Of course bushfires are not only affecting Victoria. There was tragic news from NSW yesterday where a father and son were killed defending their property.
Patrick Salway, who died at a property outside Cobargo on Tuesday, and his wife Renee. Credit:Patrick Salway / Facebook
Nick Bonyhady wrote about it here, this is some of the article:
Renee Salway, who lost her husband Patrick to the bushfires ravaging the South Coast overnight on Monday, has written of her devastation.
"I love you now, I love you still, I always have and I always will," said Mrs Salway, who is pregnant with the couple's second child. "I will see you again Patrick, my best friend. Hope you are up there 'fixing things in the stars tonight'."
"Thank you everyone for your concern. We are broken. Goodnight," Mrs Salway said.
Nine News reporter Jayde Vincent has posted this video to social media showing the scene in Mallacoota this morning.
This remarkable footage was shot by India Macdonell as she and her father fought the fire at Goongerah.
The pair have told the ABC that they were prepared with pumps, water and an underground fire shelter to face the blaze. They saved the house, but only just, and lost several other buildings.
An updated warning this morning was issued for the fires north of Bairnsdale that caused substantial damage to towns including Sarsfield and Clifton Creek.
The full warning is below:
This Emergency Warning is being issued for Boggy Creek, Bruthen, Bullumwaal, Clifton Creek, Johnsonville, Mount Taylor, Nicholson, Sarsfield and surrounding communities.
- The bushfires north of Bairnsdale remain out of control.
- The fires remain active and there is still a risk of embers and spot fires in forest and bushland areas.
- At the present time it is extremely difficult to access some areas using ground crews as there has been significant damage to road networks. Many roads are inaccessible.
- Many roads in the area have been crossed by fire and are now blocked by fallen trees. Burnt trees will continue to fall across these roads for the coming days.
- Crews are assessing the condition of roads to ensure the safety of road users. This may take some time due to the scale of the fires.
- It is extremely dangerous to enter forest areas.
- There is no power to communities east of Lakes Entrance including Bruthen.
- Power to communication towers east of Bairnsdale has been cut and back-up batteries will soon be exhausted. Mobile and landline services will be severely disrupted. Satellite phones and trunk radios will continue to operate.
- We will continue to provide you with updates as more information comes to hand.
You are in danger and need to act immediately.
You should enact your bushfire survival plan now.
Local federal Nationals MP Darren Chester has just been interviewed on ABC News 24 and confirmed there are still at least four people missing in Victoria.
He has also expressed concern for people in Mallacoota where he believes dozens of houses have been lost.
Here is some of what he had to say:
"There are people there who've been through extraordinary trauma. It's hard to imagine what they've been through.
"We will have to find a way to get some of those people out as quick as we possibly can. The full assessment of damage at Mallacoota hasn't been done. The agencies haven't been able to get there safely yet, go through street by street.
"My mate on the ground, he tells me dozens of homes have been destroyed. People will need help to get through the next few months, years.
The fires in East Gippsland now cover about 550,000 hectares and some fires have joined together, night shift Incident controller at Bairnsdale, Chris Eagle has said just now.
The Mallacoota fire has moved north-east and has crossed the border into NSW and is now about 100,000 hectares in size, Mr Eagle told ABC Gippsland Radio.
Fire crews this morning are particularly concerned about Cann River, as there are fires both sides of that community, he said.
Authorities are also concerned with helping people stranded across the area "getting them out, or getting supplies to them".
Overnight, fire crews flew a plane about the area to capture thermal imaging, to try to see exactly where the fires were moving and found several new spot fires, crossing the Princess Highway in various spots in the area between Orbost and Bellbird Creek.
Authorities will open the Highway from Orbost to Bairnsdale between 10am-12pm today "to encourage as many people as possible who don't need to be in Orbost to leave Orbost," he said.
He said Fire authorities and Australian Defence Force staff would determine their priorities this morning and hoped to begin deploying navy helicopters.
It was a terrifying New Year's Eve in Mallacoota. Chip Le Grand does a great job in this piece trying to describe what it was like for those stuck in the tourist town as the sky went black on Tuesday.
Here's some of what he wrote:
They knew the beast had arrived when the morning sky above Mallacoota turned black as coal. Through a long sleepless night they’d waited. Some in their homes.
Others in cars, crammed boot-to-bumper into an open space near the town’s wharf. Others curled up on camp mattresses and makeshift beds.
They were first told to evacuate at 4.30pm the previous day. Then they were told the firefront would hit town between 5am and 6am.
At 9am, a time when the morning sun is normally glinting off the inlet, they didn’t need the CFA sirens to tell them it was happening now. They could smell its smoke. They could hear its wind. And they could barely see a thing.
Read the full article here.
A fresh warning has been issued this morning for the Buchan Valley where fires have been burning for days now.
The warning is posted in full below this photograph from the region which shows the full force of the fire.
A bushfire near Bairnsdale in East Gippsland. Credit:State Government/AAP
The latest warning:
This Emergency Warning is being issued for Buchan, Gelantipy, Suggan Buggan, Timbarra, W Tree, Wulgulmerangand surrounding communities and replaces the Emergency Warning issued this morning at 9:30 am.
- The bushfires in the Buchan Valley and surrounding area remain out of control.
- There is active fire in the area and there is risk of ember attack and spot fires.
- You must continue to remain vigilant as conditions may change.
- Smoke has hampered efforts to obtain accurate information about the current fire extent, behaviour and impacts to communities.
- Aircraft will be used to assess the situation as visibility improves.
- At the present time it is extremely difficult to access some areas using ground crews as there has been significant damage to road networks.
- Many roads are inaccessible due to fallen or hazardous trees.
- Roads in the area have been crossed by fire and may be blocked by fallen trees. Burnt trees will continue to fall across these roads for the coming days.
- Crews are assessing road conditions to ensure the safety of road users. This will take some time due to the scale of the fires.
- It is not safe to drive on these roads as trees may fall at any time.
You are in danger and need to act immediately.
The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately. It is too late to leave.
There's been a lot of attention focussed on Mallacoota where holidaymakers and locals had to take shelter on the beach and remain cut.
Last night an updated warning was issued for the region which is reproduced below and which asks people to stay out of the affected areas.
This Emergency Warning is being issued for Mallacoota, Gipsy Point, Karbeethong, Genoa, Tamboon, Club Terrace, Combienbar, Cann River and surrounds.
- This Emergency Warning replaces the Emergency Warning issued at 8.30am today 31/12/2019.
- There are currently two bushfires that are not yet under control.
- One fire is currently travelling from Wingan River in an easterly direction and has impacted the Mallacoota, Genoa, Karbeethong and Gipsy Point communities and has also moved into NSW.
- The second fire is travelling from Goongerah in a south easterly direction and has impacted Club Terrace and the Princes Hwy.
- Ash and embers are falling ahead of the main fires, which may cause spot fires.
MALLACOOTA
This message is for people at Mallacoota and surrounding communities One fire is currently travelling from Wingan River in an easterly direction and has impacted Mallacoota, Genoa, Karbeethong and Gipsy Point. Crews are focusing their efforts on asset protection around the townshipIt is too late to leave, the safest option is to shelter indoors.An assembly area has been established at the Mallacoota Main Community Hall at Allan Drive.The Genoa-Mallacoota Road is closed.
We understand that residents are anxious to find out about the full impact of these fires on their individual properties and communities, however, the full impact will not be known until Rapid Impact Assessment teams have been through the areas, which cannot occur before roads have been made safe.
We urge community members and tourists not to drive around impacted areas. The areas may be hazardous with fallen trees, power lines that could be live and impacted buildings that may contain asbestos.
With thousands of people still trapped at places such as Mallacoota the Australian Defence Force is swinging into action to assist Victorian and NSW with equipment and other measures.
Defence has issued a statement outlining exactly what that looks like. In the next 24 hours, the following additional support is planned:
- DACC support: Ongoing Defence Assistance to the Civil Community (DACC) support to current events.
- Damage assessments: From January 1, the ADF will support the Victorian Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) to undertake rapid damage assessments in regional Victoria. The ADF will enhance the capacity of the MFB Urban Search and Rescue assessors with additional vehicles and drivers.
- Command and control: A Joint Task Force will be established on January 1, based on the Army’s 4th Brigade in Victoria, to coordinate ADF support to firefighting efforts in Victoria. Liaison officers will be established when requested by local authorities to provide advice on available support. A similar Joint Task Force will be established in NSW from January 2, based on the Army’s 5th Brigade.
- Helicopter support: Late on January 1, an MRH-90 Taipan and two S-70A Black Hawk helicopters will be progressively deployed to Victoria and based out of RAAF Base East Sale. Two CH-47 Chinooks will also deploy from Townsville to provide additional support and are expected to arrive no later than Saturday. These aircraft will support firefighting operations as well as provide humanitarian assistance to remote and isolated communities.
- Navy support: HMAS Choules, one of Australia’s three amphibious ships, will depart Sydney at short notice and is expected to be available to support relief efforts on the NSW South Coast and the northeast of Victoria from late on Friday. The MV Sycamore, a multi-role aviation training vessel contracted by Navy, will also be deployed to the area.
- Air Force support: Two C-27 Spartan aircraft, based at RAAF Base Amberley, will arrive in Victoria on Thursday morning to support the movement of firefighters within Victoria, as well as provide humanitarian assistance to remote and isolated communities.
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