Bushfires Devastate Australian Towns

[John Funk]

Bushfires Devastate Australian Towns

The devastating wildfires that ravaged rural towns near Melbourne, Australia, have claimed more than 170 lives, say officials - and may have been intentionally set.

According to authorities, at least 800 homes were consumed in the inferno that roared through the region surrounding Australia's second-largest city - destroying "whole towns" and leaving thousands of people homeless. Currently, the official death toll stands at 171 lives lost, though that number is expected to increase as search-and-rescue workers move deeper into the afflicted areas.

Police believe the fires were deliberately started [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090209.waustralia0209/BNStory/International/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090209.waustralia0209], and have labeled one of the destroyed towns "a crime scene." Prime Minister Kevin Rudd went a step further, telling media that the disaster was nothing short of "mass murder."

We here at The Escapist offer our sincerest sympathy and concern for the victims of this tragic disaster and their friends and families. Many of our writers, readers, and fans reside in Australia, and our heart goes out to all of you. If you're part of The Escapist's Australian community, please feel free to sound off in this thread and let everyone know that you're all right.

(Daily Telegraph [http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25022925-5001021,00.html])


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[ellimist337]

Regardless of intention, anybody stupid enough to start fires with the potential to do this is just... I don't even know what words to use. None of the things running around in my head seem strong enough.

 

[RedDiablo]

Wow, if the person who intentionally lit the fires was caught, I hope he gets life sentence.

 

[Fire Daemon]

It is a rather crappy time to be Australian.

Ironically Queensland, a Northern state, is currently flooded.

 

[Bertruam]

Its truely terrible that one person can cause so much damage.

 

[Specter_]

I hope none of our Escapist chums have lost homes/died.
I like them.

Suddenly I get a fuzzy feeling where my heart used to be.

 

[ChickDangerous]

There's a lot of small towns in the areas on fire and some of them, like Strathewen, have been completely destroyed. I grew up in that area and it was hard enough seeing it so ruined by drought last year let alone thinking of it burning because some dickhead thought it would be fun to set stuff on fire.

I did just read though that when they catch the person who lit the fires the police are thinking of charging them with murder. There's over 170 people been killed so far so that's a good long time in prison hopefully.

 

[seule]

The sadder part is, as of last report they're nearing 250 dead, and they haven't even started looking into all the burned out shells of houses that are strewn about the place.

I know linking offsite is bad, but anyone who may want to help out :

http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm

 

[sneakypenguin]

Just curious but how do that many die? Not trying to be mean but surely you can get in car and run? IDK I just can't imagine if a fire is heading to my house at 50 MPH that I wouldn't get away.
But this really does truly suck, my prayers are with them.

 

[Dommyboy]

The amount of smoke around is huge now. Where I live, Albury-Wodonga, you cannot see very far and the air outside reeks of smoke. I don't really mind the smell though but it is really annoying as I have very mild asthma.

 

[Peach_hat]

Its truely terrible that one person can cause so much damage.

The sky over the entire city and suburban areas was gray.

An old friend of my dad's lost his entire family and everything he owned in about 5 minutes.

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

I heard the death toll was up to 100, it's horrible...

 

[ChickDangerous]

Just curious but how do that many die? Not trying to be mean but surely you can get in car and run? IDK I just can't imagine if a fire is heading to my house at 50 MPH that I wouldn't get away.
But this really does truly suck, my prayers are with them.

In some cases the roads out of town were blocked by fires or the only bridge out of town was destroyed leaving people stranded.