Australia Fires

[Alan Mighty]

The 2019 edition of 'A guide to windows and doors in bushfire prone areas' is available for free download.

The 2019 edition picks up NCC2019 and AS3959:2018.

Point your browser to: https://www.agwa.com.au/resources/bushfire-guide

[Buzzman]

Hey, that's cool! I could only find reference to 2016, so good to know it's been updated even further!

I guess my point was that, these upgrades being recent - i.e. newer than most (if not all) of the houses that burned - means that when the owners go to rebuild they'll have to comply with the newer standards.

So, you watch what happens soon when they realise the cost of building to BAL-whatever is more than the cost they had the house insured for....

Guarantee the whingeing will start....

BAL FZ is ok when it's a "theoretical", but when it might mean you can only afford a 2br and not a 4br house, people ain't gonna be happy...!!!

Just sayin'....

[RaymondR]

You gotta love the weather in Australia.

During the last week or so it has started raining along the east and south coasts of the continent putting many of the bush fires out. The headlines have now changed from bush fires to flash floods and following heavy hail storms in the southern NSW area the damages done by hailstones "as big as golf balls". This is a fairly regular summer occurrence in that area and not be unduly worrying until we get "hailstones as big as cricket balls".

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

You gotta love the weather in Australia.

During the last week or so it has started raining along the east and south coasts of the continent putting many of the bush fires out. The headlines have now changed from bush fires to flash floods and following heavy hail storms in the southern NSW area the damages done by hailstones "as big as golf balls". This is a fairly regular summer occurrence in that area and not be unduly worrying until we get "hailstones as big as cricket balls".

In the current climate, these are national news headlines...
Birds brutally smashed by hail in Canberra

[IslandHopper]

And the cost continues to grow....

Three American specialist firefighters dead as water-bombing plane crashes in southern NSW

Video report in link...

https://www.9news.com.au/national/fi...reball-_230120

Three American specialist firefighters have been confirmed dead when a plane crashed in southern NSW.

The three crew members died when their Hercules C-130 crashed around Peak View, northeast of Cooma.

"Tragically, there appears to be no survivors," RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told a press conference.

"(The plane has) impacted heavily with the ground and initial reports are that there was a large fireball."


A Hercules C-130 water-bomber like the one which crashed in southern NSW. (AP)

Witnesses claimed to have seen the plane on fire before it crashed.

The plane took off from Richmond Airport in Sydney's southwest, flying over the ACT before it vanished from the radar.

Fire crews have now located the wreckage, which is within an active fire ground.

The identities of the three specialist crewmembers killed in the crash have not been revealed, but Mr Fitzsimmons confirmed they were all US residents.

"The firefighting fraternity is a tight-knit family, and the crew on board were well known, not just to their colleagues here in Australia," he said.

"We're reminded that a number of our US colleagues that are embedded in some of the incident management teams now, including in the high country, actually had personal relationships with them."

The cause of the crash is not yet known.

The C-130 has been used in NSW to fight fires under contract for the last few years.

All other C-130s Hercules have been grounded as a matter of routine safety practice.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the tragedy highlights the dangerous task of fighting the deadly bushfires gripping the nation.

"It demonstrates the dangerous work currently being undertaken and it also demonstrates the conditions that our firefighters are working under," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said this afternoon.

"There are in excess of 70 aircraft that have been used today alone and today is a stark and horrible reminder of the dangerous conditions that our volunteers, emergency services personnel across a number of undertake daily."

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed it would investigate the "collision with terrain".

"ATSB investigators will also analyse available recorded data, review weather information and interview any witnesses," the bureau said in a statement.

"A preliminary report will be released in approximately 30 days."

[JPA Cate]

This is really sad, sad news. Rest in peace, courageous ones! Condolences to the friends and families, and the emergency services people.

Ann

[GordMay]

A little off topic:
Fire officials in California are doing all they can to protect 'General Sherman', the world's largest tree [measured by volume], from the KNP Complex Fire.

The ancient giant sequoia's base has been wrapped in fire-resistant aluminum foil, and the strategy seems to be working.
➥ https://www.npr.org/2021/09/20/10389...uminum-blanket

For a long time it was thought that this tree had reached an age of 2000 to 3000 years. Others even spoke about ages of 6000 to 11000 years. Research from 2002 has shown that he is probably 'only' about 2000 years old.
“Estimated Ages of Some Large Giant Sequoias: General Sherman Keeps Getting Younger” ~ by Nathan L. Stephenson, Ph.D
➥ Yosemite Association - Nature Notes