A Catastrophic Fire Danger Rating has been forecast for tomorrow, Wednesday 28 February 2024, in the Wimmera district.
Ahead of Catastrophic conditions, Vic Emergency has prepared translated materials in Mandarin and Karen to assist these communities across the district.
To help get this message out there, we encourage you to share these posts with your networks.
Out of control fire west of Ballarat. #Bushfire smoke casting Orange light in #Melbourne. Temps 35C at 5.30pm.
There are now over 1000 firefighters battling this bushfire, including a heavy air tanker from NSW.
Fire weather forecast for most of central and western Victoria was Extreme.
Rising temperature and extreme Fire Weather are driven by #FossilFuel emissions. Every new coal mine, new gas project adds to the #climateCrisis adding to #heatwaves and #wildfires
CFA units are battling the fire which is growing in intensity and burning in a south-easterly direction at Bayindeed.
An emergency warning has expanded from Bayindeen, Buangor, Middle Creek and Mount Cole to now also include Ballyrogan, Beaufort Buangor East, Challicum, Cross Roads, Eurambeen, Lake Goldsmith, Langi Kal Kal, Main Lead, Middle Creek, Nerring, Raglan, Shirley, Stockyard Hill, Trawalla, Waterloo and Yalla-y-poora.
#Victoria's bushfire chief says next Wednesday is shaping as the state's most dangerous day since the black summer fires. The forecast means crews are now racing to contain the enormous blaze that's still burning out of control west of #Ballarat. Temperatures are expected to rise to 40 °C / 104 °F on Wednesday with strong winds.
"In one of the largest mass arrests of recent years, police in #NewSouthWales (NSW) detained some 109 protesters on Sunday evening. They had participated in a 30-hour maritime demonstration of 34 kayaks, surfboards and pontoons at the port of Newcastle, aimed at blocking coal shipments and the broader promotion of fossil fuels. The protest had been given police permission until 4 p.m., at which point the arrests suddenly started.
"The arrests point to a deepening crackdown on the #RightToProtest. Significantly, this is being spearheaded by Labor governments, now in office federally and at the state and territory levels across mainland #Australia. The detentions indicate official fears over growing social opposition, related not only to climate change, but to Israel’s genocidal assault on #Gaza, a broader eruption of #militarism and the soaring cost-of-living.
"The action, organised by the #RisingTide organisation, saw dozens and at times more than a hundred people take to the water in small vessels to prevent #coal loads from exiting the port. The activists said they succeeded in delaying multiple shipments, but noted that this is only a fraction of the coal that passes through the port each year.
"In comments at the protest and since, representatives of Rising Tide pointed to the increasingly catastrophic consequences of climate change. In Australia, this included one of the worst #bushfire seasons in 2019-20, and massive #floods in northern NSW and parts of #Queensland last year that displaced thousands.
"Along with their abandonment of the flood victims and others impacted by climate change, the Labor governments are doing nothing to address the underlying crisis.
"The federal Labor administration cynically appealed to discontent over the issue in the May 2022 election. Its policy is a 43 percent emissions reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. Scientists have warned that both are woefully inadequate, compared with the scale of the crisis. But even these targets are entirely meaningless, with Labor approving dozens of new coal and #gas projects across the country.
"The protest was not a snap action or an unauthorised event. It had received prior approval from police. Demonstrators were addressed by prominent political figures, including federal Greens leader Adam Bandt and one of his predecessors, #Bob Brown. The Greens, their references to the environmental crisis notwithstanding, seek to collaborate with Labor, as it greenlights #FossilFuel projects and defends the whole profit system that is responsible for climate change.
"Given the establishment character of the speakers and the police authorisation, the subsequent crackdown was particularly striking.
"Police have claimed that approval was only until 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon and that participants then refused to leave the port’s waters. By 5:30 p.m., the port was cleared, and its operations were resumed.
"The speed of the police crackdown indicates extensive prior planning. Footage on social media shows at least one police vessel approaching the activists and moving to detain them.
"The police arrests were indiscriminate. Among the 109 arrested was #AlanStuart, a 97-year-old clergyman. Five children were detained.
"In a statement on X/Twitter, Legal Observers NSW said five of its representatives were arrested. 'Observers were present to document the actions of police and connect any protesters arrested with legal representation,' it stated.
"Despite being marked out with coloured vests and having repeatedly spoken to police during the event, the observers were nevertheless hauled in. They noted that this was an attack on 'the right to document and monitor protest as media and independent observers,' which 'is an internationally protected right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.'
"Three of the legal observers were charged, joining more than 100 others. Even the children who participated have reportedly been referred to relevant authorities under the Young Offenders Act.
"The blanket charge applied to the adult protesters of unreasonable interference by use of a vessel under section 13 of the state’s Marine Safety Act carries a maximum penalty of a $5,500 fine. While most protesters were released on bail after being booked, two organisers, including one with impaired vision, were detained overnight in a police watchhouse. They received hundreds of dollars in fines, with a judge declining to impose the maximum fine because of their lack of a criminal history. The remaining protesters face court next year.
"The arrests and charges were clearly intended to send a message that further disruptions will not be tolerated. If that were not the case, the protesters could simply have been moved on without the mass detention or subsequent charges."
The Pilliga-Bibblewindi #bushfire has now affected 130,000 hectares, 30km south-west of Mount Kaputar National Park and 50km north-east of Warrumbungle National Park.
Might be time to consult our Indigenous folks? 🔥 Now, it has emerged that nearly a quarter of the area wiped out by the Gospers Mountain #BushFire in 2019-20 resulted from fires lit by the NSW Rural Fire Service, according to an independent analysis that has prompted calls for a major review of bushfire fighting strategies amid another El Nino weather system.
I had the good fortune today to visit the National #Bushfire Behaviour Research Laboratory at #CSIRO Black Mountain, #Canberra.
Watched an experiment in the Pyrotron - only one of two combustion wind tunnels in the world for conducting controlled experiments on bushfire conditions like fuel load, humidity and wind speed. This data goes into bushfire models to plan emergency management responses.
This particular experiment was testing how much water is required to extinguish the fire front. The total amount of water is surprisingly low (like 100 ml), but it needs to well aimed and timed...
"In Australia, background warming trends and changes in rainfall patterns have loaded the odds in favour of particular climate phenomena in any given year including:
▪ the chance of above average and extreme temperatures
▪ reduced average rainfall over the southern half of the continent
▪ increased heavy rainfall when meteorological conditions are favourable
▪ a longer fire season, with more extreme fire danger days"
As spring lingers and summer looms, Australia can't afford to gamble with fire and emergency preparedness, we are already experiencing more bushfires. The recent bushfires and floods from summer 2020–21 still in our minds exposed our government's shortcomings. FUSION is committed to securing funds for robust advisory and response units, ensuring a proactive stance against climate-driven disasters. Let's not wait for the water bombers – let's invest in safety NOW! 🌊🚒
#Landsborough Qld #bushfire continues. A new Leave Immediately order issued by Qld Fire Service for Hardwood Rd at 334pm today. Stay safe everyone and heed the instructions on the fire ground.
How Megafires Are Remaking the World (NYT)
"This incendiary age, which some scientists have called the #Pyrocene could lead to “a wholesale conversion of what habitats are where on the planet,” Dr. Hodges said. “Right now, everybody is talking about fires and smoke and who dies, because of the immediacy of this fire year. But really, truly, the long-term consequences are much more severe and sustained.”