To date over 25 dead
The death toll from the Victorian bushfires has risen to 25, police said on Sunday.

Victoria has experienced its worst bushfires since the deadly Ash Wednesday infernos 26 years ago, with at least 25 people killed on Saturday and authorities fearing the death toll could pass 40.

Fires were burning on several fronts in the state's north, southeast and west, northwest of Melbourne and near Bendigo on Saturday and into Sunday morning, although a cool change was easing conditions.

However, in northern Victoria where temperatures were expected to remain in the high 30s on Sunday, a fire in the Beechworth area was causing concern.


Six people in one car were killed at Kinglake, four died at Wandong, three at Strathewen and one in Clonbinane northwest of Melbourne on Saturday. At least 100 houses and many thousands of hectares of land have been burnt out.

http://www.news.com.au/


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I was station at Kinglake township as frontline volunteer S John Ambulance and field commander 3 years ago during the fires and were almost wiped out but rain came at very last moment and now 6 people (update 12 now) died there last night
but they have been warned the day before that you cannot outrun the fires even if you are driving the car due to high speed fires backed by high winds.

also I can smell burnt stuff due to fact there were plenty fires near me last night.

Wally

cant outrun the fires? im imagining the waves of flames traveling at high speeds you see in those movies....lol surley it couldnt be like THAT

Yes it does I seen them once years ago

To Date 35 Dead and 3 fires joined 100kms firefront only 30mins drive from me,
Virtually the entire township of Marysville in the Yarra Valley has been destroyed by bushfires but Townships people are safe.
Residents in several Victorian towns are still under bushfire threat as the Australian military has been mobilised to help battle some of the worst fires the state has ever seen.

too many Aussies had bbq going overloaded with shrimp

Lol

To date now stands 50 dead

Town of Marysville wiped out

http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2009/02/08/2485362.htm

Q what measures has Oz government done to keep this from happening?

There's alot of fire safety, reduce growth, clearence and shit on for many years and people were warned about it the day before of what going to happen and people get caught up trying to flee in their cars at last mins in which they were told not to leave at last moment.

Most fires start by lighting or burning embers raining down from miles away, very high winds and change of wind directions (that cause it) and dickhead(s) lighted the fire.

remember there's a drought and extreme hot days in southern area of Australia and it turned into tinderbox also gumtrees are very flammable.

Funny that Floods up North Aust and Fires down south.

LOL

From my place

To Date 65 dead

Careful out there Wally toll is at 108 now

131 dead to date now

here some more from my place

This one believe to be coming this way and beyond it that where Kinglake was hit and over 30 or more people died there



and this is another fire near where I play fight with a Kangaroo (well it's really a Wallaby),

and beyond it to the left over the hill that where Marysville townships destroyed.

On warm days vapourised eucalyptus oil rises above the bush to create the characteristic distant blue haze of the Australian landscape. Eucalyptus oil is highly flammable (trees have been known to explode and bush fires can travel easily through the oil-rich air of the tree crowns. The dead bark and fallen branches are also flammable.
Eucalypts are well adapted for periodic fires via lignotubers and epicormic buds under the bark because flammable oils in eucalyptus leaves are released by the heat of a fire is subject to catastrophic firestorms.