t even begin to imagine the stress and fear you must have. It is all so terrifying. I think I read that Canada had sent 87 fire fighters, but that must seem like a drop in the bucket. I really hope it can get under control.
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Post by cnyguy on Jan 6, 2020 21:08:18 GMT -5
I've been seeing coverage of the fires in Australia on TV news here in the U.S. It's a horrible thing and it must be frightening to be so near to the fires. I understand that there was some rain today but it actually hampered firefighting efforts. Recovering from the loss and damage will be difficult, but Australia will do what needs to be done and will get through it. I'm sure other countries will pitch in to help. Jan, stay safe and unharmed.
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Post by biteybird on Jan 8, 2020 5:44:17 GMT -5
We don't have any fires in Darwin at present - I put that down to the long-standing practice of back-burning (the Northern Territory is good at that) every single year during the 5 months of the dry season, which is May-September - but we have quite a few friends in NSW and QLD who have had to be evacuated and they have never seen anything like this in their lives. I'm talking about people in their 50s-70s. Jan, I hope you are going OK and are safe. As I said, we are not personally affected in the fires (just a cyclone due in a day or two!), so next to the risk to life and property, the most dreadful thing to me is the decimation of the wildlife (kangaroos, koalas). In fact, this bothers me more than loss of property, because at least we humans have some resources at our disposal to leave if we must, but the animals don't. The consensus seems to be that the fires won't be able to be controlled until it rains really properly & not just a few millimetres, but a LOT... Thanks to our overseas members for the concern about our great country.  |
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Post by msdani1981 on Jan 8, 2020 22:56:55 GMT -5
I'm so glad to hear that you're safe, Biteybird! 💕
Jan, I cannot imagine how terrifying this is. The fires have burned the equivalent of 1/3 of Washington state, where I live. Unimaginable.
The loss of life is so devastating. Your poor koalas. 😢
And yes, the firefighters are truly heroes. 💕
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Post by biteybird on Jan 10, 2020 3:18:59 GMT -5
It has been estimated that over 1 billion animals have perished...they were forecasting 480 million, but that figure was for New South Wales alone.
They have used a past study on the impacts of land-clearing on wildlife deaths to work this out for the entire area covered by the fires. Although land-clearing & fires don't really equate, it's a reasonable assumption that more wildlife would perish from fires because they don't have time to get away, whereas with land-clearing they have more warning and can move to a new location at a leisurely pace.
Apparently we have lost about 100 species so far; lots of little species like gliders and potoroos, etc, not just the larger cuddly ones...here's hoping for rain soon.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 29, 2020 0:44:49 GMT -5
Hi everyone, what a horror the past few weeks have been. We still have a few fires burning which cannot be controlled but the one near me is being contained. I have driven along roads where the fires have been and it is like a bomb has gone off and devastated everything. I have seen burnt, dead wildlife on the side of the road. I spend a lot of time crying when I travel these roads as it is just so unbelievable. We have had rain and the grass is growing in some of the burnt out areas but really, it is very eerie with no sounds of birdlife. All our wildlife rescue groups are overwhelmed by the amount of animals that are still coming into care but we have groups supporting them with funds and food. We are doing food and water stations in some of the areas as the animals that escaped now face starvation as there is nothing for them to eat. The generosity of people is amazing but there are still some lowlifes who think looting and shooting animals is okay. It will be a long road to recovery for people and animals. The firefighters have been completely awesome. I sincerely hope that I never see anything like this again in my lifetime.
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Post by cnyguy on Jan 29, 2020 21:44:32 GMT -5
It's good that the situation there is somewhat more stable. One can only imagine how horrible the results of the fires must be. Here in the U.S. funds are being collected to help both the people and wildlife of Australia. Hope the money collected will do some good.
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Post by Caseysmom on Jan 30, 2020 22:10:48 GMT -5
It all sounds very scary and bleak, I hope gradually you get to hear wild birds outside again I am glad you finally got some rain
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Post by biteybird on Feb 3, 2020 4:04:21 GMT -5
Glad you're OK, Jan. The situation is really upsetting...
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Post by Jan and Shah on Feb 4, 2020 1:15:44 GMT -5
Biteybird, it is totally unbelievable. I have masses of bees drinking at the bird bath every day - have never seen that before. I have been putting bird and lizard water stations around the place. There are birds coming in to drink at the bird bath that I cant even identify. Can you believe I even had a scorpion in the house a couple of days ago - didn't know there were any around here. Hoping that the worst is now over.
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Post by Caseysmom on Feb 4, 2020 23:01:24 GMT -5
Jan, that’s a powerful vision picturing the crowds of bees coming for water. I really hope the birds and other wildlife can find new ways to thrive and come back
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Post by msdani1981 on Apr 12, 2020 13:40:11 GMT -5
I feel like Australia was hit with a double whammy - the fires and the virus.
How are things going for you all?
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Post by biteybird on May 2, 2020 2:37:33 GMT -5
Hi Dani, here in the Northern Territory it has not been too much of an issue yet. The NT has largely escaped the virus, as we've had no community transmission (all our cases flew in from overseas). Out of 28 cases in the NT only 3 are still in the Royal Darwin Hospital, however, apparently 4 defence personnel flew in from the US and tested positive upon arrival (a couple of days ago). Of course we have had the supermarket shortages and have been subject to the physical distancing, and I have been working from home since 20 March. I consider myself very lucky that I happen to have the type of job that I can do from home - if I had still been teaching Special Education I would not be feeling too thrilled about going to school right now! Most of the students I was teaching (with Autism and intellectual disability) were not capable of understanding hygiene - some would come up to me and wipe their noses on my shirt, as they didn't understand how to use a tissue - couldn't wash their hands without physical help and had no understanding of personal space. I am also very lucky that I own my house, which is quite large. It is an elevated house (two levels), so my husband and I can actually avoid each other most of the time if we really want to. I'm in a different position to lots of other people, as I don't have any kids, so I don't get interruptions when I am working. The only thing is that Bonnie squawks when she hears me moving around downstairs. But I have been very careful to keep her routine exactly the same as if I were going into my workplace each day, which seems to be working. I'm not sure about how Victoria and New South Wales are faring, but our immediate families are in Melbourne and seem to be OK. Thanks for asking. It sounds like the US has been very hard hit and I am concerned about our New York members. Hope Gary is OK. I hope you and your family are all well. |
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