Our hottest day / firestorm

Lucy Michelle · Post by **Lucy Michelle** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:54 pm

Some very moving accounts from those caught in the fires, truly sad the lives lost.

Merinda · Post by **Merinda** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:12 am

Just to the North-East is the town of Healesville , It is home to one of our popular zoo's , the winds have come up and the zoo has been evacuated.

Three of the large fires will combine as one unless they are brought under control before the hot weather returns on the weekend.

The suburban area of Melbourne is so dry it scares me to think that a repeat of last Saturdays 60MPH oven forced winds could see a possible disaster in the Metropolitan area. God forbid , in my original post I refered to frying an egg in my car , I wasn't joking , I placed the pan on my dashboard and returned 1/2 hour later to find the egg cooked and blistered. On Saturday there was an eerie feeling outside , no birds chirping , no ants , just sick looking trees being belted by high velocity hot winds. Never before have I ever considered any fire danger in the city , but this year anything could happen.

The rain on Sunday was nothing more than a sprinkle , we pray for rain.

In contrast , Northern Australia (Queensland) is under water with serious flooding.

Jeannie · Post by **Jeannie** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:32 am

Hi Merinda
My GG friend ,Gypsy on MySpace moved to Australia in january to help her Mom with her Dad who has Alzheimers. She's been telling me also how bad it is down there. 170 people have died and the government said some of the fires are arson!
Hope it cools off and rains for you Merinda. Try to stay safe. Hugs.

Love
Jeannie

Frances Jewell · Post by **Frances Jewell** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 4:15 pm

The pictures that I have seen are very dramatic. Its a terrible shame that even in your country idiots seem to enjoy causing good people to suffer. I hope that the authorities are able to catch the arsonists.

Merinda · Post by **Merinda** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 2:20 am

Well it happened , my fears became reality this afternoon , and only one mile from here.

Yes its city suburban wildfire , MFB have been fighting it for a couple of hours and have finally contained it . It burned through over 5ha of parkland and scrub by the Yarra river , local residents got an unwanted taste of what our country cousins have experienced , they had to hose their dead lawns and their houses in preparation for the fire to cross the road into local housing.
The fire still burns as I write this , luckily , so far there has been no loss of property , thank God.

A Police investigation has revealed that this was deliberately lit.

April Rose · Post by **April Rose** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:25 pm

Merinda, I feel so awful for you and everyone affected by this terrible event. When I was thirteen I was lying in bed on a sunshiney morning. My mother came into my room and said, "The house is on fire!" By the time I got from the bed to the hallway it was pitch black. By time we got downstairs the kitchen was fully engulfed,and the flames were licking up the stairwell. It's something no one who has been through it will ever forget.

Please, dear, be careful. If you are warned to evacuate, don't hesitate. Just go.

Leeza · Post by **Leeza** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:18 am

Merinda, my thoughts and paryers are for your saftey.

Leeza

Merinda · Post by **Merinda** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:55 am

Hi ladies ,

I am happy to have been informed today that the two people that I know who were involved in the fires are safe .

One of the two unfortunately lost everything , the other returned to find his house untouched by the fire even though it destroyed all the other houses around it.

Thank God they're OK.

Leeza · Post by **Leeza** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:36 am

Glad for the good news. It is nice to have some good news when there is so much bad.

Leeza

Merinda · Post by **Merinda** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:35 am

Religious leader Fred Phelps claims the fires were sent from God to rid all the faggots that infest australia , he said the fires were a good thing.

A local religious leader claims God removed his protection from the state of Victoria because the state Government recently relaxed the abortion laws.

Perhaps these two twisted perverted individuals would like to take a trip to the fire zone and preach this to the survivors , it would be a good test of their faith , because in the hands of those country folk I dont think anything could save them

Leeza · Post by **Leeza** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 6:50 am

Don't you just love it when our leaders (not only religious leaders) are so marrow minded in their beliefes.

Leeza

Merinda · Post by **Merinda** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 2:24 pm

Yes , to use a tragedy of this magnitude as a platform to push their twisted beliefs or politics is totally offensive.

Merinda · Post by **Merinda** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:35 pm

Merinda wrote:Religious leader Fred Phelps claims the fires were sent from God to rid all the faggots that infest australia , he said the fires were a good thing.

There are a number of followers who will enter this country to protest at the memorial service for the fire victims , we cannot stop these morons entering our country because they dont have a criminal record.
I dont have to describe how offensive it will be to the relatives and friends of the 208 victims to have a group chanting " they all deserved to die" , I would strongly recomend that they do not enter this country.
The mood of talk-back radio callers regarding this issue is pure anger , the presenter has called for restraint and asked people not to go beyond verbally abusing these people during the event , with many thousands likely to attend , I cant see the situation stopping at JUST verbal abuse.
I would strongly suggest that these crackpots take out a good life insurance policy , they'll most likely need it.

April Rose · Post by **April Rose** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:52 pm

WE are 10 years past the millenium and the world hasn't ended yet. I keep hoping that as the deadline recedes some of this fundamentalist crap will fade away. In 2002 a religious cult in my area apparently spent a lot of money on really sticky posters announcing "the rapture" in the fall of that year. I've seen people trying to take them down as souveniers, but they are still there. Oops.

Post by **DonnaT** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:17 am

http://videogum.com/archives/animals-on ... 53991.html

Merinda wrote: A local religious leader claims God removed his protection from the state of Victoria because the state Government recently relaxed the abortion laws.

Catch the Fire Ministries (CTFM) leader Pastor Danny Nalliah said he was not surprised by the bush fires due to a dream he had last October relating to consequences of the abortion laws passed in Victoria.

http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2009 ... aws-t.html