Victorian bushfires

Here we go again. Another hot and windy day tomorrow (though not as hot as 2 weeks ago).
Fires still burning around the state, and people in the towns near us are heading for Lilydale for a couple of days.

 

The last I heard about the fires down there, the authorities seem to think that they were set on purpose. Is that still the case? Do they have any clue yet what idiot(s) did it? One things for sure, if they were set on purpose, I would NOT want to be in the shoes of the person(s) that caused all that devastation and loss of life when they're caught! I don't know how the Aussie Courts work, but whoever it was needs to be branded as a 'mass murderer(s)' and punished accordingly.

 

So far they think only one was deliberate. They have a suspect who is in protective custody. There are a lot of people who would like to get their hands on him... but he's still innocent at this stage.

Another one was thought to be caused by a power line that came down, and another by lightning.

The advice given here is to prepare your house and then defend it, or just leave early. These fires moved so quickly that people were taken by surprise, and it was so ferocious (and a very hot day - about 118 degrees F), people didn't have time to react. Many were just caught with nowhere to go. Some tried to flee in cars, and some made it, but there were crashed and burnt-out cars on the roads, with people in some of them.

It seems that in some places, the houses burnt more readily than the bush.

Some amazing stories of survival by some, though.

PS G'day DLS - another neighbour!! We'll be able to start a Vic regiment if this keeps up!