The scale of devastation from the Victorian bushfires is unbelievable.
The numbers just blow me away. More than 100 people found dead (so far) and 650 homes destroyed.
I lived through the alpine fires in 2003 and was on standby to evacuate at one stage, but I struggle to contemplate the horror of the weekend’s inferno.
So many of the places where the firestorm raged are familiar to me.
I’ve driven through Kinglake and Marysville several times.
Traralgon South and Callignee are special places to me, beautiful parts of the Traralgon Creek valley and the Strzelecki Ranges.
I’m surprised at the intensity of the Bunyip Ridge fire in West Gippsland, which shows that nowhere is really safe.
My mother now lives at Moe and she was getting burning embers in her yard from surrounding district fires.
That’s one way the fire spreads, of course. Embers are blown miles on the wind and spark new fires.
My sister nearly lost her house in an earlier fire that destroyed several homes in Boolarra.
Here in the heavily forested area of South East South Australia we’re watching in horror while being thankful we were spared.
The weather changed here on Saturday morning, the time of greatest risk following a prolonged heatwave.
There are currently fires threatening Beechworth and parts of the North East where I used to live.
Authorities fear the death toll could reach 200 people. Staggering.
The fact arsonists might be responsible is shocking and sad.
If apprehended they should face charges of murder and terrorism.
- Read my observations on bushfire news coverage
This is all too awful to try to get past. Arsonists might be responsible? where do these people get off…it is mass murder.
Lets round the bastards up and shoot them! they do not deserve to occupy a comfortable prison cell the rest of us have to pay for.
Once the shock of all this is over, the devastating long term effects of trauma will go on for all the people involved.
I am so glad I am a volunteer counsellor right now…to be able to help in some small way..when the needs of people have increased demand on counselling services.
This horror should never have happened.
Like you state Michael, this is an act of terrorism.
Lets hope the law punishes those responsible for causing so much destruction to so many.
Arsonists are a total waste of space!
An arsonist has been charged…I wonder how long he will survive, hidden away because his safety may be compromised.
This guy is toast!
Hi Michael, I just wanted to let you know that this area is safe & sound. The only real danger was on the Saturday night and Sunday morning. The fire started just above the Buckland Gap in Beechworth (right by the side of the road!) and spread in a southeast direction in a direct line towards Mudgegonga & Myrtleford. It reached the northern outskirts of Myrtleford but then with the wind change, it headed northeast towards the Kiewa Valley Highway. It was then basically contained within that area and is now all but out.
Unlike other parts of the State we did get plenty of advance warning. The two people who died (Mr & Mrs Wilson)at Barwidgee Creek, just a few ks north of Myrtleford, had actually returned to their home to collect some valuables. It’s not clear whether they intended to ‘stay & defend’ but it seems not, as they had very little water and their pump wasn’t working. According to their daughter, who was quoted in today’s local paper, the fire brigade dropped by several times to \see how they were going\. The daughter last spoke to her mum around 11.30pm and she said she was just collecting valuables and they were ‘on standby’ to evacuate.
Mr Wilson was found dead the next morning in the backyard and Mrs Wilson was found inside. No one can pre-empt the inquiries that are underway but it seems to me that these people should have been strongly advised to evacuate much earlier (by the crews who \checked up on them\).
As for arsonists, the only fire known to have been deliberately lit at this stage is Churchill and someone has been charged over that. There’s been far too much \let’s kill them\ vigilante talk going on and it serves no purpose. I would think a grief counsellor should know that.
Best regards, Ray
I’ll save the other matters for my own blog where I’ll be posting on this topic (like everybody else, I guess) but on the question of arsonists I’ll offer this:
There are various kinds of arson. The least dangerous to the public at large or firefighters is that carried out by professional “torches” who burn property for hire. This is usually a measure to scam insurance or something similar. It’s carried out in cold blood by a person who wants to do all possible to avoid an unlawful death charge. The next in perilousness is a do-it-yourself effort by a desperate business operator. These do have unintentional consequences more often because of the incompetence of the firestarter.
There’s malice attacks on the property of others; cars, houses, business premises, schools, etc. These can cause injury or death more readily because the arsonist has no control over who is in or near what’s being burnt.
Then there is pyromania of the sort exhibited by Martin Bryant. Anything and everything flammable is a potential target. This is the sort of thing we’re dealing with in the current environment. This behaviour is utterly reckless of consequences. The offender may even revel in a death toll.
I’ve heard plenty of talk about amputation of genitals, disembowelling, slow hanging over a fire and all the rest of it. It’s attractiveness increases with the degree of closeness of the tragedy to your own life. I won’t insult the bereaved by telling them politically correct sap about it. If they can catch any of them and want to do it, I won’t argue. As long as they catch the right one.
What should the state do about these pyromaniacs? Establish very strict mandatory detention sentences and make certain no jurist can possibly wriggle around it. As with Bryant, hospital or prison is of a muchness; as long as they never are released.
Twitter: mgorey
says:
Ray, thanks for the update. I heard neighbors of the Wilsons on ABC Radio last week while visiting Warrnambool. They lost their house and nearly their lives. Terrible story.