Hell of a day...
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- LeRoi0
Extract from an online article relating to the arrest of a suspected arsonist:
Police have questioned the man in relation to the Churchill fires that killed at least 21 people.
No charges have yet been laid.
Police say he will be taken to court via an underground tunnel from Morewell police station.
- MrOneHundred0
I think because the legislation covers National Parks and State Forests (I believe), and was put in place a number of years ago, and the urban sprawl into these areas is relatively recent, the line is blurred somewhat. I would love to hear from someone who knows the ins and out of the laws on this, but it seems obvious that years of highly combustible material has been allowed to accumulate, which is why the fires are intense as they are.
I know high temps and strong winds are a factor too, but if you remove one of the variables, I think the threat to human life would be much less. Again, just my opinion.
- didnt they said in 83 that this would never happen again.. and it has.LeRoi
- Yes. I don’t want to go on a rant, because I don have 100% of the facts, but I believe the things I have...MrOneHundred
- ...talked about would make these types of fires improbable.MrOneHundred
- LeRoi0
Whats the big deal with burning off to protect these residential areas?
It comes with population growth and urban development. These areas werent exactly sparsely populated.
- MrOneHundred0
@23 and Buster. Touched on this earlier. I had a conversation with a National Park ranger on election night last year about these issues and the backburning/clearance burning. Seems to be one of those issues that gets raised and silenced immediately.
- BusterBoy0
Spot on 23kon...my brother in law who lives in Kinglake is not even allowed to clear DEAD BRANCHES that fall to the ground as it may upset the habitat that may possibly nest. Absolute bullshit.
Apart from the massive human toll, the fires have also killed thousands of animals as well. It really is ridiculous.
There's a story about a family who decided to clear land around their property some time ago...the council took them to court and managed to have a conviction upheld along with a $50,000 fine, as well as $50,000 in legal costs awarded against the family.
As it turns out, these fires wiped out all the other houses in the immediate area...this family's house was the only one that survived.
- 23kon0
Really nice start to that video your friend made royboy
The heat distorting what we are seeing.
kind of reminded me of UNKLE "eye for an eye" video where the big monster is delivered by aeroplanes.We've not had much footage on the news about these fires in Australia as aparently London has had snow and some roads in the midlands are closed and that is more important news for us to see 24/7 it seems.
It does seem mad that legislations have been brought in to stop the burning of bush that has gone on for thousands of years. a process which promotes growth and the health of the land.
- thelukeandrews0
not even jabba the hut could dream up a suitable torture for the a-holes that did this!!
- Hall0
Wall of fire.Fuck RoyboyII, that's crazy!
- livelikebruce0
What a terrible situation. I don't know what to say.
- BusterBoy0
Koalas can be pretty feral when they want to be. Normally they wouldn't particularly like you getting that close - they can scratch to buggery.
And for everyone...they are 'Koalas', NOT 'Koala Bears'.
- I think they're more closely related to pigs than bears...
LeRoi - general use, koala bear (as opposed to koala) is widely used. Zoologists, however, regard this form as incorrect on the grounds that, despite appearances, koalas are completely unrelated to bears.akrokdesign
- the grounds that, despite appearances, koalas are completely unrelated to bears.akrokdesign
- i don't even like the term "panda bear"sputnik2
- How much can a Koala bear?BannedKappa
- It may be widely used but it is wrong.BusterBoy
- I think they're more closely related to pigs than bears...
- vanilla_cam0
are koala bears that tame? or did he just need a drink that bad he didn't give a shit?
- i think its cause he/she was real tiered and thirsty.akrokdesign
- Desperate for water. They're not normally quite that friendly.BuddhaHat
- normally they'll either run away or scratch the bejeezuz outta you. This poor lil guy was super desperate!!thelukeandrews
- BusterBoy0
- amazingtoe_knee
- A milestone inhuman-koala relationsTheBIueOne
- bad ass bearsBattleAxe
- its pretty amazing.akrokdesign
- I love stuff like this. Awesome.BuddhaHat
- toe_knee0
so sad. we only found out about this on the way back from a 3 day festival. turned on the radio in the car and heard it was 150 ppl dead. we were all a bit tender and got a bit emotional. Poor poor people caught up in that.
- MrOneHundred0
I believe they are currently not able to do so due to Conservation and Environmental Management policies. This, to me is ludicrous. The indigenous population had been setting fire to bushlands during winter and wet seasons for tens of thousands of years in order to regenerate the forests and cull animal populations which were over-breeding. The Australian bushland has, over that time, adapted to this method and it is only since these policies or “laws” came in that we have seen these types of bushfires. There are vast areas of land which have had 30 years build-up of undergrowth and leaf-litter, fallen trees, and general over-growing. I firmly believe these factors are the reasons, coupled with hot windy weather conditions, why these fires are so big and spread so quickly.
But I don’t have any fancy degrees or anything, so what the fuck would I know.
- itsmitch0
fuck the asshole that started these. bring back public hangings!
- V Ah, I am talking about back-burning (below), not hanging. I’m with you on that, somewhat.MrOneHundred
- MrOneHundred0
I really hope I don’t offend anyone with this not-totally-university-degree-re... opinion, but they National Parks have to be allowed to do back-burning and clearance burning during winter. IMHO, this type of fire would never happen. Ever.
- *not totally university degree researched opinionMrOneHundred
- uh they do back burning all the time, do you even live in Australia?autoflavour
- Not in National parks or State Forests. I live in Australia.MrOneHundred