Speaking to someone in Benalla yesterday, said you can see the glow in the hills at night, and it appears that it has attacked from one side and now is coming from the opposite direction.
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Speaking to someone in Benalla yesterday, said you can see the glow in the hills at night, and it appears that it has attacked from one side and now is coming from the opposite direction.
The fire at Tatong Hills is of great concern for my Uncle, cause his farm backs into the Tatong area.
We have friends up there too who breed, err....ummm......hope Als not watching..goats.
They back onto the scrub a few klicks out of town.
Just had a look at the fire maps and it looks like Rob is under threat at the moment
Sounds like from the radio that the fire is pretty much at, or about to go through Tolmie:C ..Good luck Borer:fingerscrossed:
edit: here is the latest as of 4:00pm....
DSE and CFA wish to advise residents of Archerton that fire is in Acherton and moving south. Residents should be on full alert and prepare for impact from the fire shortly. They should take all precautions to protect themselves from radiant heat.
Spotting is very active in Toombullup and Tolmie and spot fires will grow rapidly. These residents are urged to patrol their properties to check for ember attack and spot fire and remain vigilant.
Advice for public in the affected area:
Because of hot weather demands on the power supply state-wide and the fact the fires are burning in proximity of major power lines, residents relying solely on electricity for pumps and other essential equipment are urged to consider alternative sources in case of possible cuts to power supply
- Residents should be patrolling their homes and checking roof spaces, under floor spaces and areas where leaves commonly gather to ensure that nothing is burning.
- As the front of the fire approaches, it will become unsafe to be either on foot or in a car as the heat radiating from the fire will be intense. Residents should avoid being exposed to radiant heat at all costs, and should make use of structures like their homes to shelter as the fire front passes.
I have just got off the phone to Meg and Rob.
Things are looking pretty ordinary at the moment at Tolmie.
Meg said that the fire is just over the road on top of the ridge in front of the house, and that Elvis is doing low passes over Tolmie.
From memory ( we were there a few weeks ago) the ridge isnt all that far away, only a K or 2. :o
Rob is at the cfa doing his bit with the phones.
Good luck Guys.
Al :C
Edit: Meg said they had some relos there to help out.
Thanks for the update Al,
Best of luck Rob and Meg.
Stay safe, everybody.
Regards...............Sean
Hope all is safe and well in Borer land.......
Yes, 8 homes lost last night. :(
Spoke to Rob this morning, bit of a hairy night around Tolmie but they (& their property) are OK.
Cheers............Sean
Thanks Sean, was thinking about a call but thought they might have their hands a bit full, some relief in sight today we hope, it is actually spitting rain here at the moment.
Any news?
I think I am following you around the board tonight.... but was thinking the same thing, the pictures on the news looked pretty grim, and they are talking of a couple of houses lost. So getting a little worried down here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers
WB when you read this, our thoughts are all with you and Mrs WB. We all hope you and yours are safe
We are getting a little light rain in Mansfield this morning so hopefully they are getting some at Tolmie.
We are all fine up here however my woodwork is at a standstill:~
The other night we were sitting on the roof looking at three fire fronts all within a Km or so wondering which one was going to get here first or whether they were all going to have a party here. None of them have made it yet.
The fire on the range North of us continues to creep towards us and cannot be fought but just steered by strategic water bombing. It will eventually reach more open ground near us which will give the fire fighters the opporunity to attack or steer it.
Yesterday and today we have had rain - 3.5 mm yesterday and I haven't quite woken up enough to check todays rainfall. The rain of course will not even make a dent in the progress of the fires but it slows them down a bit which gives extra time for bulldozers to make fire breaks.
At the CFA Operations in Tolmie the power and the phones have been restored after being off the air for 2 days. I had to do shuttle between there and home to make phone calls because radio communications is not always possible.
We get regular visits from Fire Tankers and Slip Ons (not kinky clothes you foul minded people). Slip Ons are Land Cruisers with small tanks and pumps that can quickly get into difficult areas and put out spot fires and call up for support if required.
Our spirits are high, we have good people like yourselves letting us know you are caring which greatly helps. It will make a good story over a beer or two in the future and we are living it now:o
It is shocking to think that we welcome wind changes that will steer the fires away from us but it would mean some other poor soul will cop it.
Gee the rain is coming down now. Big decision, do I remove the plugs from the spouts and collect the rain water or not? If I remove the plugs, I will have to fill the spouts again. If I leave them in, I miss out on valuable tank water. If I knew it was going to rain all day - no probs, the plugs could be removed because there would be a net gain. If I remove them and the rain suddenly stops, I have gone backwards.:?
I can't use the water sitting in the spouts because it is dam water and it contains ashes. It is really the least of our worries at the moment.
I will try to keep you up to date but you can imagine things are a bit hectic at the moment - a bit like gluing up a chair with tight mortise and tenon joints with the glue drying, the glue running, the chair is out of square, you are busting for a leak and the phone is ringing with some marketing pest whilst dinner is getting cold on the table.
I think I would much prefer the chair gluing problem but sometimes we can't choose.
Don't worry yourselves about us too much, we will be fine, there is always something good if you look hard enough.
For example, whilst under severe threat of fire the other day, we were topping up the bath and were distracted (by walls of flames etc coming our way). Of course the bath overflowed flooding the bath room, the kitchen and a bit of the carpet in our bedroom. What a disaster you would be thinking - an unecessary mess, a waste of valuable drinking water, someone who could be more usefully employed mopping up a flood etc.
A week earlier, someone did not close the lid on the enclosure for one of the girls (pythons) and little Cissy went walkabout (slitherabout?). Looked everywhere, left some mice around the place but no sign of my little Cissy.
The flooding flushed her out. So we have been reunited at the slight expense of a bit of drinking water. There is always a positive if you bother to look hard enough.
Great news Woodborer. When we saw the aerial shots of the fires around Tolmie on the news last night, together with the news that 5 houses were lost, we feared the worst.
Keep your chin up and remember.............strength through adversity.
Hope the rain is more up your way than here, just enough to make it humid here.
Thinking of you.
It's great to hear that you're OK, Rob. Hang in there, mate!
Col
Glad you're girls are safe and sound too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wood Borer
Pigs is the terminology for those beasts, and were illegal for a while because of the weight when full.
Thanks for the update Rob. I heard that some homes were lost up there so I'm glad you are OK.
At the same time, you tend to feel a little guilty thinking 'thank goodness Rob and Meg are OK'. The others who lost property have friends hoping for them too. :(
Glad you, Meg & Cissy and her mates are all OK.
Good grief Bob, I thought you guys moved up there for the quiet life!
Don't know if youv'e seen it yet but have a look at "you tube" and search for "rabbit vs snake" :oo: you'll get a well earned laugh.
Good luck
BobT
Some pics from up around Tolmie.
Dadpad - I think those pictures just about say it all.....
Woodborer, so glad to hear you and the Girls are well. I nearly had a panic attack:o :fit: :bigcry: :aargh: :melod: when I finally heard what happened at Tolmie... :rolleyes:
Wendy
Things are starting to get back to normal again.
I am in the final stages of getting the new shed organised, managing to do a bit of woodwork, cutting a bit of firewood and splitting logs for the fire.
Here are some photos taken from our decking on the big day plus a sign just outside Tolmie where they copped it badly.
Unfortunately the fire season isn't over yet but I hope a fair amount of fuel has gone from around you Rob.
Scary pics
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby
A bit more fuel might go soon too Gumby - for milling.:wink:
so I went up to Tolmie to drop the youg bloke off at his GFs house for the day.
whilst I was up there I took some photos. I like how quickly the bush begins to renew itself. There are still many smokes rising and yet fungal growth abounds.
one shot shows a plantation of bluegum that got hit. It will be interesting to see if it comes back from the dead.
Grandpad,
You should have dropped in although we dined out tonight at the Tavern.
Drop in any time mate, you know where we are - if Grunt and Ozwinner can find it ........:U
We could sell the puffballs of as Truffles.:2tsup:
It helped that you were standing out the front.
Theres a good local yarn about a bloke who used to sell hot dogs on Buller in the real early days, out of a cart. When he ran out of dogs he sold the water as soup. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Wood Borer
I'll have you know I got very very lost going down your (Alex"s) driveway one dark night. I'd had some...(a fair bit actually) of Alex's elderberry wine... (all right, i was as as a newt) which didnt help matters .:B
OK so I'll call in next time i'm up that way Thanks for the invite. :2tsup:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grunt
And the others in the Great Bike ride thought I was standing out the front to cheer them on.:wink:
Sorry but that's what came up on my PC. I guess we are a bit advanced up here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grandpad
:D :D :D
It's all down hill!
Just released and given to firefighters as a thank you- A DVD of the Victorian fires 2006/7. Very moving to watch and a lot of people really grateful for the effort of firefighters.
'Stories of the great Divide' December 06 - february 07.
From DSE.
Carry Pine
Check out the difference between then and now:wink:
Photo was taken a few weeks ago.
Cool???? I think. :D