The General Chat Thread (2016-2022)

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Kake Lover said:
Good luck @SatNavSaysStraightOn
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thank you. Luckily the wind direction is WNW and W this morning and forecast to stay that way all day, so although that puts me in a direct line with a much closer fire, that fire is considerably smaller (5 hectares) and also under control!

The big fire has been upgraded overnight from blue to yellow, Yellow is a stay alert and be prepared notification, but unless there is a major wind direction change, I should be fine for today. It would need to swing around by over 90 degrees (perfectly feasible, but it is not the normal direction for this area). Which reminds me what I now need to go and do on this break I am about to have. The 9am medication reminder is sounding again! I do so love listening to the M*A*S*H theme tune! (honestly I do!)
 
Cinisajoy said:
Hey, a few years back at least 64,000,000 acres burned in Texas but it didn't make the national news.
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it hasn't even made the local news here. they are a fact of life but so far quite a few rural properties have been lost. The main issue is that this area is not scrub land, or desert or land not in use, but expensive land, very fertile, also hilly with many wind turbines etc (hence why a fire moves so fast and gets out of control easily). There is also very little water around there except in the thousands of billabongs which are everywhere around here. At the top of my track there are 3 of them alone. The area is also vineyards, horse grazing, cattle grazing land and fertile farmland which is rare. Thus it is dotted with rural properties with no useable water supplies etc.
South Sydney (which is not actually Sydney but the land to the south of it) has gone onto a level 5 alert today which is Extreme. Catastrophic only gets used when very large areas are on fire already. Extreme is when conditions met the following criteria temps in excess of 30C for the last however many days I know forget, humidity below 30% (it is currently below 10%) and wind speeds above 30kph. When those conditions are all met and it is the fire season.... you have to get out

classic33 said:
No lives lost?
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not heard anything and I guess we would have done if there were. Just land and property. I guess the cattle and horses on that land have been evacuated or let free. They return (if alive that is) once the fire has passed because that is their home and where they usually get fed. Luckily we had a major thunderstorm last night which although exceptionally localised and I mean very localised has created a wetter strip of land between here and there. These storms just spring up out of nowhere at this time of year and you get torrential rain like nothing we have had in the UK. You can't drive in it, you can't do anything in it except stay inside whatever you are in, and try to make sure you are not the tallest thing around. The shear number of lightning strikes from these storms is colossal and with the land so very dry, it rarely soaks in. But the fire service have reported that it did assist with the fire suppression but nowhere near enough. Not a signal weather station around here recorded any rain for yesterday, but I know for a fact that it was exceptionally bad because even on the very edge of it I was having problems actually seeing our dirt road to drive up and was greatful for both the 10C temp drop and for getting out of it. sadly it didn't get as far as our home. We had a line across the road and drove out of it and were suddenly kicking up the vapour trails that vehicles on dirt roads create when the weather is dry. they are a great way of knowing about an oncoming vehicle but an absolute pain for the first 5 seconds after you pass each other because you can't see a thing in any direction!
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
it hasn't even made the local news here. they are a fact of life but so far quite a few rural properties have been lost. The main issue is that this area is not scrub land, or desert or land not in use, but expensive land, very fertile, also hilly with many wind turbines etc (hence why a fire moves so fast and gets out of control easily). There is also very little water around there except in the thousands of billabongs which are everywhere around here. At the top of my track there are 3 of them alone. The area is also vineyards, horse grazing, cattle grazing land and fertile farmland which is rare. Thus it is dotted with rural properties with no useable water supplies etc.
South Sydney (which is not actually Sydney but the land to the south of it) has gone onto a level 5 alert today which is Extreme. Catastrophic only gets used when very large areas are on fire already. Extreme is when conditions met the following criteria temps in excess of 30C for the last however many days I know forget, humidity below 30% (it is currently below 10%) and wind speeds above 30kph. When those conditions are all met and it is the fire season.... you have to get out


not heard anything and I guess we would have done if there were. Just land and property. I guess the cattle and horses on that land have been evacuated or let free. They return (if alive that is) once the fire has passed because that is their home and where they usually get fed. Luckily we had a major thunderstorm last night which although exceptionally localised and I mean very localised has created a wetter strip of land between here and there. These storms just spring up out of nowhere at this time of year and you get torrential rain like nothing we have had in the UK. You can't drive in it, you can't do anything in it except stay inside whatever you are in, and try to make sure you are not the tallest thing around. The shear number of lightning strikes from these storms is colossal and with the land so very dry, it rarely soaks in. But the fire service have reported that it did assist with the fire suppression but nowhere near enough. Not a signal weather station around here recorded any rain for yesterday, but I know for a fact that it was exceptionally bad because even on the very edge of it I was having problems actually seeing our dirt road to drive up and was greatful for both the 10C temp drop and for getting out of it. sadly it didn't get as far as our home. We had a line across the road and drove out of it and were suddenly kicking up the vapour trails that vehicles on dirt roads create when the weather is dry. they are a great way of knowing about an oncoming vehicle but an absolute pain for the first 5 seconds after you pass each other because you can't see a thing in any direction!
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Hey your weather sounds pretty much identical to ours. Since this is your first summer, let me tell you a bit about those storms. You can go from no water to easily over a 1/3 of meter in a matter of just a few minutes. Like you said, stay in and watch. It comes down so fast, it runs off rather than soaks in.

Now where I am, in years past we got free live world's dumbest drivers every rain storm. Can't see the edge of the road or any grass in yards just water. No problem just speed up since we are coming up on a lower area. Or hey, the water is rushing into the street from the east, let's turn east into a dirt field.
"Why did the car die?" "Why won't my truck go any further?"
I guess the second one wouldn't have been so funny if it was one vehicle, but oh hey I see a truck stuck. My truck is bigger I can make it. Oh those two don't know how to drive but I can make it.
 
classic33 said:
Over a third of The Lone Star State!
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Oh yes. It was a scary time and no moisture for 2 years. Now we did have old fashioned dust storms. Oh and when the lakes started drying up, many things were found including at least 6 or 8 missing persons from the 60's. They were found in their cars.
 
Those in the fire area have now been upgraded to level 5, extreme which is evacuate...
It's all over 36C outside, we have a howling wind which is hot and bone dry gusting above 50kph and all over the place but generally westerly which is good news from my point of view.
But having just checked, we are now on extreme as well... no surprise really but worrying. hummm. can't go anywhere I've no vehicle so sit put and have my bag packed... keep an eye on the fire watch site in case of any new ones. I won't be burning any refuse today! currently trying the bake it outside approach in the tree house which is in full sun and happens to be corrugated iron... that should dry it all out for me, if it hasn't blown away. in the meantime, I'm going to take a cold shower, not that my cold water is cold. it's coming out of the tap that hot I nearly burnt myself on it earlier and that's on cold! the water tank and pipes near the surface must be really hot... cold water only happens with the help on the fridge or freezer right now... need to go and give chooks some ice to help them cool down! by for now...
 
Cinisajoy said:
Now where I am, in years past we got free live world's dumbest drivers every rain storm. Can't see the edge of the road or any grass in yards just water. No problem just speed up since we are coming up on a lower area. Or hey, the water is rushing into the street from the east, let's turn east into a dirt field.
"Why did the car die?" "Why won't my truck go any further?"
I guess the second one wouldn't have been so funny if it was one vehicle, but oh hey I see a truck stuck. My truck is bigger I can make it. Oh those two don't know how to drive but I can make it.
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Where I am it is more a case of is the dirt road still there? why is it like an ice rink? and finally and most importantly (given the others can be negotiated and this one can't) you know that single track wooden bridge on the dirt road... it's it still there?

Right now it's not safe to go outside. the wind is bringing down all sorts, trying to bring the roof off the house (not joking here but hubby checked it out at the weekend and all had survived last week's wind storm) and there are dust devils and mini tornadoes (don't actually know if you get them in Australia but that's what they look like) ask over the place. if you are not hit by taking debris (we live in native eucalyptus woodland remember) you will be either sandblasted or burnt by the sun. UV had been rated extreme as well today and that's less than 5 mins in the sun without factor 50 before you start to burn (apparently, I've not tested this, I'm not that daft).

Ironically I am still loving Australia. I'll point out that we used to have a major fire every summer where I live in the south of England and on average we would be evacuated every 3 years, so this is no different, it's just been hotter for much longer.

On the brighter side I can hear distant thunder but suspect it will miss us. it's in the mountains to the south only 50km away if that but it may as well be another continent!
 
And on a slightly more amusing note, I've had to peg the clothes onto the drying rack in the house because it has become so windy that even inside they are blowing off the track despite being wet. that's a first for me!

(I'm avoiding hanging them outside because apart from baking and bleeding away, I don't want to stand in the sun hanging then on the washing line!)

And I'll finish talking to myself now....
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Where I am it is more a case of is the dirt road still there? why is it like an ice rink? and finally and most importantly (given the others can be negotiated and this one can't) you know that single track wooden bridge on the dirt road... it's it still there?

Right now it's not safe to go outside. the wind is bringing down all sorts, trying to bring the roof off the house (not joking here but hubby checked it out at the weekend and all had survived last week's wind storm) and there are dust devils and mini tornadoes (don't actually know if you get them in Australia but that's what they look like) ask over the place. if you are not hit by taking debris (we live in native eucalyptus woodland remember) you will be either sandblasted or burnt by the sun. UV had been rated extreme as well today and that's less than 5 mins in the sun without factor 50 before you start to burn (apparently, I've not tested this, I'm not that daft).

Ironically I am still loving Australia. I'll point out that we used to have a major fire every summer where I live in the south of England and on average we would be evacuated every 3 years, so this is no different, it's just been hotter for much longer.

On the brighter side I can hear distant thunder but suspect it will miss us. it's in the mountains to the south only 50km away if that but it may as well be another continent!
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Yes, we have dust devils and tornadoes.
Heck one day, we had a dust storm that I watched come to the house. I had taken out the trash and got back in the house about 10 seconds before it hit.
We get those winds at times too.
Know I am thinking of you.
 
Cinisajoy said:
Yes, we have dust devils and tornadoes.
Heck one day, we had a dust storm that I watched come to the house. I had taken out the trash and got back in the house about 10 seconds before it hit.
We get those winds at times too.
Know I am thinking of you.
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Thank you.

Luckily the new fires (6 of them) that have sprung up today are further away (but within 50km). all except one are being controlled or under control. the fire risk for tomorrow is currently at high which is level 2, so we have dropped from 5 to 2. the wind direction has completely changed, and will again by tomorrow afternoon with the chance of rain.

It has currently dropped 10C inside an hour and I'm sitting out in 26C (78F) feeling cold (I can't believe I have actually just said that!). the fire bag is however ready in the bedroom and a list on the noticeboard (chalkboard) with extras to collect it time (such as my wheelchair, our usb3 external hard drive with backups on it, first aid kits, water etc).
 
The temp has dropped to 22C inside. it will be in the high teens outside. it's due to do to 13C tonight. last week when they last forecast 13C it does to 9C instead. today was 36C all afternoon and onto 6pm. that will be a 25C drop if it does the same again. that's an enormous temperature difference which makes adapting really difficult. mind you in not complaining, it does mean we will get some sleep even if we play silly games all night with blankets and quilts trying to get the right temperature. right now is going dark fast. it has clouded over and is looking very dark and potentially rainy. I'll celebrate if it does rain.

PS, you are welcome to cme over and stay anytime you want. we have 2 spare bedrooms and plenty of spare heat at least during the daytime that is.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
The temp has dropped to 22C inside. it will be in the high teens outside. it's due to do to 13C tonight. last week when they last forecast 13C it does to 9C instead. today was 36C all afternoon and onto 6pm. that will be a 25C drop if it does the same again. that's an enormous temperature difference which makes adapting really difficult. mind you in not complaining, it does mean we will get some sleep even if we play silly games all night with blankets and quilts trying to get the right temperature. right now is going dark fast. it has clouded over and is looking very dark and potentially rainy. I'll celebrate if it does rain.

PS, you are welcome to cme over and stay anytime you want. we have 2 spare bedrooms and plenty of spare heat at least during the daytime that is.
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Still thinking of you. Keep a light jacket out year round.
 
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