[peterv]

As far as i know, only New Zealand offered thant kind of help. I believe that fire aircrafts are unable to fly long distances, and since Australia is kind of isolated in the map it would be very difficult for air support to be provided in this case.

[Janos]

"Suspected arsonists here, suspected arsonists there, in Australia, where frequent wildfires a rule, not an exception, especially in the southeast. After a record drought too!"

Don't colour me surprised when no arsonists are ever found.

[watsisname]

True it's been a particularly harsh season, but I wouldn't close the book on the possibility of arson too quickly.  After all it has happened before.  http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/auspac/12/27/australia.fires.0000/index.html  But even if they're never found that doesn't mean none of them were intentionally lit.  It is an extremely easy thing to get away with just throwing a cigarette in some brush and driving off.  I'm not saying that's definitely the case here, but if the authorities/investigators believe it, they must have reason.

[Janos]

True it's been a particularly harsh season, but I wouldn't close the book on the possibility of arson too quickly.  After all it has happened before.  http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/auspac/12/27/australia.fires.0000/index.html  But even if they're never found that doesn't mean none of them were intentionally lit.  It is an extremely easy thing to get away with just throwing a cigarette in some brush and driving off.  I'm not saying that's definitely the case here, but if the authorities/investigators believe it, they must have reason.

Yes, historically man has been even more important than normal thunderstorms when it comes to wildfires around the world (from criminal negligence to slash-and-burn cultivation etc.) Australian vegetation structure is, however, extremely prone to wildfires, even as far as to make ecologists assume that the current structure is more or less dependent on relatively frequent fire regimes.

South-west Australia is a region of remarkable biological diversity, predominantly shaped by diversity of climate and geomorphology. Fire has also played an important role in shaping biodiversity over at least 2.5 million years and anthropogenic fire has been a part of this environment for tens of thousands of years. Forest ecosystems are fire-maintained, having evolved traits that enable them to persist with, and depend upon a variety of fire regimes. No single regime is optimal for all organisms and communities, but diverse regimes, within ecological limits, are essential for maintaining biodiversity. Bushfires can also threaten people, property and industry so fire management, including proactive use of fire, is necessary to both conserve biodiversity and to reduce the negative impacts of bushfires

Blatantly stolen from an abstract. ScienceDirect (requires access]

[Grimper]

I live just south of those fires, and its absolutly crazy at the moment. whatsisname, these fires are like NOTHING we've ever seen before. The speed and ferocity just cant compare. While the fires in Sydney were bad, they were a campfire compared to this. One arsonist wiped out an entire town, and there was more that came close.

Last I heard the death toll has risen to 186, and that was yesterday, so its probably higher now. A lot of peeps at my school don't have relatives anymore.

[TrashMan]

I propose a new penalty for asronists.

you stick a flame thrower up their ass and let it rip!

[Flipside]

My Aunt and Uncle live about 30 miles from the fires, and only got saved when the wind changed direction, but their daughter, my cousin, is trapped between 5 seperate fires at the moment, and there's desperate attempts going on at getting her out of there.

I'm really hoping for a breakthrough soon, it's terrible what is happening there, I'm just glad that VA and Blackwolf are ok.

I heard one of the arsonists was a Firefighter?

[portej05]

I heard one of the arsonists was a Firefighter?

That was here in Western Australia. Bastard got caught though. Apparantly he enjoyed putting out the fires he started.

[Black Wolf]

They're almost certainly arson - 2 more fires were lit (definitely deliberately) last night, so there're either dealing with a copycat or a serial arsonist. In either case, there will be people caught and they will be going to gaol.

Incidentally, I'm hoping that this tragedy will force the Victorians (and the entire rest of the country) to re-adopt the controlled burns policy that we do here in WA. It's the only way to effectively prevent fires from spreading in a nation that (as has been mentioned) is biolgically programmed to need fires

[Grimper]

Oh I think the arsonists will get what they deserve. Most of the townspeople are out for blood, and in small rural towns everybody knows everything...

[Dilmah G]

Oh I think the arsonists will get what they deserve. Most of the townspeople are out for blood, and in small rural towns everybody knows everything...

Yeah, I think they're gonna' have to lock this guy up in a 4 by 4 for his own safety.

[ssmit132]

I heard on the news that the Americans are coming over to help with the firefighting work too.

I think that when they rebuild they should make the houses out of concrete or some other material that isn't flammable so they don't burn down next time though.

[Flipside]

Well, concrete is not a very viable material in a country as hot as Australia anyway, it's like living in a fan oven at the best of times, and it's not somewhere that you can install Air Conditioning in every house, as a lot of people couldn't afford it. Wood provides a mixture of affordability and ventilation.

[ssmit132]

Oh, true. Well, scratch that idea.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

If the arsonist is lucky he'll need that 4x4.  With those big out of control fires he'll most likely end up torching himself.

What about underground housing?  It's climate controlled and fire resistant. Not much of a view though. 

[Dilmah G]

What about underground housing?  It's climate controlled and fire resistant. Not much of a view though. 

We have underground housing here in Kalgoorlie, in WA. However Kalgoorlie is a bloody desert town, and to my knowledge, hardly any trees in sight. However the place is full of rock, thus chipping away at some rocks and sleeping in the hole you just made and making preparations to build you home theater tomorrow becomes a viable idea. However Victoria is the total opposite, and trying to pull your sleeping bag into a whole lot of mulch and trees is not a productive exercise.

[Flipside]

Problem is, if there's a fire overhead, there's nowhere to run to.

The best protection is preventative measures, things like back-burning, even strips of vegetation-free land surrounding inhabited areas, which isn't good for the wildlife, but then, neither is being burned alive. The human toll has been great, but no-ones even daring to think about the ecological toll these fires have taken yet.

It's also looking more and more likely that these blazes wouldn't be half as bad as they were without the human factor, and that's probably the most appalling fact of all

[Kosh]

I wonder if this has anything to do with it.....

Islam group urges forest fire jihad

    * Josh Gordon
    * September 7, 2008

AUSTRALIA has been singled out as a target for "forest jihad" by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfires as a weapon of terror.

US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to "start forest fires", claiming "scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels' forests when they do the same to our lands".

The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the "eye for an eye" doctrine.

The posting - which instructs jihadis to remember "forest jihad" in summer months - says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that "this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time".

"Imagine if, after all the losses caused by such an event, a jihadist organisation were to claim responsibility for the forest fires," the website says. "You can hardly begin to imagine the level of fear that would take hold of people in the United States, in Europe, in Russia and in Australia."

[Flipside]

That would, quite possibly, be the most stupid attempt at Terror ever devised, since it would not generate fear, it would generate outright fury and would totally alienate the entire Muslim community.

As far as I'm aware, there's been no real hint of any kind of connection between the Bush-fires and any militant activity however, this seems more to be the work of opportunists and simple nut-jobs.

[Dilmah G]

That would, quite possibly, be the most stupid attempt at Terror ever devised, since it would not generate fear, it would generate outright fury and would totally alienate the entire Muslim community.

As far as I'm aware, there's been no real hint of any kind of connection between the Bush-fires and any militant activity however, this seems more to be the work of opportunists and simple nut-jobs.

Yeah, quite simply, the STUPIDEST thing I have EVER heard a towelhead suggest.