Sydney fires

If your topic has nothing to do with Spyderco, you can post it here.
JD Spydo
Member
Posts: 23532
Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2004 7:53 pm
Location: Blue Springs, Missouri

Re: Sydney fires

#61

Post by JD Spydo »

I was up late last night listening to "Coast To Coast AM" radio show. No I'm not a big UFO nut per se but I do like listening to that show from time to time. And BLOKE please correct me if I'm wrong. But there was an environmental expert on that show last night that said that there were 24 Million Acres of land consumed by those fires :eek: Even as huge as the Australian continent is that's still a massive amount of land that was ravaged.

I had no idea that those fires were of that great of a magnitude. Holy Moses!!! I would think there would have even been an international effort to stop those fires. Also that expert said that the smoke traveled across the Pacific all the way over to the South American continent. And that's quite a few miles ( kilometers )) away.

Well BLOKE ol' buddy I hope that you and your's are all OK. And please do continue to keep us informed. Also if that figure is a bunch of BS I would appreciate someone setting me straight on it. But that environmental guy seemed to be pretty honest to me.
User avatar
Bloke
Member
Posts: 5424
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Re: Sydney fires

#62

Post by Bloke »

Hey Joe, I don’t know anything at all for certain but the figures being thrown about doesn’t seem to tally too well.

I know the smoke and ash made it to Kiwi and as best as I can glean from it all is, NSW alone (Not other States) has seen 18919 square mile burned to date. But, don’t forget fires still rage. :eek:

Reports indicate, in total an area larger than Scotland has burned to date.

At present they’re dropping food pellets via helicopter for our Roos and Wallabies, etc. that survived and don’t have a blade of grass between them to eat.

People outside of Australia and enough of our own are plain ignorant to the ramifications of these fires.
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
JD Spydo
Member
Posts: 23532
Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2004 7:53 pm
Location: Blue Springs, Missouri

Re: Sydney fires

#63

Post by JD Spydo »

That figure of 24 Million acres seemed to be kind of high to me. But the guy was touted to be some type of environmental scientist and he seemed like he was shooting straight to me anyway. But holy cow!!! 24 million acres is one **** of a massive amount of land mass even for a continent as big as Australia is. That radio show .. Coast To Coast AM has close to 30 million listeners I've been told on any given night.

I'm not even sure how many acres or square miles were consumed by fire in California this last time around. I've heard so many conflicting reports out of the mainstream media that i just don't really know what to believe anymore :( But anyway I'm really thankful to GOD that you and your family are OK. My prayer is that all of our Brothers and Sisters in the great country of Australia will rebound mightily from all of this disaster that your country has recently endured.

Hang in there Buddy :)
User avatar
Bloke
Member
Posts: 5424
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Re: Sydney fires

#64

Post by Bloke »

God Bless you Joe.

My family and I are well and fighting fit but the smoke has played havoc on beloved wife who’s never smoked. She’s had a niggling cough for months now. I told her she may as well take up smoking and cough for a reason. She called me an idiot which I denied and offered her a dib of chew. Ah, hahaha!

On a more serious note a good percentage of land burned is prime agricultural, so the price of beef and lamb for example has gone up accordingly due to lack of supply as has produce.

We’ll get by no doubt. Our rural people are a tough, hard and resilient lot, no strangers to adversity and we stand united as a Nation. We’ve already raised several hundred million dollars in donations and you see the very best in our people when times are tough and I’m prouder than ever to be True Blue! ;) :)

https://youtu.be/qfmHPF5qoV0
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
Bloke
Member
Posts: 5424
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Re: Sydney fires

#65

Post by Bloke »

A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
Tims
Member
Posts: 541
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 4:25 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Sydney fires

#66

Post by Tims »

This is a very sad reality. Our native species are under so much pressure already, bush fires could be the straw that broke the camels back for many of them. Very sad. Gets me wild thinking about it.

True blue gets me fired up too by the way!
User avatar
Bloke
Member
Posts: 5424
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Re: Sydney fires

#67

Post by Bloke »

Tims wrote:
Fri Jan 31, 2020 3:33 am
This is a very sad reality. Our native species are under so much pressure already, bush fires could be the straw that broke the camels back for many of them. Very sad. Gets me wild thinking about it.

True blue gets me fired up too by the way!
Hey Tim, I spoke with a mate down at Cooma last night for well over an hour. As the crow flies he’s about 20 clicks from were our American brothers died. They’re expecting temps in the low 40’s tomorrow and the Adaminaby fire’s still burning. The Canberra fire’s still burning and they’re on high alert because of tomorrow’s and Sunday’s predicted temps.

They’re concerned because the fire’s got close but missed them but if the Adaminaby and Canberra fires come together, and you can only hope they don’t, you probably wouldn’t want to be a saddler living on property with horses in Cooma like my ole mate Shorty.

Our precious little Pigmy Possums are all but gone and it feels like a death in the family. Fair to say I got a fairly hard head mate but I’ve shed some bitter tears these last months. There was only a couple of thousand of the poor bastards to begin with and they only live in a few patches up in the high country were the Adaminaby fire’s burning. The poor little buggers are probably burning as I type and I’m tearing up again.

And yeah mate, people like you and I feel the way we do because we are indeed True Blue.

Ere’s one for yah! The saddest thing about this song is, half our population today wouldn’t know what Waltzing Matilda even means. If anyone else is still reading, Matilda is a swag, a swag’s a bed roll. If you’re travelling on foot you’re waltzing.

https://youtu.be/E22gszljklc
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
Bloke
Member
Posts: 5424
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Re: Sydney fires

#68

Post by Bloke »

Whoops! :o
Last edited by Bloke on Mon Feb 03, 2020 5:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
Bloke
Member
Posts: 5424
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Re: Sydney fires

#69

Post by Bloke »

The program below aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC Channel 2) here tonight.

Certainly worth a look.

https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/black-summer/11926142
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
ChrisinHove
Member
Posts: 4059
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:12 am
Location: 27.2046° N, 77.4977° E

Re: Sydney fires

#70

Post by ChrisinHove »

That version of Waltzing Matilda is pretty moving. I once read that they built a quay from the dead men’s packs from one of the British Pals regiments at Gallipoli. It’s a place I would like to visit one day.

But jeez, that ABC film has moved me to tears in moments. It’s footage from **** itself. I’ll watch it all later.
User avatar
Bloke
Member
Posts: 5424
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Re: Sydney fires

#71

Post by Bloke »

Gallipoli was a monumental disaster Chris, as you’d well know. Beloved wife and I go to the dawn service in Martin Place most Anzac Days. We pay our respects, shed a tear, and say a prayer for the poor buggers that died and suffered for no reason.

And, yes mate the ABC program is very sad to say the least and gives you an idea of how it really is. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

On a lighter note we’ve had a little rain and after forty seven long hard days the Grose Valley Fire in the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney is finally extinguished.

We’re expecting some good down pours over the next week and hopefully we’ll see more fires extinguished. Here’s Hoping!

Image

A water bombing helicopter races along the flank of the Grose Valley Fire in December.
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
ChrisinHove
Member
Posts: 4059
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:12 am
Location: 27.2046° N, 77.4977° E

Re: Sydney fires

#72

Post by ChrisinHove »

We often use words like awful, terrible, terrifying and dismay, but that footage demonstrates what they really mean.
User avatar
ChrisinHove
Member
Posts: 4059
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:12 am
Location: 27.2046° N, 77.4977° E

Re: Sydney fires

#73

Post by ChrisinHove »

Also written by Eric Bogle

https://youtu.be/DxkhBvO8_kM&feature
User avatar
Bloke
Member
Posts: 5424
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Re: Sydney fires

#74

Post by Bloke »

ChrisinHove wrote:
Fri Feb 07, 2020 7:54 am
Also written by Eric Bogle

https://youtu.be/DxkhBvO8_kM&feature
He writes some sad songs, Chris that’s for sure. You’d be excused thinking he’s an Irishman.

On a much brighter note we’ve had some good rain these past few days and I believe 30%+ of the New South Wales fires are out. There’s water falling in the Sydney and surrounding catchments and it looks like the worst is over.

Australia is however the land of plenty. This year, plenty of fires and now plenty of rain which has caused plenty of flash floods. :rolleyes:

Today’s Sydney Rainfall Radar.

Image
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
TkoK83Spy
Member
Posts: 12449
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:32 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY

Re: Sydney fires

#75

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Glad to hear the fires are subsiding Alex, though flash floods and flooding is no laughing matter either. You and your people and animals have been through so much, I really hope some good fortune is in your countries future.
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
User avatar
Bloke
Member
Posts: 5424
Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Re: Sydney fires

#76

Post by Bloke »

TkoK83Spy wrote:
Sat Feb 08, 2020 7:36 pm
Glad to hear the fires are subsiding Alex, though flash floods and flooding is no laughing matter either. You and your people and animals have been through so much, I really hope some good fortune is in your countries future.
God Bless you, Rick!

It’s been a rough trot, that’s for sure and we’ll be counting the cost for a long time yet to come. Many things will never be the same again and that’s a harsh reality. It’s no use looking back but hopefully we and the rest of the world glean something from all this, we all learn a little, move forward in the right direction and perhaps collective have a good hard look at what we are actually doing to this little rock we all call home.

People my age have just about eaten all our apples and we’ll be gone soon enough. I genuinely don’t care what happens to me and I say that in all sincerity. I’ve had a fortunate life to date, but I worry terribly about what our beloved little ones are likely to endure through no fault of their own if indeed we as a species don’t mend the errors of our ways.
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
James Y
Member
Posts: 7994
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Southern CA

Re: Sydney fires

#77

Post by James Y »

Bloke wrote:
Sat Feb 08, 2020 8:22 pm
TkoK83Spy wrote:
Sat Feb 08, 2020 7:36 pm
Glad to hear the fires are subsiding Alex, though flash floods and flooding is no laughing matter either. You and your people and animals have been through so much, I really hope some good fortune is in your countries future.
God Bless you, Rick!

It’s been a rough trot, that’s for sure and we’ll be counting the cost for a long time yet to come. Many things will never be the same again and that’s a harsh reality. It’s no use looking back but hopefully we and the rest of the world glean something from all this, we all learn a little, move forward in the right direction and perhaps collective have a good hard look at what we are actually doing to this little rock we all call home.

People my age have just about eaten all our apples and we’ll be gone soon enough. I genuinely don’t care what happens to me and I say that in all sincerity. I’ve had a fortunate life to date, but I worry terribly about what our beloved little ones are likely to endure through no fault of their own if indeed we as a species don’t mend the errors of our ways.

Greetings, Bloke. I’m almost your age (I’m 56 and will turn 57 in a few months), and unfortunately, I’ve been hearing so many adults saying the same thing (“What kind of world are we leaving for our children?”) since I was a little kid myself. In many (most?) ways, mankind doesn’t seem to be mending the error of its ways in regards to the environment. I wish I could say otherwise. There are those who do care deeply and take an active role in helping this planet, but for every step forward those few take, the rest seem happy to take three steps back.

Jim
User avatar
ChrisinHove
Member
Posts: 4059
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:12 am
Location: 27.2046° N, 77.4977° E

Re: Sydney fires

#78

Post by ChrisinHove »

Ain’t that just the case.

We’re masters of trying to live in the past, here in the U.K. Does my head in.

Good news, finally, on those Oz fires, although I guess things will never be the same for very, very many.
Post Reply