O/T Victorian bush fire report

Try this active linkVictorian Bushfires Interim Report Executive Summary

Some one was saying with the release that they survived the bushfire but are having trouble surviving the paperwork.

To me this report as read has the capacity to improve things , but it also has the capacity to make things worse in the hands of the bureaucrats.

6 months out from the fire and there isn't even a plan for re-opening the forests nor is it mentioned in the report and this is the sort of thing that really affects the local businesses now Kim.

there ain't nuthin' to see in a burnt forest..plenty of dead trees to fall on people or their vehicles though,

Interesting Kim that some of the talkback today is very defensive of trees that are close to the road, that can potentially hit trucks and actually hinder safe transport of any vehicles.

After the Grampians fires I drove up some of the roads close to Pomonal and was shocked to see the fallen down tea-tree that would have been tinder to the fire, and it was very lucky that hadn't conveyed the fire to other places around town.

There is an attitude to preserve trees and scrub at any cost, even at the cost of lives that was voiced this morning on the ABC 744 Jon Faine program, even from mayors of district communities. One truck driver phoned in and said he had photos of truck windscreens broken by dead branches striking out over the road surface.

This afternoon, on the program with Richard Stubbs, once again 774, a local at Bunyip talked about the government MPs that turned up for photo opportunities in the week after the fire, to be not heard from since. It has been the Opposition MPs Federal and State that have aided him immensely. He also talked about the way the fire was conducted along the trees beside the road. The Report neglects to discuss that so far.

I know along the road I live on, I would like to be able to control some undergrowth to reduce risk close to houses, but it is under government decree that I can't.

Interesting all the spin that the media is putting into this and how that various self interest groups are now using the media to promote their own stances.

Everybody seems to be looking someone to blame; politicians, greenies, local councils, do gooders etc (and chuck in welfare recipients for good measure). Basically anyone who doesn't want houses of Ticky tacky as far as the eye can see.

The CFA has stated continually since Ash Wednesday; if you cannot ensure your house is defensible or if you cannot defend it, get out early and stay out (at one residents meeting we were told that on fire ban days to go to Knox Shopping Centre and drink coffee until its safe to go home). That’s the part of “stay or go” that the media forget

The day before Black Saturday, the Police, the CFA and the Premier all warned that that day would be the worst day either recorded or imaginable

What more warning was needed?

I spent the day at home with the radio tuned to the ABC, and became frustrated about the inability to know exactly what was happening with the Harkaway/Beaconsfield or the Gully fire; both of which had the capacity to affect our place. Without accurate information, I couldn’t make an educated decision of whether to go or stay (with hindsight this means I should have gone).

The issue is that no-one had seen fire conditions such as Black Saturday before; the heat on that day expanded the ridge capping on the decking roof to the extent that it popped rivets and split silicone seals over a 10 metre length. In a fire; this alone made my house indefensible

I have read the anecdotal statements in regards to tree lined roads; where is the scientific evidence exploring the problems caused in a bushfire? Fires conducted along the roadside reserves? Possible, but remember those fires were spotting up to 20 Km away. If you have made the correct decision early on the basis of accurate information and a realistic appraisal of your house’s defensibility and your capacity to defend it, the issue of roadside vegetation is but minutiae.

Our fire plan has altered. I know my house is defensible in a 35C day with light breezes. It is NOT defensible on a 45C day with 100KPH winds.

A week or so after Black Saturday with the fire at Birds Land, I went home to pick up the dogs. Going up to Upwey the traffic was immovable as everybody fled the Dandenongs (40 minutes to clear Upwey/Tecoma).If the fire had escaped, the toll would have been worse than Kinglake.

The road to Menzies Creek carried little traffic. This was the safe way out but few thought to take it, nor was it broadcast as an option