Australia - NSW - Worst bushfire days in years.

[SouthAussie]

Equally as silly … our new Environment Minister. In publicly speaking of the link between bushfires and climate change, started his talk with the words “I looked up what Wikipedia said, and it says ….”. He has been rubbished on radio and TV ever since.
I guess it wouldn’t have hurt him to use one of their research assistants to actually do some real research to reference in his talk.


"THE Environment Minister Greg Hunt has staked his authority on a Wikipedia entry in a bid to douse claims climate change is causing bushfires."

http://www.news.com.au/national/env...ate-change-facts/story-fncynjr2-1226745891687

 

[SouthAussie]

The pilot's details have been released. RIP David Black.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...637351578.34160.194124404026668&type=1&ref=nf

Very sad.

Also just heard on late night news, a second pilot has died in relation to the fires. This was a man (unnamed) who was a retired firefighter, flying his light plane home after dropping off helicopter parts in NSW for choppers being used in the NSW firefighting efforts. He crashed in Victoria, I believe. There was a pic of his crashed plane among trees along with the news item.

Unable to find an MSM link yet.

 

[FigTree]

Very sad.

Also just heard on late night news, a second pilot has died in relation to the fires. This was a man (unnamed) who was a retired firefighter, flying his light plane home after dropping off helicopter parts in NSW for choppers being used in the NSW firefighting efforts. He crashed in Victoria, I believe. There was a pic of his crashed plane among trees along with the news item.

Unable to find an MSM link yet.

Oh no, such very sad news about the pilots
My heart goes out to their families with my deepest sympathies.

 

[SouthAussie]

Here's the link about the 2nd pilot (retired firefighter) killed after flying spare parts for the helicopter used in fighting the fires in NSW.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/pilo...e-crash-near-mount-hotham-20131024-2w2g7.html

 

[Steely Dan]

Random ..

AMERICA, the nation which gave the world 307 Nobel laureates, has today shown that its media is about as smart as one of its famously dopey teen beauty pageant contestants.

In a bizarre map produced by NBC News, pretty much the whole of Australia is depicted as being ablaze this week.

You might have thought the bushfires of the past week have been confined largely to New South Wales, but noooo. Not according to NBC they're not.

American network NBC publishes map showing the whole of Australia is on fire. Oops

http://www.news.com.au/technology/a...-is-on-fire-oops/story-e6frfrnr-1226746114107

[video=youtube;_mWtWz_aGyk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mWtWz_aGyk[/video]

 

[Mrs G Norris]

How Stupid Americans Really Are! - YouTube

:facepalm:

Did you read the caption under the photo of Australia on fire?

'And in other news, 98 per cent of Americans have been declared effectively braindead.'

:floorlaugh:

 

[SouthAussie]

How Stupid Americans Really Are! - YouTube

Oh Steely Dan ... really? really? Those questions weren't tough questions .... :dunno:


ETA: Mind you, after hearing our Environment Minister speak yesterday ..... :scared: :scared: :scared:

 

[SouthAussie]

"As the state's bushfire crisis enters its ninth day, there are 57 bushfires burning across the state, with 23 uncontained, the Rural Fire Service says.

.... it could take weeks for them to be fully extinguished.

..... currently more than 800 firefighters in the field and 72 aircraft deployed.

More than 120,000 hectares of bush has so far been burnt across NSW since the crisis began ...... " (1200 sq kms/463.5 sq miles)

http://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/1949...-to-become-complacent-as-warnings-downgraded/

 

[Steely Dan]

"As the state's bushfire crisis enters its ninth day, there are 57 bushfires burning across the state, with 23 uncontained, the Rural Fire Service says.

.... it could take weeks for them to be fully extinguished.

..... currently more than 800 firefighters in the field and 72 aircraft deployed.

More than 120,000 hectares of bush has so far been burnt across NSW since the crisis began ...... " (1200 sq kms/463.5 sq miles)

http://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/1949...-to-become-complacent-as-warnings-downgraded/

Are they expecting any rain?

 

[Steely Dan]

Oh Steely Dan ... really? really? Those questions weren't tough questions .... :dunno:


ETA: Mind you, after hearing our Environment Minister speak yesterday ..... :scared: :scared: :scared:

I loved when they asked the guy the KFC question.

 

[SouthAussie]

Are they expecting any rain?

No rain at all ... possibility of showers in a few days time (Mon/Tues). Don't know how it is in the Blue Mountains, but here in South Australia they can predict showers and we often get ... nothing.

http://www.bluemts.com.au/weather-forecast/

 

[Steely Dan]

No rain at all ... possibility of showers in a few days time (Mon/Tues). Don't know how it is in the Blue Mountains, but here in South Australia they can predict showers and we often get ... nothing.

http://www.bluemts.com.au/weather-forecast/

Bad weathermen exist all over the planet. I don't know if this works in Australia or not, but I like this for local readings; http://www.accuweather.com/en/au/sydney/22889/satellite/22889

Welll it looks like it does. :thumb:

While you watch the news about the fires, here's a video I made that will keep your mind off of things.

[video=youtube;egTWvP96I1c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egTWvP96I1c[/video]

 

[sleepinoz]

No rain at all ... possibility of showers in a few days time (Mon/Tues). Don't know how it is in the Blue Mountains, but here in South Australia they can predict showers and we often get ... nothing.

http://www.bluemts.com.au/weather-forecast/

I find this one quite reliable

http://www.weatherzone.com.au/nsw/central-tablelands/lithgow

Bit of rain over the next few days but doesn't look like much

 

[Brightbird]

I just go with the Bureau of Meteorology. Isn't that where most other sites/apps get their info?

http://www.bom.gov.au/

 

[SouthAussie]

Someone has created a Wiki entry, for anyone who is interested ....

"The 2013 New South Wales bushfires are an ongoing series of bushfires in Australia across the state of New South Wales primarily starting, or becoming notable, on 13 October 2013 ...."

2013 New South Wales bushfires - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[SouthAussie]

Heard on this morning’s TV news that 49 bushfires are still burning around NSW, 17 of them out of control.

Meanwhile the cleanup has started in the worst hit residential areas, with 80 army personnel helping with the cleanup and demolition of burned homes.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/defence-assists-in-fire-cleanup-20131102-2wtw6.html

 

[Steely Dan]

Heard on this morning’s TV news that 49 bushfires are still burning around NSW, 17 of them out of control.

Meanwhile the cleanup has started in the worst hit residential areas, with 80 army personnel helping with the cleanup and demolition of burned homes.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/defence-assists-in-fire-cleanup-20131102-2wtw6.html

Wow, just wow!

 

[SouthAussie]

November 2, 2013

"According to Inspector Ben Shepherd, a spokesman for the NSW Rural Fire Service, the smoke haze was caused by fires burning around the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains region."

"Those fires are still burning and will do so for a while yet," he said.

Inspector Wayne Phillips, of NSW Fire and Rescue, said between 10am and 12pm firefighters responded to more than 200 automatic fire alarms going off in Sydney "mostly around the city".

"[It's a] crazy amount of calls for us. We [normally] get about 15 a day in the city," he said.'

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/sydney-blanketed-in-smoke-again-20131102-2wsvk.html#ixzz2jXnrpE5o


Some photos of a very smokey Sydney in the article.

The smoke is setting off fire alarms all over the place. Several trains were stopped because of an activated fire alarm (due to the smoke) in a signal box. Asthma sufferers and others are having breathing difficulties.

Article also shows a fire map of all the still-active fires in NSW.

 

[Steely Dan]

I'm embarrassed to be an American :blushing:

[video=youtube;JyF9aZAlPZg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyF9aZAlPZg[/video]

"People Are Stupid" - Common Knowledge Survey (Episode 2) - YouTube

"People Are Stupid" - Common Knowledge Survey (Episode 3) - YouTube

"People Are Stupid" - Common Knowledge Survey (Episode 4) - YouTube

 

[FigTree]

I loved when they asked the guy the KFC question.

The girl who was asked about name a country that starts with the letter 'U' and the interviewer gave a clue ... "what about the Unites States of America" ... her reaction was so priceless. She was sweet.