atw: Seriously off-topic bush fire issues

I am living in the Dandenongs which is a bush fire hot spot.  It is a
suburban area like the Blue Mountains, where large numbers of people are
directly threatened by fire.  We are told to create our own fire plans based
on outdated and inadequate information, so my researcher?s brain has gone
into overdrive.

 

Does anyone on this list work as a writer for any of CFA, MFB, SES, BOM,
Shire of Yarra Ranges, Red Cross or anyone else who cares about the bush
fires?  We need your help.

 

Four serious problems have become apparent since the recent fires (in the
Dandenongs).

 

First is that we are not being given accurate fire information because the
fire ratings stop at about ¼ or the current dangers.  There are figures
known as FFDI and GFDI which give the fire danger.  Anything over 50 is
Extreme, Feb 7th was over 200 and so is Tuesday 3/3 predicted to be.  I am
trying to obtain the FFDI and GFDI figures for February 7th so that I can
compare them with the predicted figures for March 3rd, but to no avail.
Does anyone have any insider way of getting these historical figures?

 

Second is that once we are told to ?activate our fire plans? there is
insufficient information to make intelligent decisions on which roads to
take to evacuate.  Evacuation warnings, when given for new fires, preclude
early evacuations.  We know that ?stay and protect your property? is
probably foolish under current conditions, and so evacuations under
conditions of severe threat have to be made.  In the Dandenongs, there are
lots of roads off the Hill, but they all go through fire hot spots.  Thus it
is necessary to know which paths fires traditionally take in order to decide
which roads are more or less likely to be safe.  I am told that a map of
fire paths exists with either the Shire of Yarra Ranges or the CFA but they
are both denying it?s existence.  Of course it exists!  Does anyone have
insider information on this map and where and how it can be obtained?

 

Third is that Shires and other authorities no longer declare fire refuges in
the fire prone areas.  Unofficially, Hills residents seem to have declared
the Safeway car park in Monbulk to be the fire refuge if they are stuck.
Unofficially there was an MFB fire engine sitting calmly in a car park in
Monbulk with a fire crew milling around, while the wild fire at Upwey was
raging out of control last Monday.  Does anyone know if the CFA/MFB has
their own ?unofficial? fire refuge areas that authorities are planning to
protect if necessary, but which they are not allowed to tell us about?

 

Fourth is that the designated evacuation centres CLOSE between fire danger
days, meaning that residents have to pack up after each danger day and go
home.  Residents with compromised health cannot keep packing and unpacking
cars, pitching and un-pitching tents, loading and unloading horses, etc.
The authorities remove shower blocks and other support facilities from these
evacuation centres, and threaten legal action, forcing people to return to
properties immediately abutting active fires.  In addition, all tents are
pitched in full sun for fear of tree limbs falling, which clearly is
dangerous for elderly and health compromised who cannot tolerate high heat
conditions.  This means that they will choose NOT to evacuate as their lives
are under greater threat by going to the tent cities than by staying put.
Does anyone have a path into whichever authority controls these evacuation
centres to raise these issues before the next elderly person dies in an
evacuation centre?

 

Not what I would choose to be doing on a cool Sunday, but once I get into
one of these mind tunnels, I tend to stay there till I get the answers I
want.

 

A flock of black swans has just flown over.  I wonder what an old-timer
would have made of that?

 

Christine

Other related posts: