The smoke is back in a big way here this morning and now that our trucks are back out on the front again with a fresh crew while we await for the water bombing choppers to turn up.

The 2 fires 8km away to the SE have now joined together and with this SE wind is being pushed back towards us here so the mains stems and hoses along the south and eastern sides of the village are being manned today. If they do do refuelling of the choppers on the oval today it'll be done on my side of the oval near my main stem and hose (instead of the usual far side) so I maybe out there as well, but that has yet to be determined (but my boots and PPE fire gear are ready to go).

We kicked off here at 12C (felt like 10C) and a smokey 29C is expected.

Cheers.

Wiggo, I just read your message from 11 hours ago that the fires are just 8 km away and coming your way! I sincerely hope you are able to read this. I pray that you, your family and friends, and your home are okay!!!
If you can safely do so, please let us know how you are!

{EDIT}
I just checked and see that your computers are still reporting. I hope that means you survived the firestorm without any harm!

Well the smoke is still hanging around like a thick smelly fog here, but thankfully the boys' back burning of the open area around the hilly and dense national park over the last few nights and water bombing efforts has contained that fire to the national park itself.

It was also deemed unsafe for the choppers to work off the oval here so refuelling was done over at Emmaville oval instead. You could hear then coming and going all day, but you could hardly see them except for their buckets going around 100m above ground gave any indication as to where they were, though goodness knows how they could see where they were going.

The day crews were quite late getting back today and were joined by 4 other fire trucks so we had 6 trucks tonight to turn around instead of 2, but the extra night crews pitched in to speed things up, and I take it that we'll have those 6 trucks to turn around again in the morning.

So until the weekend gets here we'll just have to keep putting up with this smoke and then the expected NW-W change, while clearing the smoke away from here, could blow that fire back to where it joins another equally rugged and heavily timbered conservation park that runs along another ridge line further east. If that happens then we're going to be in for a lot more smoke next week.

Anyhow, it's time for rum or 2 before bed and certainly before another day in the highlands down under.

[edit] All is ok here thanks Cherokee150, but hanging around just in case has put a stop to my usual LLB's for the moment though I'm certainly going through my books in the process of waiting.

Cheers.

I am glad to hear that you have been able to keep the fires from reaching you so far.
I hope that you will continue to be able to keep them away, and also that the winds change and blow the smoke out of the area.

I know how horrible that smoke is. I was in Alaska back in 2004 when they had, at that time, the worst fires ever recorded. Nearly the entire state was covered in dense smoke. When we came out of the Arctic and reached Fairbanks, it was so bad that everybody was drowsy due to the low oxygen content. They even opened the Cinema to the public for free so they could get some relief. In fact, my young son and I watched the new release of "I, Robot" there, but we, along with many others, were unable to stay awake through much of the show. It turned out the plan to get people out of the smoke backfired because the air conditioning actually concentrated the smoke further!

Please keep us informed about your situation.

Cheers.

I thought that the smoke was bad yesterday, visibility about 500m/547yds, but today visibility has been down to 200-250m (218-273yds) so no choppers were flying anywhere near here. Our temp range today was 13C (felt like 9C) to 27C (felt like 23C), but after a brief late morning SW change tomorrow (which may make the air easier to breath for a bit) the heat is expected to be on with 35C being expected.

On a good note the fires have remained stable on our fronts, though the 3 fires to the NE of here did join up and burnt out the last remaining peace of unburnt forest up to the NE there running into a previously burnt out area.

I won't be assisting with the changeover tonight as all this smoke has given me a splitting headache so I'm staying out of it.

As the sun sets here the temp is down to a smokey 22C (feels like 19C).

Cheers.

It's 10C (feels like 8C) here in the highlands, but we're having a hard time working out where the fog ends and the smoke begins this morning (visibility is down to about 70m/77yds).

Cheers.

A "State of Emergency" has been declared here in N.S.W. for these fires over the next 7 days.

Mid to high 30C's are expected here in the highlands until Monday (10C+ higher temps down in the flat country), but thankfully no strong winds are expected here, and hopefully we may get a bit of rain after that.

After the fog left the visibility is back to yesterday's levels (still not great) which the lite SE breeze is barely stirring, but the SW change shouldn't be too far away (hopefully).

Anyhow, I'm going to grab a broom and sweep some of this ash/soot out of here before I do more than just skate across the tiles.

Cheers.

i just read your last few posts, Wiggo. I am very glad to hear the fires have stayed away so far.
I hope the coming days will not be as bad as forecasted, that the wind shifts in your favor and, of course, that you get some rain!!

You probably already know the following, but I am including it in case it might help.

The smoke itself is a grave danger. Exposure to smoke levels as high as you have can cause serious lung damage like COPD and emphysema.

When we were in the Alaska fires, we were able to obtain several masks. They really helped.
They didn't stop the headaches and drowsiness from the low oxygen levels, but they did protect us from lung damage.

The levels of smoke you describe exceed what we experienced, so a mask would certainly help.

If you can't get a mask, you can make one that should provide some help.
First, you will need several squares of the finest texture cloth you can find. The squares should be large enough to easily cover your mouth and nose.
The squares are placed on top of each other, then stitched, stapled or otherwise clipped together around the edges. This becomes the filter.
A meter length of string is then poked through the left and right upper corners of the filter.
The same procedure is done to the lower corners of the filter with a second length of string.
The filter can then be carefully slid along the strings to a position that will allow you to easily tie the strings around your head.

If fine cloth is not available, you can substitute something else that will filter the air. In a pinch, you might even be able to use paper towels or tissues , but they would obviously need to be replaced often.
If the cloth is not fine enough, you might make it more effective by moistening it with water.
If string is not available, you can substitute twine, thin wire, or anything else that will work.


We look forward to your next post.

Cheers.

If you can't get a mask, you can make one that should provide some help.

Actually, you can't.
Unless you have the right filtering material, and the mask is air tight around the face, the effect they provide is minimal. Yes, they will help keep out ash, but that's about all. No effect on the smoke.

Face mask for smoke?

Only one type of mask helps
"Facemasks are the least useful measure, as a public health response," said Fay Johnston from the University of Tasmania's Menzies Institute for Medical Research.
"There's only one sort that actually helps — that's the P2 masks. They're the only ones that can filter out a meaningful level of air pollution."

Respiratory protective equipment — the dust masks and respirators you might see builders or landscapers using — are rated by their level of particle protection. P1 devices provide low levels of dust protection, while P2 masks are better at filtering out particles.
You can buy them from hardware stores, but they need to fit correctly to be effective.
"They only work with a really airtight seal that you have to maintain — if you're a man with a beard, it's impossible. And if air leaks around the sides you might as well not have one," Dr Johnston said.

---

Grant
Darwin NT

Hi Grant,
Thank you for your excellent advice.

I understand that few masks provide complete protection from smoke. What I can say is that the masks we got in Alaska did help reduce the effects. We did, as you stated, keep our masks as tight and snug as we could. The scratchiness and irritation to our throats lessened, as did the coughing. Even the heavy, smoky odor was somewhat reduced. I don't know if we were just lucky, but we also did not get any lung problems like many others did. As you said, however, they did not provide complete protection.

Since the masks gave us some help, I passed the information to Wiggo in hopes that it might bring him bring some relief. At the very least, a mask should not cause any harm.

In the meantime, let's hope the winds have shifted and brought in better air, and maybe even stopped the advance of the fires.

Perhaps Wiggo will have some good news in his next post. :-)

Cheers.

I tried to get an update in yesterday, but things here wern't going well with the site, so I'll get it in now.

We had another foggy and smokey start here today and 37C is expected here today, but so far our fire lines are holding and no strong winds are expected at this end of the state, sadly the same can't be said for further south.

We lost 2 fire fighters the night before last when their truck (travelling in convoy south of Sydney) was struck by a falling tree killing both the driver and front passenger instantly, the truck then ran off the road and rolled, but luckily the 3 rear passengers escaped with just a few minor cuts and bruises. But very sadly 2 young fathers won't be spending Xmas with their families this year. :-(

As for Air Conditioners, there are only 6 houses (and the supermarket) that have it here and I'm not 1 of them (while all but 3 houses here do have a wood burner and I have 2 of them) so the rest of us just use natural ventilation and fans during summer. So ATM it's a test to see how long we can keep our places closed up for before the heat drives to us to open up.

Now onto those P2 masks and our current conditions, they're useless in my and others opinions as they only last 10-20mins before they block up (depending on the amount of air that you're sucking in) so instead of going through a box of them while we're doing the trucks we just soak our fire hoods, pull our T-shirts over top to get the neck seal and then whack on our goggles for a full head seal (then just pour on more water as required, usually when you start to smell the smoke again).

Those weak wind changes over the last 2 days havn't helped either as they went a little to westerly so what went past us at height in the morning just came back to us at ground level in the afternoon.

3 million hectares (about 7.4 million acres) of land has now been burnt or is burning (about half the size of Tasmania) in this state alone and that is only going to grow further by the day.

Cheers.

And now we've got the fires in Vic, WA & SA all getting in on the act.

---

Grant
Darwin NT

News just in "One person has died in a bushfire burning in the Adelaide Hills. Authorities have also confirmed that 15 homes have been destroyed."

One person has been killed in the Cudlee Creek bushfire in the Adelaide Hills, while a prominent racing identity has been badly burnt.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall confirmed the death at Charleston at a media conference this morning. He said 15 homes had been destroyed in the fire, along with 13 other buildings and 16 vehicles. There had been a "very significant" loss of livestock, he said, while 40,000 hectares had been burnt across the state.
"My fear is this is only the tip of the iceberg," Mr Marshall said. "… It is going to a real scene of devastation, especially for those people in the Adelaide Hills who have been most affected to date."

Former Oakbank Racing Club chairman John Glatz is in a critical but stable condition in the Royal Adelaide Hospital after being caught up in the Cudlee Creek fire.
Mr Glatz's friend, Frances Nelson QC, said he had suffered burns to 60 per cent of his body and was in an induced coma in the intensive care unit.

Edit-
And Victoria

A bushfire threatening homes and lives in Victoria's east has quadrupled in size overnight and is still out of control after the state's hottest December day on record.
An emergency warning has remained in place since Friday for communities at Tambo Crossing and Ensay over the Marthavale bushfire, which spans at least 50,000 hectares.

Edit-
In NSW as of 6min ago, where many temperatures are expected to be well over 40°c (some forecasts of 47°c).

The RFS said as of midday there were 97 fires burning in NSW, 48 of which were not contained.

---

Grant
Darwin NT

Well it's now a smokey 31C (feels like 29C) here so I had to open up as downstairs hit 32C (an hour earlier than yesterday, which was an hour earlier than the day before), but at least with this westerly I can open the whole front of the shed up (facing east) with the screens across or down letting the heat out. :-(

1 of my last active fire jobs was 3 weeks down in Victoria almost 3yrs ago which devastated a lot of country down there then so I guess that the amount of regrowth will determine the amount of heat generated, but recent revisits by the ABC shows down there still don't show a lot of regrowth happening in that region I was in.

So now I'm going to lounge downstairs with a book, a beer (or 4) and take it very easy. ;-)

Cheers.

Hi Wiggo and Grant,
It is heartbreaking to hear of all the tragedy.

I have somewhat of a personal understanding of how you feel. Except for my son, I have lost all of my family, five of whom died suddenly, and I lost my home a few years ago. I believe that may give me an idea of what you are going through. It is something that can not really be put into words.

I pray that you have already suffered the worst of it - that conditions will now begin to improve.

The loss of life is tragic. The death of anyone brings sorrow and suffering to others. The loss of the firemen strikes an extra chord, for firemen are heroes every day! They put their lives on the line for us.

Wiggo, that is a great idea you and your crew had - to improvise those makeshift masks! It sounds like they do a decent job of protecting you, while needing only a periodic dousing of water. Well done!

Wiggo and Grant, I hope that both of you are spared loss of any kind during this ordeal. Hopefully, this deadly heat wave and drought will end soon.

Wiggo, I also hope you get more opportunities to enjoy drinks and books by open windows.

Wiggo, Grant, please continue to keep us updated, as the news media, especially in the U.S., does a very poor job of reporting what is really happening.
Oh, and please be careful out there! :-)

Cheers.

The fire hoods are a part of our fire fighting kit here Cherokee, and that's what they're meant for as well as face protection from heat/flame so I'm very surprised when I see fighters out there on the line not using them.

Anyhow I'll throw in some links for Cherokee and anyone else who maybe interested.

These are the official state fire maps.

N.S.W./ A.C.T. Fires Near Me
Queensland Current Bushfires
South Australia CFS Incidents and Warnings
Victoria Incidents and Warnings
Tasmania Bushfire Map
Western Australia Warnings and Incidents
Northern Territory Fire Incident Map

And this would likely be the best available local news link, 9 Bushfire News (if those regional protections arn't involved).

It's now been 14 weeks today since these fires started up here (and then they ran north, east and south) and it was another smokey start again this morning, but the morning crew change has been done (6 trucks still) so I can relax now as the mercury here hits 30C (it's also less smokey now than it was earlier). Also seeing as my GPU's have gone into idle mode I should be able to stay enclosed for longer today with 35C expected (we only made it to 34C, felt like 31C, yesterday instead of the expected 37C).

Well I guess that I'll now get back to yesterday's book and finish it off so that I can start on the next in the series. ;-)

Cheers.

Apparently the village of Balmoral (Pop approx 400) is the latest casualty of the fires.
Balmoral ravaged.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says "there isn't much left" of Balmoral in Sydney's south-west, with the devastating Green Wattle Creek bushfire destroying most of the town.

And just reported-

72 homes have been destroyed in the Cudlee Creek bushfire in the Adelaide Hills, up from the previous estimate of 15.
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has also confirmed that 404 "outbuildings" on properties and 227 vehicles have been destroyed.

---

Grant
Darwin NT

Yes, those little villages amongst the trees do look very inviting at times, but they can be absolute death traps waiting to go off in times like these. My brother lives in a similar type of area west of Kempsey (just to the SE), heavily timbered with rough terrain and they're having big problems down there.

Well we got the crew changeover done pretty smartly this morning (we must be getting use to doing those 4 extra trucks now) and our lines are still holding up well while there were also lot less black faces on those returning crews this morning (so it looks like us old cripples taught a few why we have those fire hoods and why we stock so many bottles of water on their trucks).

About 90mins after yesterday's update as the temp hit 35C (felt like 32C) a very thick wall of smoke hit here reducing visibility down to 100m/110yds in a few minutes so I was rushing about to close the place back up again and retreat back to the back rooms. The smoke also blocked the heat of the sun out so it also cooled down to 27C (felt like 24C) by 5pm which is about the time we max out. Today began at a smokey 16C (felt like 15C) and a max of 31C is expected, but at least there's some clouds about and the temp ATM is 21C which is 9C less than it was yesterday so hopefully I can stay locked up for a lot longer today (especially seeing as this rig is out of work and idling while the other only has some CPU tasks left to do before it also goes idle as well). Hopefully we'll also get that rain we've been promised for so long this afternoon and overnight.

Anyhow, it's time for a coffee and to see how many pages of this book I can get through today (it's a small 1 this time with only 750 pages).

Cheers.

In the highlands here we awoke up to a much improved air quality and a warm 18C, while only 25C with showers and/or storms are expected today (we've had a few drops). Yesterday's 2 storms were pretty dry 1's, but they did interrupt the power here a few times, along with a few very lite showers overnight and early this morning only left 0.5mm in the gauge (MTD:12.5mm/YTD:287.25mm).

All 6 fire trucks are back out on the line again, but 2 of the 4 extra trucks maybe leaving us after their shifts here today, and not 1 black face could be seen here this morning (winning with much less use of those useless P2 masks and more use of the supplied water on fire hoods).

Anyhow, it's time for a coffee break before I wheel 1 of my rigs downstairs for its quarterly strip down and clean out, with all the dust, ash and soot that's been around this quarter I'm expecting the insides to be pretty bad.

Cheers.

Well 2 huge storm cells passing just to the east of us (going SW to NE) here seem to have put down a lot of smoke out of the air before the SE change hit here and we're getting a bit of decent rain for the moment instead of a great thick wall of smoke. :-D

The power here is starting to get a bit flakey so don't panic if you don't hear back from me as it's likely that my power will be down (a lot of action is happening in our feeder line's area ATM).

Cheers.