By Stephanie Anderson22 January 2013 Canberra is sweltering through what could be its hottest January on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. After hitting a record high of 42 degrees last week, the month’s average could be pushed into the record books, meteorologist Rebecca Kamitakahara said. “We are on track to exceed our January […]
By JASON DOWLING and BENJAMIN MILLAR 21 January 2013 (Cootamundra Herald) – Victoria is about to enter its most dangerous month historically for bushfires with the deadly Gippsland blaze still a major threat, Premier Ted Baillieu has warned. ”This is a big fire and it is likely to burn for some time,” Mr Baillieu said […]
19 January 2013 (10 News / Sydney Morning Herald) – Bushfires in Victoria’s east blaze out of control as one man dies, homes are lost, and thousands of hectares are burnt through. The blaze expanded from 950 to 20,000 hectares around Lake Glenmaggie and Coongulla. On Victoria’s bushfire front Technorati Tags: Australia,heat wave,drought,global warming,climate change,wildfire,forest […]
By Tim Barlass20 January 2013 The impact of the Coonabarabran fires is revealed in a startling new map obtained from the Rural Fire Service. Overlaying the heritage-listed Warrumbungle National Park with the area devastated by fire shows the nature reserve to be almost obliterated. Only a small area in the south-west of the park, the […]
By Ilya Gridneff19 January 2013 (Sydney Morning Herald) – Hundreds of firefighters battled the most atrocious conditions imaginable on Friday to contain about a dozen out-of-control blazes from the state’s far south to the Hunter Valley, desperately hoping a late cool change would bring relief. By late on Friday, fires near Cessnock, Coonabarabran, Young, and […]
18 January 2013 (New Scientist) – All eyes have been on Australia in recent weeks as a blistering heatwave triggered huge wildfires. The result has been a slew of amazing stories, including a family escaping by jumping into the sea and meteorologists adding new colours to heat maps. But Australia’s fires are just the most […]
By Ilya Gridneff, Tom Arup, and Jacob Saulwick19 January 2013 SYDNEY, Australia (SMH) – Sydney endured its hottest ever day on Friday, with records smashed across the city and thousands of people suffering from the heat. The mercury topped 45.8 at Sydney’s Observatory Hill at 2.55pm, breaking the previous record set in 1939 by half […]
By Tim Barlass17 January 2013 Prime Minister Julia Gillard flew into Coonabarabran on Thursday to witness first-hand the devastating effects of the bushfire that claimed at least 49 homes. At a press conference, the Prime Minister announced financial support for those who had lost homes or been evacuated. Ms Gillard drove through the Timor Road […]
By Ilya Gridneff and Kristen Amiet15 January 2013 (Sydney Morning Herald) – The worst bushfires in NSW for more than a decade have ripped through the state’s north-west, taking 33 homes and destroying 40,000 hectares [154 square miles] of land. More than 80 Rural Fire Service volunteers supported by 18 aircraft spent most of Monday […]
By Luke Harding 9 January 2013 (guardian.co.uk) – The tornadoes of fire came from two directions. They quickly engulfed the small Tasmanian fishing town of Dunally, and swept towards the home where Tim and Tammy Holmes were babysitting their five grandchildren. There was no escape. No way out. And so the family did the only […]
