Re: [OT]Canberra Firestorm

From: "Don M" <dmaddox1@hot.rr.com>

> I hope it is over soon! I've fought them in Montana and
> else where.......Really, be safe guys!

A quote:
-----
Phil Koperberg, chief of the rural fire service in neighbouring New
South
Wales state, whose crews helped out on Saturday, said firefighters did
all
they could in appalling conditions.

He said: "In some of the areas I have seen ... it wasn't just fire, it
was
fire accompanied by cyclonic conditions where trees were ripped out of
the
ground, huge trees were twisted around and thrown, burning, on to houses
and
there is no emergency service in the world that could deal with that."
-----
I'd read about that type of thing in accounts of Hamburg and Dresden,
never
thought it would happen only a few kilometres away.

Conditions this afternoon are predicted to be worse than Saturday, so we
may get another firestorm. We're still a long way from the fire front,
nothing to worry about apart from burning embers.

Others aren't so lucky.

But so far, so good. We could have been in a crisis situation by now -
the heightened state of alert started 2 hours ago - and things are
pretty
calm, and the wind is a gentle breeze, not gale force. We can cope with
this without effort.

Sincere thanks to everyone who's sent e-mails wishing us luck.