Two people found dead and 100 homes destroyed in Australian bushfires

[rooster59 9,609]

Two people found dead and 100 homes destroyed in Australian bushfires

By Will Ziebell

 

NSW Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW personnel conduct property protection as a bushfire burns in Woodford NSW, Australia, November 8, 2019. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts/via REUTERS

 

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Two people have been found dead, seven are missing and at least 100 homes have been destroyed as bushfires rage across eastern Australia, authorities said on Saturday.

 

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) confirmed two people had been killed by a fire near Glen Innes, more than 550 km (340 miles) north of Sydney.

 

One body was discovered in a vehicle and a woman died after being found suffering from burns on Friday.

 

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian told journalists on Saturday that a further seven people were unaccounted for across the state.

 

"I'm sorry to say that number can increase during the day," Berejiklian said.

 

This is one of Australia's worst bushfire seasons and parts of the country are crippled by severe drought.

 

NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said little reprieve in fire conditions could be expected over the next week or throughout the summer months of December, January and February.

 

"The forecast for the balance of the season continues to be driven by above-normal temperatures (and) below-average rainfall to dominate over the coming months," Fitzsimmons said.

 

On Friday, state fire authorities issued a record number of emergency warnings, with 17 fires declared to be at an emergency level with high winds and dry-conditions fanning the flames.

 

More than 70 fires were burning across the state on Saturday morning, with an emergency warning on two of them.

 

Further north, in Queensland, thousands of residents near the resort town of Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast, spent the night in evacuation centres.

 

Queensland premier Anastasia Paluszek said authorities were still accessing if it was safe for nearly 2,000 people to return home.

 

"These fires can change very quickly, it is very dry at the moment and the winds will pick up this afternoon," Paluszek told reporters.

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison Tweeted said on Twitter the fires were "simply terrifying" and the government would support people.

 

(Reporting by Will Ziebell; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-09

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[RJRS1301 3,948]

My thoughts are with those who have not only lost their homes and sometimes all there possessions and with the firefighters have been fighting these fires for months now.

Between the drought and the fires, wild life  along with domestic farm animals are being lost and have to be sold off.

When the rain comes there will be no top soil to hold the crops, and pastures.

NSW is burning along with Queensland from the Tweed to Yeppoon.

 

[steven100 11,553]

Thoughts & prayers go out to the family and friends of this tragedy …..  very sad news.

Conditions on the ground at Kangawalla near Glen Innes NSW are absolutely horrendous ...

[FarFlungFalang 3,501]

Sad news.

I own 100 acres in Ashford which is 80km north of Glen Innes and topsoil is virtually non existent as it is.Lots of Cypress Pine in the area which makes it extremely flammable. 

[steven100 11,553]

[steven100 11,553]

[RJRS1301 3,948]

1 hour ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Sad news.

I own 100 acres in Ashford which is 80km north of Glen Innes and topsoil is virtually non existent as it is.Lots of Cypress Pine in the area which makes it extremely flammable. 

Bloody pine trees

 

[FarFlungFalang 3,501]

2 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

Bloody pine trees

 

What's even worse is they are not even true pines,but they do make great floor boards and they are termite resistant.The old bloke who used to own the land I bought talked about the intensity with which they burn including seeing large fire balls that travelled through the air over a hundred meters horizontally!

[digger70 1,048]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Two people found dead and 100 homes destroyed in Australian bushfires

By Will Ziebell

Its' very said that people and wildlife has to die from the Bushfires. Years ago Before the Greenies had anything to say, (they should be stopped) there were Controlled  Exess Fuel burning fires done by the Rangers and landowners Every year. They done that in case there was a bushfire then there wasn't so much undergrowth fuel to burn and the fire could be Controlled.

[gimo 67]

    Here , 40 ks south of Coffs Harbour  we've missed the worst of it . The scary thing is that the heat and wind conditions weren't as bad as they could have been . Everything is so dry . If we don't get some decent rain soon , it could happen again soon , but much worse . 

[Odysseus123 9,422]

The forests are on fire round where I live-nobody has ever seen anything like it.

 

It is amazing that the "Firey's" both professional and volunteers have gone out day after day to battle the inferno until they drop.

 

There seems to be no let up.

 

Bless 'em all.

[RJRS1301 3,948]

Parts of the bush may regenerate when rain comes, but the toll on wild life will be devastating, even those koalas which may survive the fires, will have no food or sources of water. Birds will be affected, as will all reptiles. 

Back burning needs to be considered again in the future to save the build up of litter on forest floors.

 

The government needs to think about getting the army in to relieve the "fireies" and the volunteers feeding them,  who have been at this for months. They will also have to rebuild infrastructure , some communities currently do not even have drinking water much less power,