[News] We can see this clearly from our house...

[moonvoice]

Fire threatens Swan Valley homes.






A few of the neighbours have come out to watch. It is oddly beautiful. There are, however, spot fires everywhere.

I hope everyone is safe.

Comments

[jet-ski.livejournal.com]

that's terrifying! it's going to be windy tomorrow.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

They had it mostly under control an hour after this photo, but it'll be interesting to see how things go today.

[aleia-kali.livejournal.com]

gods that is really scary. I hope it won't come near you. I hope everyone is safe too.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

I hope it won't come near us, there are a few suburbs separating us, but we're staying alert, since we're technically 'Shire of Swan' as well.

[pyewackettt.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. I remember something very similar happening when I was on holiday a few years ago. I hope everybody will be alright.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

I hope so too, I checked the news this morning and a house has been lost, and the fire is still going. Total fire ban in place, but we're still allowed to stay where we are right now.

[halfapersona.livejournal.com]

I hope everyone is safe too. The picture looks amazing though, as does the seen out on the front porch.

*hugs*

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

It's still going this morning!

[hazey-sunshine.livejournal.com]

Eek! I hope you stay safe.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

We will. :)

[kettunainen.livejournal.com]

that looks far too close for comfort. *shudder*

Is it normal for australia to have this many fires in the summer? I'd really only heard about them last year when they were ridiculously horrible.

keep safe!

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Is it normal for australia to have this many fires in the summer?

Yes, absolutely normal. We are the most bushfire continent in the world, even without man-made causes.

It's less normal for them to take as many lives as they did last year, because of emergency response teams. But otherwise, normal.

Glen and I live closer to the hills now, so we'll be closer to seeing a lot of these in action. You get kinda used to it.

[himmapaan.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear... :(

I hope everyone will be safe.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

We will. So far no lives lost, and one house gone, keeping our fingers crossed they get it well under control today.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, that's too close. :-( Keep your roof wet if you can...sparks can float for miles. Stay safe.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Will do. *hugs*

[toeknuckles.livejournal.com]

Igg. The smoke bothering you? It was like that here some years back, and I could barely move from feeling so weak. The smoke in the air just made it impossible to get a good deep breath...hope that's not happening to you!

Hope they manage to get it out soon.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

The wind isn't blowing the smoke this way, which means it's not blowing the fire this way either - so far, we're lucky in that sense.

It's still going though.

[kehleyr.livejournal.com]

Oh dear... that's scary!

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Not too scary, you get kind of used to it. Isn't that terrible?

[silverjackal.livejournal.com]

Is it a natural phenomenon that your bushland burns like this in summer, or is it anthropogenic?

Either way, it's an awesome and terrifying spectacle to witness. Hopefully it calms down and no on (animal or human) is hurt.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Is it a natural phenomenon that your bushland burns like this in summer, or is it anthropogenic?


Australia is the most bushfire prone continent in the world. That said, while a lot of bushfires start 'naturally' the reason we have so much 'ready to burn' bushland (seriously, many of our plants don't even germinate without a bushfire, and 'smoking' is something some native botanists must be prepared to do to grow natives) is because of about 20,000 years of firestick farming by Indigenous Aborigines to increase the amount of bushland over dense rainforest, and increase the availability of food sources like kangaroos.

So in a way, it's all anthropogenic. ;)

As a result, eucalypts are filled with highly flammable oil, and drop flammable 'firestarters' into the bushland (which is why we often have controlled burns in cooler weather closer to the suburbs - to eliminate that understorey), banksias just go 'whatever, BRING IT ON', and everyone who has a healthy grasstree has had to burn the dead growth off it and set it on fire. Some species are actually so fire dependent, that they cannot reproduce without fire, or a lot of smoke.

A lot of South-West Western Australia is this kind of sclerophyll scrubland, and it just loves to burn. Whether by arson, or just naturally.

Still going this morning, but the wind isn't moving it in our direction (and it'd have to get through another suburb first), which just doesn't happen in Perth (fingers crossed).

Total fire ban today, which means no welding, no moving heavy machinery over fields (i.e. no farming), or cars that could set off sparks, no cooking outdoors, no bushfires and so on.

[jkoyanagi.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh! Stay safe!

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

We will. The wind isn't pushing it on our direction so far.

[anrui-ichido.livejournal.com]

My gods. Watery prayers going out to that area...

I hope everyone will be okay, and that it steers clear of your lovely home. *hugs*

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

It should do, it looks closer than it is, and has to get through some major roads / suburb to get to us, we have a good fire service / emergency response team here.

But it will be windy this morning, so we'll see.

[bewylderbeast.livejournal.com]

Stay safe.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

We will.

[singingnettle.livejournal.com]

Oh, how scary. Stay safe!

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

We will.

We also don't get as scared of it anymore. This stuff happens at least once a year. Though we're a bit closer to it now that we're living in 'the hills.'

[welshwmn3.livejournal.com]

Damn. That's too close.

Get out if you need to.


As an aside, it's weird, but when I clicked to see the picture, I had the scent of "major fire" for a few minutes.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

We will (get out if we need to).

[lupabitch.livejournal.com]

Holy cripes. Be safe!

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

We will.

Fire bad!

[perzephone.livejournal.com]

Don't be one of those people that sticks around. If that gets too close, get the Hel outta there.

I'll add my hopes that everyone stays safe and non-crispy.

Re: Fire bad!

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

If that gets too close, get the Hel outta there.

We will, though Glen is going to work today, which means I have no way of getting out of here. Still, it's gotta get through another whole (large) suburb before it gets to us, and it looks closer than it is.

Keeping my ear on the radio though, for updates.

[bodylove.livejournal.com]

wow scary

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

You get used to it after a while.

[shimmerhawk.livejournal.com]

Scary! I hope it stays away from you.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

I hope so too. It should do.

[donnalotus.livejournal.com]

Ick... it's that time of the year again .. blah! At least WA has great systems in place (compared to others >.> like VIC) to deal with fires, I haven't heard anything this morning, hope they have it under control soon. Stay safe :)

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Yeah WA has excellent systems in place, it's a shame I couldn't get them on camera, but there were red and blue lights from the service vehicles flashing everywhere - and water bomber helicopters in the air.

They've lost a house overnight and the fire is still going, total fire ban in place, and it's gonna be windy - but I think they're feeling fairly confident.

[darakat-ewr.livejournal.com]

Hope you stay safe, bushfires are scary.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Last year's aside (which wasn't here), I don't find them scary. Which is insane.

[storm-seeker.livejournal.com]

Wow. It's very beautiful and all too daunting when keeping in mind you're viewing it from your front porch.

Can you smell it at all? Has Moet reacted to it? *curious*

I hope you and everyone in the area are safe too.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

We can smell it this morning, which means the wind is moving the smoke / fire this way. It's meant to be around 38C here today, and very windy. But it looks much more under control than it did last night or yesterday afternoon.

Moet doesn't care. Heh. He would have dealt with this to varying degrees since being a kitten. The only difference between this fire and others I've lived through, is that I can see this one from my porch because I face the hills.

The worst fire I've lived through is actually a Koondoola fire that I was two blocks away from. That was a few years ago.

[mirrorred-star.livejournal.com]

Holy crap! That would have been amazing to watch, but I hope it doesn't get too close to you.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

It shouldn't do. It looks closer than it is.

[sagebee.livejournal.com]

Fuck!

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

Indeed. It took a home overnight, and still going this morning. But it's much more under control now, thank goodness.