Fires around Sydney

[possum52]

9 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I hope Les and his family are safe. Latest reports say a fast moving fire has gone through a suburb to the south of Batemans Bay, which is where I think Les said he lived. 😧

I was wondering the same thing, although I remember him writing he and his wife were going to Albury for a week or so. So not sure if he is home or still away. But hope they are safe and that their property is too.

 

Leigh

Edited December 31, 2019 by possum52

[MicCanberra]

Smoke and fires everywhere, even had a fire just on the outskirts of South Canberra, luckily it is under control but the wind is getting stronger. Stay safe everyone.

[MicCanberra]

Not sure how Uncle Les would get anywhere at the moment, the coast is almost in lock down due to so many fires and road closures. both the Clyde (Batemans Bay to Braidwood) and Brown mountain (Bega to Cooma) are blocked along with stretches of the Pacific and Hume Hwys.

[possum52]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Not sure how Uncle Les would get anywhere at the moment, the coast is almost in lock down due to so many fires and road closures. both the Clyde (Batemans Bay to Braidwood) and Brown mountain (Bega to Cooma) are blocked along with stretches of the Pacific and Hume Hwys.

Les' post on Christmas Day said they were heading to Wollongong for Christmas lunch, staying the night there then down to Albury the next day for 6 nights. So possibly intended to head home tomorrow. But if still in Albury may not get back home any time soon.

 

I guess Les will let us know when he can.

 

Leigh

[MicCanberra]

40 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Les' post on Christmas Day said they were heading to Wollongong for Christmas lunch, staying the night there then down to Albury the next day for 6 nights. So possibly intended to head home tomorrow. But if still in Albury may not get back home any time soon.

 

I guess Les will let us know when he can.

 

Leigh

I am sure they will be fine,

He is an ex cop so must have been sensible at least some of the time.😋

[GUT2407]

On the “Merry Christmas” thread Uncle Les said The Gong for Chrissy day then off south for about six days, so he should be well clear, probably without internet, so hopefully he will check in soon.

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

On the “Merry Christmas” thread Uncle Les said The Gong for Chrissy day then off south for about six days, so he should be well clear, probably without internet, so hopefully he will check in soon.

With all the road closures he may prolong his stay away and come back in a few days time.

[OzKiwiJJ]

23 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

With all the road closures he may prolong his stay away and come back in a few days time.

I don't think he'll have any choice, there may not be any way in to Bateman's Bay at the moment.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

To get an idea of the size of the problem ,there were amazing scenes in the South Island of NZ today as the sky turned orange from the smoke that has drifted over the Tasman Sea . 
Here’s a grab from the cam sat Queenstown and Milford Sound.

 

 

 

 

Yes that’s smoke not fog you can see !!

 

 

[MicCanberra]

23 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I don't think he'll have any choice, there may not be any way in to Bateman's Bay at the moment.

There is a way but it is very round about and would also need no further road closures.

[MicCanberra]

15 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

To get an idea of the size of the problem ,there were amazing scenes in the South Island of NZ today as the sky turned orange from the smoke that has drifted over the Tasman Sea . 
Here’s a grab from the cam sat Queenstown and Milford Sound.

 

 

 

 

Yes that’s smoke not fog you can see !!

 

 

Incredible, the air here in Canberra is thick with smoke, has a rating of Hazardous and is 20 times worse than the safe levels.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I hope you get some clean air soon, Mic. There isn't much you can do in those conditions other than seal up your house as best you can and stay indoors ... or head to a nice, air conditioned pub for a few hours!

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I hope you get some clean air soon, Mic. There isn't much you can do in those conditions other than seal up your house as best you can and stay indoors ... or head to a nice, air conditioned pub for a few hours!

The trouble is getting to those better locations, you have to go through the bad conditions. We are lucky and have a split system so our house is cool and relatively smoke free, for those with evaporative A/C, they cannot use them. 

[lyndarra]

The weather I've been experiencing this summer is very weird. So far, where I live, on the beast side of Lake Macquarie, the days have been somewhat cooler than normal for summer. I've experienced, in past summers, days at a time with temps 40+C. I don't have air con and nights have been fairly cool. I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom but haven't needed it, unlike previous summers. I wonder if it has anything to do with smoke haze tempering  heat from the sun mostly in the afternoon?

I also got news that my son's partner's son has lost his home in Cobargo.

So far my son's house and property in the Pilliga north of Coonabarrabran has escaped threat although it went close a few years ago when fire swept through there and cut off access to Siding Springs Observatory (where he works) for weeks. Fingers crossed.

[MicCanberra]

There has been so many houses and other property lost, lives too along with all the animals. It really is devastating.

[possum52]

The Victorian Premier has announced in the last hour or so that 17 people are unaccounted for in the East Gippsland fires with grave fears held for their safety.  I hope they are all found safe. I can understand the fear their families must have for them.

 

Leigh 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

I hope so too.

The ACT has just been put into a State of Alert, so that emergency vehicles will have the necessary powers to deal with any situation that may arise.

[MicCanberra]

Our air quality here in Canberra is the worst in the world at the moment - https://air-quality.com/place/australia/canberra/6b4d3d4e?lang=en&standard=aqi_us

579 in Monash where I live and work, yesterday it was 710.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

As another aside to the fires ,some of  the glaciers in the Southern Alps of NZ have been covered with ash and turned a caramel colour . This has not been seen before in living memory , except in core samples taken from deep down in the frozen ice .

 

The Devastation from Batemans Bay was on TV1 news tonight .Trust Uncle Les is OK.

 

 

 

[possum52]

8 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Our air quality here in Canberra is the worst in the world at the moment - https://air-quality.com/place/australia/canberra/6b4d3d4e?lang=en&standard=aqi_us

579 in Monash where I live and work, yesterday it was 710.

There was an item on ABC TV news this morning about the air quality in Canberra at the moment. Not good Mic, you and Rosie take care. My nephew and his family live in a neighbouring suburb to you - Kambah, so I guess they are being affected too. 

 

Leigh

[MicCanberra]

9 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

As another aside to the fires ,some of  the glaciers in the Southern Alps of NZ have been covered with ash and turned a caramel colour . This has not been seen before in living memory , except in core samples taken from deep down in the frozen ice .

 

The Devastation from Batemans Bay was on TV1 news tonight .Trust Uncle Les is OK.

 

 

 

I hope so too, he was reported to have been away but that has not been either confirmed or refuted as yet. He may be trying to get back home or perhaps stay away as many people have been urged to do.

[MicCanberra]

12 minutes ago, possum52 said:

There was an item on ABC TV news this morning about the air quality in Canberra at the moment. Not good Mic, you and Rosie take care. My nephew and his family live in a neighbouring suburb to you - Kambah, so I guess they are being affected too. 

 

Leigh

I hope so too, we both have sore throats and slight headaches.

Kambah is in the same valley (Tuggeranong )  which uses the Monash weather station for the readings.

Still it could be worse, we have not had to deal with any threatening fires as yet, Saturday is supposed to be bad for that.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

I hope so too, we both have sore throats and slight headaches.

Bunnings have P2 dust masks which are useful if you have to go out in the smoke.

 

Amazon have a wide selection of P2.5 masks which are more effective but may take a few days to arrive, although the one I ordered turned up within 3 days instead of the 1-2 weeks I was expecting.

[MicCanberra]

It may well be what we need to do, there seems to be no wind to break the smoke up.

[GUT2407]

Some wind would sure help.

 

was going to visit mum and dad but poor old Wangi was cut off for a while.