Bush Fires

Mandurah, Tony.

Yes the red trayback and those plates would not make a good getaway vehicle for a bank job, would they?

cheers

No they certainly wouldn't.
Riverton.A dark red discoTD5.
Futher awar than I thought. Even though seen you in the area. From memory [got CRAFT these days] a Lady was driving it once.
Tony

Glad to hear that you got out of it unscathed, is the fire out yet? or are they just waiting for a thunderstorm?

Cheers

Deanna

Looks from your photo to be a beautiful place - lots of space - to live Motherhen. At least having had one fire so close the risk of another should be reduced for a while.
We have forest not too far from our house too and having the trees and associated bird and animal life is wonderful. Guess we have to expect the fires occasionally too. Our last big one was started by a group of campers who didnt put their campfire out before leaving.
Best wishes
Heather G

Hello Motherhen

Glad to hear that you are safe. Heard it on the local news here this morning.

The same applies out here in the Southern Flinders. It is dry as anything and grassfires are a constant worry. Most fires here are started by machinery in the field or careless people throwing smouldering cigarette buts out of the car window.


Cheers

Mutha, good to know you guys are OK there. With fires around, and no power, we understand what that can be like with the loss of communications and pumping capacity.

We have been fortunate here with a cooler summer and one day over 35 so far. It looked like a hot summer was coming and then the coolest December for some years and three lovely inches and more of rain. Still a little of green around. Topped up the tanks too Mutha if you were coming through.

Bro, ahh the Flinders, love it there but it may be a little while before we are back there. Carelessness is a problem.

All seems to be contained now. From the news this morning, the only remaining unchecked front (north front) yesterday was brought under control overnight. We now have winds swinging from south to east, and very light sprinkles when it swings south which will help. With so much bush burnt, trees and stumps remain alight for many weeks, so 'nasty fire weather' can cause outbreaks.

Cause this time not yet determined. Four years ago when the same side of the shire was burnt in a fire, plantation trees hitting powers lines in a strong hot wind was the cause. Many of the bad fires in rural WA have power line origins.

Mh

Hi Motherhen

Glad to here that you are safe. Been in one on BinL property down at Elecker. Started by lightning. Definately don't want to be in another.Savage!! Had a SWB Diesel Landy then, everything was extracted from the back and a water tank and pump put in.

I have a suggestion, that you invest in a reasonable generator for the house. Make an adapter plug from the generator to the house, pull the main SEC house fuses at the house, start the gen, plug into a house plug turn it on and you are up and running. I do this at home when we have a long power failure.
Any way that could be for the future.

Keep safe,

Tony

Hi Tony

The Honda is marvellous. I can roster two fridges and the freezer and keep all cold, as well as have the aquarium pumps taking turns (and incubator if that is going). A few lights and this time the two way base station as well, all on eco, and it runs for hours. We can last for days like that - main real need is the fridges. Longest power failure in recent years was three days; usually not more than 24 hours at a time. We do rely on power for so much these days. I see no need for setting up a full power genny.

Mh

Wasn't thinking of a full power geni, it was just that you mentioned water pumps for the house and no power. I was thinking of a second hand one to run the pumpsfor water.

Will be staying at the motelin Feb. The Dept of War and I are going to the Country Music Fest at Boyup Brook.

Cheers

Tony

I'd still use the Honda on an appliance at a time rather than plug anything to the whole of house. If desperate, i would have used it on the pressure pump for the rain water (with some sort of alterations to the plumbing to get a hose onto the roof) - but that only if risk definite was imminent. If that was so, my husband would have come back with the firefighter which in its present bad state would have had enough pressure to fill the gutters. We were able to pump from soak to ensure base tank was full (faster than the syphoning which keeps the supply up), with the petrol pump based on soak, but electric pump from base tank up to house too big for our genny. We had enough water to wet the surrounds of the house, but not pressure to reach gutters. I put the pump on at midnight after the power came back on to refill supply at the house in case next day was as bad. Luckily it wasn't.

Enjoy the Country Music Fest.

Mh

Hi Heather

A few years ago a friend of mine lost all her pasture paddocks in early December - the whole summer's food supply for the cattle gone. They have a river side property and landowners have to allow the public access to the river. Some city picnickers lit a campfire on a high fire danger day - and definitely in the prohibited burning period. You can put up all the signs along the major roads, but some people still think that no fires or even no camp fires doesn't include them.

When we were in the Kimberley last June, at one of the camps a couple of tenters lit a campfire to cook their lunch on a windy day, surround by long grass - didn't even make a break around it at all. A lot of hard work with towels and a bucket relay from a pool of water by all the campers for some hot hours and only bush and tempers were lost.

Mh

Tony, i forgot to include in previous reply - We used to holiday at Elleker some years ago. We bought the old station master's house on the corner as a syndicate (not in the syndicate any more). I don't know if the house is still owned by the group, or even if it is still there. I can't imagine a fire; everything was always lush green Kikuyu all summer, even though one summer lacked the usual rainfall and we were carting water to the house. We were there for some weeks over a couple of summers while my husband was working in the Albany area.

Mh

Hello again Mh,

Actually the Brother in Law is more Cuthbert Than Elleker. He has 100 acres of peat for spud growing, and his house is up on the coastal hills behind.The fires were all along the coastal hills which is full of peppermint trees. He was alright. A few were in trouble though. Luckly nothing was lost.
Yes the kikuyu is always green. The trouble is that underneath there is a lot of peat and once that starts burning you are really in the 'nure'.

Tony

"yet I suspect they havent the ability to think, otherwise they wouldnt be lighting fires."

You've hit the nail on the head with your last comment V64Runner, they don't have a brain.