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Two found dead in Kangaroo Island Fire in South Australia

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , , , , , ,

More air tankers from North America will be be sent to Australia

Satellite photo smoke Australia fires
Satellite photo of smoke from fires in New South Wales and Victoria December 3, 2020. The red areas represent heat.

Two people were found dead on Kangaroo Island south of Adelaide, South Australia.

From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:

An experienced pilot and his son have been killed in catastrophic bushfires that have ravaged more than a third of Kangaroo Island and destroyed homes and businesses. The family of tour operator and aviator Dick Lang has confirmed he perished in the blaze, along with his youngest son Clayton — a leading plastic surgeon who specialised in hand surgery. Dick Lang, 78, ran his own flight adventure business out of Adelaide Airport and was described as one of the nation’s “best bush pilots”.

Dick Lang lived and worked in the outback for most of his life, securing him the nickname ‘Desert’. His 43-year-old son was supervisor of surgical training at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, his family said. Dick Lang had flown rescue operations in desert regions and over Papua New Guinea.

“He loved the bush, he loved adventure and he loved Kangaroo Island,” his family said.

“Dick and Clayton were prominent members of the South Australian community who rose to the top in their chosen professions.”

Police said the men died on the Playford Highway in the centre of the island, and that one of the victims was found inside a car.

In a statement, the Lang family said the men were returning to the family property on Kangaroo Island January 4 after fighting a nearby fire for two days.

This brings the death toll in the Australian fires up to 23 people, which includes three firefighters.

High humidities and a 2.5mm of rain Saturday morning slowed the spread of the Ravine Fire on Kangaroo Island. South Australia’s Country Fire Service said the two major fires on the island have burned more than 170,000 hectares (420,000 acres) which is 39 percent of the 88-mile long island. Many structures have burned or been damaged, including Kangaroo Island’s Visitor and Information Center, the KI Wilderness Retreat, and Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. The Premier, Steven Marshall, said all buildings in the island’s Flinders Chase National Park had been “very extensively” damaged. It has been confirmed that the Southern Ocean Lodge, the high-end resort on the southwest coast that charges over $1,000 a night, suffered severe damage.

The bushfires in Victoria and New South Wales continue to spread and force residents and vacationers from homes and resorts.

Evacuees being ferried HMAS Choules
Evacuees being ferried to the HMAS Choules Australia DoD photo.

Naval vessels are being used to rescue those who were forced to flee to the coastal beaches. Small boats are ferrying them out to a ship in deeper water where those who are willing and able have to climb a ladder up to the much larger vessel built to carry 300 soldiers and 23 tanks. It is expected the ship will transport about 800 evacuees. Those who can’t board the ship and still want to leave, may be removed from the burnt-over area by helicopters, but visibility degraded by smoke could make flying difficult.

Department of Defence Australia helicopter rescue
Helicopters from Australia’s Department of Defence has been transporting fire refugees to safer ground. DOD photo.

In addition to the ships and helicopters being used for evacuation the New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons was blindsided upon finding out from the media that Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Saturday afternoon that 3,000 ADF reservists would be brought in to help with bushfire recovery efforts and $20 million would be provided for leasing four additional firefighting aircraft. Defense Minister Linda Reynolds said it was the first time that reservists had been called up “in this way in living memory and, in fact, I believe for the first time in our nation’s history.”

John Gould, President of 10 Tanker, said their company will be sending two more DC-10 Very Large Air Tankers to Australia as soon as the heavy maintenance presently underway is complete. He expects Tanker 912 to arrive in Australia on January 15 to be followed 10 days later by Tanker 914. They will join Tanker 911 that arrived in November. The DC-10  can carry up to 9,400 gallons of water or retardant.

From ABC:

Mr Fitzsimons said while he was thankful for the support, logistics would be complicated.

“I was disappointed and frustrated in the middle of one of our worst days with massive dislocation and movement of people,” he said. “I had my conversations with the Prime Minister’s office.”

As predicted, the weather Saturday in southeast Australia was hot, dry, and windy, setting temperature records in several locations — 120F degrees  in Penrith and 111F in Canberra..

Stunning photos of pyrocumulus over fires in Australia

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , , 1 Comment on Stunning photos of pyrocumulus over fires in Australia

They were taken on a flight from Canberra to Melbourne

smoke pyrocumulus bushfires Australia
Photo of smoke from bushfires by Merrin Macleod on a flight from Canberra to Melbourne, posted January 4, 2020.

While on a flight from Canberra to Melbourne Merrin Macleod had an excellent view of pyrocumulus clouds over very active bushfires. She said on Twitter, “The country looks like ten or fifteen volcanoes have gone off.”

If the pilot had taken the most direct route to Melbourne they would have flown over many very active fires. The photos are used here with her permission.

Satellite photo smoke Australia fires
Satellite photo of smoke from fires in New South Wales and Victoria December 3, 2020. The red areas represent heat. NASA image processed by Wildfire Today.

Below is actual flight path for her 50-minute flight. About 16 minutes after takeoff the aircraft was 36,000 feet over the NSW/Victoria border.

flight path from Canberra to Melbourne
The actual flight path from Canberra to Melbourne. Flightaware.
smoke pyrocumulus bushfires Australia
Photo of smoke from bushfires by Merrin Macleod on a flight from Canberra to Melbourne, posted January 4, 2020.

A pyrocumulus cloud is produced by the intense heating of the air over a fire. This induces convection, which causes the air mass to rise to a point of stability, where condensation occurs. If the fire is large enough, the cloud may continue to grow, becoming a cumulonimbus flammagenitus which may produce lightning and start another fire.

smoke pyrocumulus bushfires Australia
Photo of smoke from bushfires by Merrin Macleod on a flight from Canberra to Melbourne, posted January 4, 2020.
smoke pyrocumulus bushfires Australia
Photo of smoke from bushfires by Merrin Macleod on a flight from Canberra to Melbourne, posted January 4, 2020.
smoke pyrocumulus bushfires Australia
Photo of smoke from bushfires by Merrin Macleod on a flight from Canberra to Melbourne, posted January 4, 2020.
smoke pyrocumulus bushfires Australia
Photo of smoke from bushfires by Merrin Macleod on a flight from Canberra to Melbourne, posted January 4, 2020.

More articles on Wildfire Today tagged “Pyrocumulus”.

By January 6, 155 firefighters will have been deployed from the U.S. to Australia

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , 7 Comments on By January 6, 155 firefighters will have been deployed from the U.S. to Australia

More will depart on January 4 and 6

fires in East Gippsland Australia
One of the fires in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, December 30, 2019. Photo by Ned Dawson for Victoria State Government.

The United States is sending additional U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) personnel to assist with wildfire suppression efforts in Australia.

Based on requests from the Australian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, the U.S. has intermittently deployed more than 74 wildland USFS and DOI fire personnel throughout December with another 21 USFS and DOI personnel planning to depart for Australia on January 4.

The Council has also requested a fifth group of personnel and the DOI and USFS are currently working on the logistics to send those individuals as soon as possible. It is expected that approximately 55 to 60 firefighters will depart around January 6; some will be hand crew members and others will fill specific overhead positions. About 20 of those will be from the Angeles National Forest in Southern California. This would bring the total number of fire personnel deployed from the United States up to about 155.

The U.S. firefighters are filling critical wildfire and aviation management roles in New South Wales and Victoria. Before this planned fifth wave, all of the firefighters from the U.S. have been ordered to fill overhead positions, not on-the-ground fire crew members. So far no equipment, such as fire engines, has been requested.

In the United States the protocol is for requests for international firefighting assistance to be first filled by federal agencies. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire protection, if the federal agencies can’t fill the requests, state agencies will be next in line.

Canada is also sending fire personnel to Australia. A fifth group is scheduled to depart for Victoria January 6, thus bringing the total number of Canadian personnel to 95. These latest deployments will then replace the first group of 21 that left for Australia December 3.

fires in East Gippsland Australia
An Air-Crane helicopter drops muddy water on one of the fires in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, December 30, 2019. Photo by Ned Dawson for Victoria State Government.

Six large privately owned fixed wing air tankers from North America are under contract to assist firefighters in Australia during their 2019-2020 bushfire season.

“As the extreme fire danger continues across Australia, the U.S. Department of the Interior will continue to do all that we can to support requests for assistance,” said Department of the Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire Deputy Director Craig Leff. “Our focus remains on helping the people of Australia and keeping people safe in these unprecedented conditions.”

The U.S., Australia, and New Zealand have been exchanging fire assistance for more than 15 years. Before the current fire season in Australia the most recent exchange occurred in August of 2018, when 138 Australian and New Zealand wildfire management personnel were sent to the U.S. for almost 30 days to assist with wildfire suppression efforts in Washington, Oregon, and California. The Australian and New Zealand personnel filled critical needs during the peak of the western fire season for mid-level fireline management, heavy equipment, helicopter operations, and structure protection. The last time the U.S sent firefighters to Australia was in 2010.

Below is the breakdown of what has been deployed as of January 3, 2020. The information is from National Interagency Fire Center spokeswoman Kari Cobb:

Group 1: Departed 12/7 (21 total)

  • 4 Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • 13 Forest Service (USFS)
  • 2 National Park Service (NPS)
  • 1 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)1 Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

Group 2: Departed 12/19 (9 total)

  • 1 BLM
  • 4 USFS
  • 1 NPS
  • 2 BIA
  • 1 FWS

Group 3: Departed 12/30 (42 total)

  • 9 BLM
  • 22 USFS
  • 3 NPS
  • 4 BIA
  • 3 FWS

Group 4: Departing January 4 (20 total)

  • 5 BLM
  • 11 USFS
  • 3 NPS
  • 1 FWS

Group 5: Departing January 6 (approximately 55-60 total)
(List not finalized)

Single resources that did not go with the groups, but flew separately. (8 total)

  • 5 BLM
  • 2 USFS
  • 1 NPS

Bushfire burns large portion of Kangaroo Island south of Adelaide Australia

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 1 Comment on Bushfire burns large portion of Kangaroo Island south of Adelaide Australia

Officials say the only safe areas on the island are the Kingscote and Penneshaw communities

Ravine Fire Kangaroo Island map
Satellite photo from January 3, 2020 local time showing the Ravine Fire on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The red dots represent heat. Later the wind shifted, blowing the smoke toward the northeast. NASA.

A very large bushfire has burned a considerable portion of the western half of Kangaroo Island south of Adelaide, South Australia. The police say the only safe places from the Ravine Fire are on the east end of the 88-mile long island in the Kingscote and Penneshaw communities.

The island is an 8-mile ferry ride away from the mainland south of Adelaide. The western third is forested and is the location of Flinders Chase National Park, much of which has burned in the fire. There are reports of significant damage to hotels and other facilities in and near the park.

Ravine Fire Kangaroo Island map
Kangaroo Island is at the lower left. Fires are indicated by the cross-hatched areas, but as of January 4 local time the areas shown as burned were not up to date.

Below is an excerpt from an article at The Islander:

The son of the owner of the cafe at the Flinders Chase National Park has posted this on social media: “For anyone wondering the Flinders Chase Visitor Centre and most surrounding buildings have been burnt down by the fire decimating the west end of the island. To my knowledge many families are now out of a steady income and will require as much assistance as possible, I’m sure the island will accommodate the needs of those suffering.

Ravine Fire Kangaroo Island
File photo of the Southern Ocean Lodge on the southwest coast of Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Southern Ocean Lodge photo.

A very high end resort on the southwest coast, the Southern Ocean Lodge, sustained damage from the fire after guests were evacuated from the rooms that cost over $1,000 a night. Six senior staff members remained on site to monitor the situation and activate the sprinkler system designed to protect the structures. Photos taken before the fire show brush growing very close to structures at the facility.

Ravine Fire Kangaroo Island
File photo of the Southern Ocean Lodge on the southwest coast of Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Southern Ocean Lodge photo.

The lightning-caused fire is burning toward the town of Parndana in the center of Kangaroo Island, prompting officials to issue an evacuation order for the community.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is reporting that “up to 150,000 hectares” (370,000 acres) have burned in the fire. If accurate, that would be about half of the island.

On Friday a northwest wind was pushing the fire to the southeast, but by early Saturday (local time) a southwest wind was blowing the smoke over the mainland south of Adelaide. Relative humidity at Parndana is predicted to be 60 to 80 percent Saturday, which should slow the fire’s spread. In addition, much of the eastern half of the island is agricultural or ranch land with occasional stringers of trees, which would reduce fire’s resistance to control and the spotting potential.

Bomber 137, a Boeing 737 dropped Ravine Fire Kangaroo Island
Bomber 137, a Boeing 737, made several drops on the Ravine Fire January 3, 2020 reloading near Adelaide.

A 737 air tanker, Bomber 137, normally based this summer at Richmond, made several water or retardant drops on the fire Friday, reloading at RAAF Edinburgh near Adelaide.

Country Fire Service (CFS) deputy chief officer Andrew Stark said a decision will have to be made concerning the plans for cruise ships to arrive in the coming days, anchoring off the coast of Penneshaw on the east end of the island.

Australian wildfire ordeal to worsen Saturday

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , ,

Hot, dry, and windy weather in southeastern Australia on Saturday could cause the bushfires to spread even more rapidly

fires in East Gippsland
One of the fires in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, December 30, 2019. Photo by Ned Dawson for Victoria State Government.

One of the first clues that the bushfire season in eastern Australia was going to be abnormal was when the 737 air tanker just purchased by the government began to be used on a fairly regular basis shortly after it arrived during the southern hemisphere winter. It made its first drop on August 8, 2019 more than three months before summer began.

Since that first drop the intensity of the fire season slowly grew during the rest of the winter and fall, and by the end of November was in full swing showing signs of what has become an unprecedented fire season.

The hot, dry, and windy conditions predicted for Saturday could make a bad situation worse. At Canberra, the capital, the wind will shift 180 degrees in the morning to come out of the northwest at 20 mph. The temperature will max out under mostly sunny skies at 105F with the relative humidity in the lower teens.

Based on the expected conditions, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service is recommending that holiday makers leave certain areas before burning conditions become even more dangerous on Saturday. Some of the “Tourist Leave Zones” include Khancoban, Snow Monaro, Shoalhaven, Batlow, Wondalga, and South Coast.

Here is an example:

The fire situation has escalated to the point where thousands of residents and vacationers were forced at the end of the decade to flee to the coast where they turned around to watch as the fire followed, burning until it ran out of fuel at the sand.

Navy ships have been mobilized to help feed and evacuate the evacuees, but it’s not as easy as it might seem. One of the first tasks is to determine who among the thousands at Mallacoota, Victoria, are willing and able to climb a ladder from a small boat up to the much larger Navy vessel built to carry 300 soldiers and 23 tanks. It is expected to transport about 800 evacuees. Those who can’t board the ship and still want to leave, may be removed from the burnt-over area by helicopters, but visibility degraded by smoke could make flying difficult.

Since Australia does not have a central point for collecting and distributing information about widespread bushfires, exact numbers are difficult to obtain, but on the continent between July and December approximately 12 million acres (4.8 million hectares) burned, the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.

In New South Wales alone as of January 1, 2020, the numbers of destroyed structures include 916 homes, 73 facilities, and 2,107 outbuildings.

There have been approximately 17 deaths related to the fires in Australia, including three firefighters.

Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons on Tuesday described the crisis as the “worst bushfire season on record”.

Meanwhile, two senior members of the government decided it was a good time to take vacations. The New South Wales Emergency Services Minister, David Elliot, came back home from the UK shortly after his personal trip was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald. Earlier he had said, according to the newspaper, that he would return “if the bushfire situation should demand it.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison cut his Hawaii vacation short following intense criticism.

Map fires and areas under threat Eastern Victoria
Map of fires and areas under threat in Eastern Victoria, Australia Jan. 2, 2019. Click here to download a high resolution version of the map.

Video shot by evacuees on the beach as fire burns to the coast in New South Wales

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 2 Comments on Video shot by evacuees on the beach as fire burns to the coast in New South Wales
fire Evacuees on beach Rosedale, NSW
Evacuees on the beach at Rosedale, NSW. Screenshot from the video below.

Residents and visitors in the New South Wales coastal town of Rosedale (map) had to evacuate to the beach on New Years Eve as a bushfire spread into the area.

Description of the Guardian video below:

Madeleine Kelly, 17, and her family were among people staying in Rosedale, a tiny coastal town 300km south of Sydney, when they were forced to flee to the beach ahead of huge bushfires on New Year’s Eve. The fires destroyed numerous properties in the town as horrified onlookers watched. The fire’s onslaught was halted when the wind changed, but people remained on the beach for hours afterwards before they could be evacuated to Moruya showgrounds by bus through the devastated town.