Probably the most balanced post Iāve seen on social media for a while...
āAlright. A lot of people have asked. I'm a Firefighter in Australia. Let's talk about the fires.
First of all does being a firery give me all the insight to this complex issue? Not even close and I need to make that clear. However I've felt a strong need to say something here because I just can't stomach some of the false science and outright lies being peddled on social media as news or facts.
Hazard reduction burns -Ā
No, the Greenies haven't been stopping hazard reduction burns from taking place. We still do them and yes we should absolutely do more of them.Ā
Yes, the weather extremes and droughts have significantly reduced the window in which it is safe to perform these burns.
Yes, the state governments need to invest more money in HRB's. NSW for example, as an estimate, would need to increase their budget from $100million to a half billion, a five fold increase and that money needs to come from somewhere.Ā
Yes, national parks, wildlife and nature reserves need to burn too but are hard to. They are the sanctuary's for Australian fauna who can no longer survive in the farmlands and housing estates we've constructed. Indiscriminate burning of national parks will literally wipe species off the face of the earth as they often have nowhere else to go.
Yes, indigenous people used to manage the land through burning and have a contribution here. However, Australia is a different landscape now, home to 24 million people and so HRB's needs to be managed differently.
Yes, conditions have been so bad this season that fires have still burnt through areas where hazard reduction burns were completed earlier in the year.
Climate change -Ā
No climate change is not starting fires. Lightening strikes, people, negligence etc.. is starting fires.Ā
BUT Yes, climate change is contributing to increasing temperatures and increasing drought severity which is creating worsening fire conditions.Ā
Yes, climate change is contributing to a longer fire season.Ā
Yes, we should have acted on climate change long ago. All of us. The whole world. Everyone.
No, no one knows exactly how much climate change has contributed to exacerbating the conditions for this year's catastrophic fire season however the best science available and scientific consensus is that there is an undeniable link.Ā
Aerial firefighting -Ā
Yes, as the fire season grows longer and northern and southern hemisphere fire seasons overlap more and more, Australia will have to invest in its own aerial firefighting fleet and not rely on leasing from overseas. Perhaps we should have done this earlier. We didn't.Ā
Politics and the media -Ā
Yes these fires have been politicised and yes our media is politicised.Ā
If you're left leaning and read Fairfax newspapers, you're more likely to blame Scomo and the government right now for their response. If you're right leaning and read News Ltd newspapers you're more likely to blame the greens right now for 'stopping' hazard reduction burns. Your social media is politicised in the same way and will show and share media that supports your general position and most likely strengthen your own existing narrative.Ā
No, a video on FB of a guy in the bush screaming at the greens is not facts about what caused these fires. No, a video of someone shouting at Scomo for not funding the NSW Rural Fire Service (state gov funded) is not facts about what caused these fires.Ā
Has Scomo done enough? Should he have gone on holidays? If you know me you know I'm left leaning so my answer will naturally contain a bias.
The best solution? A royal commission. Let's let impartial experts tell us what went wrong and how to act in response to it. I think you'll find we're all a little bit right as well as a little bit wrong.
What can you do right now?? Fucking donate!! The Red Cross appeal, the Salvation Army, Wires, Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, your state Rural Fire Service. Whoever. Do your research and donate wisely.
On top of this, once the smoke clears, grab your mates or family, jump in the car and visit these towns, spend money in their shops, stay the night, help get their local economy's back on track. They will need our support.Ā
Finally, to all of my firefighting brethren back home in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the whole east coast, both career and volunteer, I know you've worked harder in the last 6 weeks than you've ever worked in your entire life and I'm so immensely proud of you all. Stay safe.ā
I'm not a fire dude but I know a couple of seasoned wildfire firefighters with many years experience and a couple of others I haven't been in touch with for a while and much of what they have told me about wildfires gives me the impression the above is an excellent summation of the situation.Ā Well done!
Beside the direct causes and conditions that are listed here that exacerbate wildfire situations,Ā one major issue we have faced in the western U.S. has been a huge build of of fuels in the form of brush and undergrowth due to 100 plus years of suppressing natural fire.Ā I wonder if the same scenario is part of the reason for the intense fires happening in Australia?Ā I'm assuming by "hazard reduction burns" he is referring to what we call "control burns" or (more currently) "prescribed burns".Ā Hopefully once things calm down, your government will see the need to be more aggressive with this kind of fire prevention.Ā As with you folks, our native populations no longer help the situation by setting regular smaller fires to clear undergrowth.Ā Which leads to the obvious conclusion that perhaps too many people (myself included) have moved into fire sensitive areas.Ā Hopefully, we all learn something from this.Ā
Even more hopefully, I wish you folks could get a break.Ā What a terrible situation to be in.Ā Very sad.
āThe fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.ā
Probably the most balanced post Iāve seen on social media for a while...
āAlright. A lot of people have asked. I'm a Firefighter in Australia. Let's talk about the fires.
First of all does being a firery give me all the insight to this complex issue? Not even close and I need to make that clear. However I've felt a strong need to say something here because I just can't stomach some of the false science and outright lies being peddled on social media as news or facts.
Hazard reduction burns -Ā
No, the Greenies haven't been stopping hazard reduction burns from taking place. We still do them and yes we should absolutely do more of them.Ā
Yes, the weather extremes and droughts have significantly reduced the window in which it is safe to perform these burns.
Yes, the state governments need to invest more money in HRB's. NSW for example, as an estimate, would need to increase their budget from $100million to a half billion, a five fold increase and that money needs to come from somewhere.Ā
Yes, national parks, wildlife and nature reserves need to burn too but are hard to. They are the sanctuary's for Australian fauna who can no longer survive in the farmlands and housing estates we've constructed. Indiscriminate burning of national parks will literally wipe species off the face of the earth as they often have nowhere else to go.
Yes, indigenous people used to manage the land through burning and have a contribution here. However, Australia is a different landscape now, home to 24 million people and so HRB's needs to be managed differently.
Yes, conditions have been so bad this season that fires have still burnt through areas where hazard reduction burns were completed earlier in the year.
Climate change -Ā
No climate change is not starting fires. Lightening strikes, people, negligence etc.. is starting fires.Ā
BUT Yes, climate change is contributing to increasing temperatures and increasing drought severity which is creating worsening fire conditions.Ā
Yes, climate change is contributing to a longer fire season.Ā
Yes, we should have acted on climate change long ago. All of us. The whole world. Everyone.
No, no one knows exactly how much climate change has contributed to exacerbating the conditions for this year's catastrophic fire season however the best science available and scientific consensus is that there is an undeniable link.Ā
Aerial firefighting -Ā
Yes, as the fire season grows longer and northern and southern hemisphere fire seasons overlap more and more, Australia will have to invest in its own aerial firefighting fleet and not rely on leasing from overseas. Perhaps we should have done this earlier. We didn't.Ā
Politics and the media -Ā
Yes these fires have been politicised and yes our media is politicised.Ā
If you're left leaning and read Fairfax newspapers, you're more likely to blame Scomo and the government right now for their response. If you're right leaning and read News Ltd newspapers you're more likely to blame the greens right now for 'stopping' hazard reduction burns. Your social media is politicised in the same way and will show and share media that supports your general position and most likely strengthen your own existing narrative.Ā
No, a video on FB of a guy in the bush screaming at the greens is not facts about what caused these fires. No, a video of someone shouting at Scomo for not funding the NSW Rural Fire Service (state gov funded) is not facts about what caused these fires.Ā
Has Scomo done enough? Should he have gone on holidays? If you know me you know I'm left leaning so my answer will naturally contain a bias.
The best solution? A royal commission. Let's let impartial experts tell us what went wrong and how to act in response to it. I think you'll find we're all a little bit right as well as a little bit wrong.
What can you do right now?? Fucking donate!! The Red Cross appeal, the Salvation Army, Wires, Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, your state Rural Fire Service. Whoever. Do your research and donate wisely.
On top of this, once the smoke clears, grab your mates or family, jump in the car and visit these towns, spend money in their shops, stay the night, help get their local economy's back on track. They will need our support.Ā
Finally, to all of my firefighting brethren back home in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the whole east coast, both career and volunteer, I know you've worked harder in the last 6 weeks than you've ever worked in your entire life and I'm so immensely proud of you all. Stay safe.ā
I'm not a fire dude but I know a couple of seasoned wildfire firefighters with many years experience and a couple of others I haven't been in touch with for a while and much of what they have told me about wildfires gives me the impression the above is an excellent summation of the situation.Ā Well done!
Beside the direct causes and conditions that are listed here that exacerbate wildfire situations,Ā one major issue we have faced in the western U.S. has been a huge build of of fuels in the form of brush and undergrowth due to 100 plus years of suppressing natural fire.Ā I wonder if the same scenario is part of the reason for the intense fires happening in Australia?Ā I'm assuming by "hazard reduction burns" he is referring to what we call "control burns" or (more currently) "prescribed burns".Ā Hopefully once things calm down, your government will see the need to be more aggressive with this kind of fire prevention.Ā As with you folks, our native populations no longer help the situation by setting regular smaller fires to clear undergrowth.Ā Which leads to the obvious conclusion that perhaps too many people (myself included) have moved into fire sensitive areas.Ā Hopefully, we all learn something from this.Ā
Even more hopefully, I wish you folks could get a break.Ā What a terrible situation to be in.Ā Very sad.
Yes high fuel load but these fires are so intense they are pretty much airborne and fuel load reduction is not making much difference. This was reported by our fire commisioner this morning. We're in severe drought it's dry and the ground water table is dry. Longer fire seasons reduce the window to do hazard reduction burn offs in the cooler months. It's either too wet, too hot or too windy. Smoke also being a factor that stops burn offs but look at it now!! There will most likely be a royal commission into the bushfires when it's all over but now it well and truly has everyone's attention. Problem is when eco systems start to come back the biodiversity may change.
this is NSW at the moment. all fires are at advice level meaning they don't pose a threat to life or property. There is no classification if it's destroying bushland. There are outlined areas on the map to show where the fires are and the size but I can't fit it in a photo as these stretch from VIC border to QLD border. all that green forest at the bottom of the map in VIC is gone or still burning too and that whole area is being evacuated again before Friday.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Yeah, that sucks.Ā It makes a lot of sense to use inmates to do the job, and the work opportunity is great for helping inmates move on to better things once they've done their time.
āThe fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.ā
Yeah, that sucks.Ā It makes a lot of sense to use inmates to do the job, and the work opportunity is great for helping inmates move on to better things once they've done their time.
They have brought in the military and also 3,000 army reservists are being deployed.
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brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,687
Yeah, that sucks.Ā It makes a lot of sense to use inmates to do the job, and the work opportunity is great for helping inmates move on to better things once they've done their time.
They have brought in the military and also 3,000 army reservists are being deployed.
Yeah, that sucks.Ā It makes a lot of sense to use inmates to do the job, and the work opportunity is great for helping inmates move on to better things once they've done their time.
They have brought in the military and also 3,000 army reservists are being deployed.
It's a calculation per hectare lost and the species most likely within those areas burnt. includes lizards and birds etc so it's probably more than that. This is kangaroo island off South Australia a make shift rescue operation in the school is underway.. they have lost 25,000 koalas on this island alone. For every one koala found there are 100 dead lying nearby. It is a global tragedy and my heart is shattered. https://www.facebook.com/abcinsydney/videos/2423985751248385/
Wow! Just heard the Kangaroo Island bushfire has a fire front the distance from Adelaide to Cape Jervis!! šĀ
ā "Thank you Palestrina. Itās a wonderful evening, itās great to be here and I wanna dedicate you a super sexy song." " (last words of Mark Sandman of Morphine)
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brianlux
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all that green forest at the bottom of the map in VIC is gone or still burning too and that whole area is being evacuated again before Friday.
https://www.facebook.com/196053833749450/posts/2879373435417463/
is this something considered or in place there?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Good point and good idea.Ā Also, California uses inmates to do brush clearing and help with prescribed burns which is helpful.Ā
Yeah, that sucks.Ā It makes a lot of sense to use inmates to do the job, and the work opportunity is great for helping inmates move on to better things once they've done their time.
This is kangaroo island off South Australia a make shift rescue operation in the school is underway.. they have lost 25,000 koalas on this island alone. For every one koala found there are 100 dead lying nearby. It is a global tragedy and my heart is shattered.
https://www.facebook.com/abcinsydney/videos/2423985751248385/
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fires-on-the-nsw-and-victorian-border-likely-to-merge-as-winds-worsen-20200110-p53qby.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1578648179
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-11/scott-morrison-labelled-laughing-stock-europe-climate-protests/11859988?fbclid=IwAR1-eQoTnZgzQSa5Y0vFD0rbxx7bG700Z-6AlV1v311aVgIgZ3n4OkrVtJs
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āPut yer good money on the sunriseā
(Tim Rogers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9L4RUtGkg4&fbclid=IwAR2XkzwzexuR_JZNJ2dZl7bFa_cySLolBPJMv7xtXq6nNjHaEA5v9S2MbDE&app=desktop
(Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)
āPut yer good money on the sunriseā
(Tim Rogers)
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/massive-food-drop-to-help-save-endangered-wallabies-in-fire-affected-areas-20200112-p53qss.html
(Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)
āPut yer good money on the sunriseā
(Tim Rogers)
Adelaide 1998
Adelaide 2003
Adelaide 2006 night 1
Adelaide 2006 night 2
Adelaide 2009
Melbourne 2009
Christchurch NZ 2009
Eddie Vedder, Adelaide 2011
PJ20 USA 2011 night 1
PJ20 USA 2011 night 2
Adelaide BIG DAY OUT 2014
I love it!
RIP to all beautiful animals that didn't make itš
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