It's gone from bad to worse, now it's catastrophic

[Kody]

The bushfires (wildfires) in Australia have now moved into the catastrophic level, (ABC news info). There have have been over 100 homes destroyed in Tasmania, over 100 wildfires in New South Wales, 30 are uncontrolable and now Victoria is burning. At least two homes have been lost in Vic. and a town full of people had to race down to the sea and shelter under a small pier or move further out into the sea to survive. The wind in NSW is over 65 mph and even as high as 70 mph in gusts. By the end of the week, the temperature is expected to climb to 114 F for the next 4 or 5 days or more with a max temp almost 130 F or higher. These temps are not where the fires are but are in the center area of the continent and drifting toward the fire areas.
But there is worse.
A surveillance plane detected some smoke where a fire should not have been. The police were called to investigate and found 3 teenagers had lit the fire and they were all arrested for arson. The RFS (Rural Fire Service) rushed in and put the fire out before a lot of damage was done. Even worse, these scumbag teens wont get the full punishment they deserve. (IMO. a minimum of 5 years jail with hard labor!) They will just get a slap on the wrist!.
A 70 year old fella was caught by police lighting a fire at home (?) He can get 12 months in jail (NOT ENOUGH!!!) plus $50000 fine.
A fire fighter has been rushed to hospital with severe burns, at least two people have died and the worst is yet to come.
When teenagers are caught lighting fires, how do you balance the punishment against the death of people killed in the fire? Should they pay for the loss of the farm livestock, the loss of the produce? Yes! Absolutely! Over 1000 sheep have been lost plus countless numbers of cattle. If they cant pay for the damages to the properties not to mention the trauma involved to all the people, then keep them in jail until until all is paid! I may sound like I am not very forgiving but I am practical.

Joe and Kody

[Woodbutcher]

WOW, that is horrible. We have fire problems here to sometimes. Mostly out west. The fact that these are deliberately set, is unforgivable. Those kids should be tried as adults and get the full treatment.

[Hillmann]

Kody,

When you say someone lit the fires do you mean they lit the fires with the intention of starting a wildfire or they were just having a fire when there was a burning ban?

[Kody]

The news report stated that the teenagers will be charged with deliberately lighting a fire with intent to start a bushfire.. The entire nation is in an uproar about this but even more so in shock that that this would happen. The memories of the deliberately lit fires (arson) that killed 183 people two years ago are still vivid in the minds and hearts of the people who suffered both from loss of family and property and the loss of livestock beyond count. To see the fires blazing on TV is so traumatic, the scene truly rips your heart apart in tears.

Kody

[S. Heisley]

Dry, windy weather and fires bring out the crackpots and more fires...not good. Those fires are plain mean and ugly.

Take care your yourselves and stay safe. Keep us posted when you can.

[48Rob]

Sorry to hear of the awful mess in your country.
Some people do crazy things to get attention or even to cause harm.
I agree they should be punished in a way that sends a message that that type of behaviour will not be tolerated.

Hopefully your country has enough sense to do so without banning matches and lighters in a knee jerk reaction typical of our country.

Rob

[mezmo]

Sorry to hear of the Wildfires - Again !!! I saw a news blurb on my computer
browser here last night saying they were showing up in all of your States ! And
even Tasmania was getting major damages from them. I always thought that
Tasmania was your cool temperature region ? But I guess dry conditions anywhere
are susceptible. Those wind speeds you mentioned combined with the high temps
are not very encouraging ! I wish you and your countrymen the best of all outcomes
dealing with these fires.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Kody]

There are now 132 fires in NSW. Twenty nine are unconstrained and are burning in inaccessible country. The fire fighting choppers and fixed wing aircraft are unable to fly because of the height of the flames and the height and density of the smoke. The worst fire has destroyed almost 2000 square miles at Coonabarabran. The fires are also in Queensland and are raging in the north, south and west of us. We are safe here where we live but there are some small fires in the general area. The police are looking for more scumbags who they believe have lit some of the fires. The smoke from a fire about 16 miles away has been drifting thru our area and causing much "excitement". The police and fire service people stated that the fire at Coonabarabran will be out of control for many days yet. Most bush fires are started by lightning strikes but some are are from arsonists who love to create total havoc. Not good news.

Kody

[Kody]

The latest news about the fire at Coonabarabran is that the fire is jumping more than 3 miles ahead of itself. The loss of property and homes has not yet been counted.

Kody

[Shadow Catcher]

The Australian bush fires are making the new here in the US. I am seeing it even on some of the news blogs with the side bar that it makes denying climate change much more difficult.

[PKCSPT]

I've been listening to it here in the States and I pray for all of Australia. Sounds terrible