More information about the paths of the fires here.

Oh jonathanstrange - I feel so sorry for you and for the people of Marysville - in fact anyone who is caught up in this disaster.

I have no idea what kind of person lights fires in these conditions. Just walking through an area afterwards - even the ground is black - is difficult enough for most.

They aren't just arsonists - they are murderers.

The exact same thing happened/happens here, jonathanstrange. It's senseless and shattering, and I'll never understand it.

I'm sorry for you, jonathanstrange. It's such a fucking disaster down there. I turned the news off - I just couldn't take the reports about lives lost, houses gone and - worst of all - soundbytes from people who were so traumatised that they couldn't say more than three or four words strung together. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like down there.

I'm so sorry to hear this jonathanstange. Sometimes people just really really suck.

I donated some money here, and feel a little less helpless.

We're going to call up to see if anyone needs accommodation, too, I think. So much to do, so little I can do.

The whole concept of lighting a fire that you absolutely know will, at the very least, lead to families losing every single thing they own and will more than likely kill one or more people is so far outside my capability that I just can't grok it at all.

Someone I know lost everything yesterday, except their car and the clothes they were wearing when they ran (well, drove) for their lives. Decades of accumulated stuff that means nothing to anyone else, but means everything to the person who gathered it all and kept it close.

On a brighter note, I heard from someone in the CFA that a yuppie fuckwit who insisted on driving around the roadblocks and going into the fire zone to check his investment plantation got 9.5 tonnes of water dumped on his new Range Rover (completely destroying it) because the chopper crew couldn't see him through the smoke, so at least something good happened in all this...

Jstrange - your response is a gracious and timely one. Way to be! People need you right now and you responded.

My brother's family home is in Kinglake, the other town wiped out over the weekend. They escaped north to Yea just in time and reports indicate that against all odds the house might still be standing. His good friend, neighbour and band-mate lost his house and two early-teenage sons, trapped in a shed as the inferno rolled over them.

My nephew, who lives a few kilometers north, is on holiday in Tasmania with his own young family. Their house, which they have spent so much time and effort building over the last 10 years, is completely destroyed.

Some of the best holidays and most formative experiences of my life were in and around Kinglake. The roads I learnt to drive on at 14 are now lined with the husks of former homes. A house I helped to build is now almost certainly cinders and rubble.

Yikes. I hate things like this. So sad and especially with not just the tragic loss of life, but also the memories and mementos that go along with that loss.

Oh Jonathan, that's awful. I was just reading about the fires, and came to MeCha to check on any bunnies there. Somebody had a terrace cover of fiberglass that melted, it was so hot.

I'm happy to hear you are safe. Arsonists are sick fucks, and murderers in this case.

Rembrandt, I think you posted about the heat, and I so wish I could send you some of our piles of snow. The story of the 2 kids in a shed is tragic.

I'm so sorry, jonathanstrange. Fire is such a worst-case kind of notion. Quite truthfully I don't even like to think about it, because losing everything is such a scary idea.

Stay safe.

I read a bit of the news and my first thoughts were of you, js. If they catch the arsonists, let us know because that kind of news does not always reach the US.

This makes me so terribly angry and sad.

I am so sorry...

From The Age: "more people have died than in any previous natural catastrophe — one so lethal that authorities are treating it like a major terrorist attack."

Adiril: There are have been 2 men arrested and charged over after fires that were lit on Friday. This guy in particular makes my blood run cold. Those responsible for Saturday are clearly criminally mentaly ill the same way as serial killers and pedophiles and need to removed from society.

This article gives a really good summary of the order of the events and the speed at which these fires travelled. Usually people have fair warnings of fire fronts, and can evacuate or be prepared to fight. Many of those that were lost on Saturday didn't have the opportunity to even make a decision.

oh bella, i'm so sorry. i can't express how sad i am for you and your personal loss. keep hope, things always have a way of renewing themselves. fingers crossed for you!

From The Age: "more people have died than in any previous natural catastrophe — one so lethal that authorities are treating it like a major terrorist attack."

That line really pissed me off. Fire has always been, and will always be, more dangerous to Australia than terrorists. It's an absurd comparison, and just emphasises the fact that the resources which have been expended on the terrorism furphy could have been allocated far more sensibly. Parts of Aus burn every year, guaranteed, and it's something than needs (better) managing.

I'm sorry, you guys. Do keep us posted. I'll keep you on my thoughts & heart.

I'm so sorry to hear of this event...

pompomtom: Agreed, I read that line about the terrorism and wondered WTF is that supposed to mean? I've been in the car a bit today and listening to 3AW, and maybe, just maybe it makes a bit of sense, considering:

a/ Police have totally cordoned off Kinglake and declared the entire town a crime scene.
b/ The massive disruption; people scattered and unable to get word out to loved ones to let them know they are OK, their whereabouts, etc. People have been ringing 3AW and asking for info on individuals, and others have been ringing up & confirming people's safety and the hosts of the shows have been broadcasting the information. This is reminiscient of things like September 11 or the London Bombings, where people are desperate to locate their loved ones.
c/ I had another point when I started writing this, but and now I've forgotten what it was.
d/ Maybe c/ was going to be something about the arsonists? It's a pretty dangerous hobby, whether they are hijacking planes, building bombs or lighting scrub fires. They've all forfeited their right to live in the same society as I live in, as far as I'm concerned.


Death toll is 131 and rising, many of the collapsed houses are still too hot to search. Fires in Churchill have broken containment lines, residents that haven't yet got out have been told it's too late to leave the area and they should gather in designate community centres.
Weather forecasts say we're in for more heat & northerly winds later in the week.
If I hear another reporter asking ANYONE "So how do you feel?" I'm gonna hunt them down and shake my fist at them.
*sigh*

Watching some of the news stories on this made me shout at the TV night. Watching those fucking reporters stuff a microphone in the face of someone who just lost all their possessions and/or their family made me so angry I yelled "leave the poor bastards alone, you fuckers, they just want to grieve in peace". Not only have the fires robbed them of everything they had, now they've lost their dignity as well.

God did it.