Mad Dog - Vic replied:

Shame the great state is turning into a dust bowl, need a lot of rain but I can't see it coming soon, wont be much at all in tomorrows front.

Shaker replied:

They just don't understand ..... declaring Total Fire Ban is an open invitation for the idiots to light bushfires!

OldMike2 replied:

Just been reading an article in the Weekly Times....

"Broken Hill, August 31. Good rain has brought relief at last to Broken Hill, ending the long drought which emptied the reservoir , closed the mines and left 5,000 out of work. The mining center has only been kept alive during the last few desperate months by a weekly trainload of water sent from Adelaide by the South Australian Government.
Rain Making experiments in June and July failed here, just as they did in many other drought stricken areas, and although winter rains have brought releif to many parts of Australia, the suffering and losses caused by eight dry seasons will be felt for years
Worst hit have been the inland areas, where crops have failed and every blade of grass has disappeared. Carcases of sheep, cattle, kangaroos and emus litter the parched countryside."

The year?
1903

Global Warming I suppose!!!!

Actually, whats new?

Mike

Truckster (Vic) replied:

make that 135 fires now!!!

CFA battles 135 fires
Email Print Normal font Large font Reko Rennie
October 4, 2006 - 5:12PM

Advertisement
AdvertisementMore than 130 fires have broken out across Victoria on the first total fire ban day of the season.

Today's total fire ban in the north-west of the state, including the towns of Bendigo, Mildura, Castlemaine, Swan Hill, Stawell and Horsham, is the earliest total fire ban in Victorian history.

Despite the ban, Country Fire Authority crews have battled 135 fires across the state including blazes in Pakenham, Hallam, Rowville, Badger Creek and Mount Macedon.

A CFA spokeswoman said none of the fires were serious and no property had been lost, but today's fires should be an indication of how serious it is to ensure properties are cleared of fuel.

Today's historic ban was prompted by a weather forecast which included high winds, low humidity and temperatures as high as 30 degrees.

In the area covered by the ban, which takes up about a quarter of the state, fires are prohibited in the open air until midnight.

Before today, the earliest date in the dry season on which a total fire ban had been declared was October 9, 1981.

CFA deputy chief officer Graham Fountain said yesterday it was now clear that Victoria's traditional summertime bushfire season was coming weeks early, and he warned households in high risk areas to prepare for a "long, hot, dry summer".

"The summer fire season is here and we need to do our best to be prepared and modify our behaviour accordingly," he said.

The Bureau of Meteorology has also predicted Victoria is facing an 80 per cent chance of a hotter and drier than average spring in addition to below-average winter rainfall and Melbourne's warmest September ever.

But with lower temperatures and showers forecast for tomorrow, it was unlikely another total fire ban would be declared tomorrow, the CFA spokeswoman said.

theage.com.au, with Dan Harrison and AAP