NSW Australia - fires "under control"

[masraum]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/all-fires-australias-most-populous-state-are-now-contained-180974213/

It has been called Australia’s “black summer”—nearly six months of devastating bushfires that raged across the country, burning through more than 11 million hectares of land, causing the deaths of at least 33 people, and killing an estimated one billion animals. But on Thursday, fire officials took to Twitter with some good news: After days of heavy rain, all of the fires burning in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, are now under control.

“After what’s been a truly devastating fire season for both firefighters and residents who suffered through so much this season, all fires are now contained in New South Wales,” said NSW Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers in the video update. “Which is great news.”

Some fires continue to burn in the southern part of the state, Rogers noted, but are classified as contained.

New South Wales has been particularly hard-hit by the conflagrations. Two blazes alone, the Currowan and Gospers Mountain fires, each tore through some 500,000 hectares of land there, according to BBC News. Heavy downpours that began last week helped stamp out the Currowan fire, as well as the Lindfield Park Road fire, which had burned for 210 days.

The rains marked a shift from a prolonged drought that has afflicted Australia for the past three years. Parched conditions made it easier for fires to spread—and more difficult to extinguish them.

“Because it was so dry, you could be getting 50 millimeters [of rainfall] and that rain would just be absorbed very quickly,” Simon Heemstra of the Rural Fire Service tells BBC News. “And within a couple of days that vegetation had dried out again and started burning again.”

But the recent downpours were torrential, with some parts of the country experiencing more than 400 millimeters of rain. The deluge not only tempered bushfires in New South Wales, but also filled dams that had plummeted during months of dry weather. According to NPR’s Bill Chappell, water storage for the greater Sydney area has hit 75.1 percent, up 33.4 percent since last Thursday.

The rains have, however, been a mixed blessing. Last week, the New South Wales Bureau of Meteorology warned of “very dangerous conditions” caused by torrential rains, high winds, waves and tides. Over the course of 24 hours, the NSW State Emergency Service received around 2,500 calls for help because of the deluge, reports NPR. According to BBC News, flash floods in the state of Queensland led to the death of one person. Residents have also been dealing with power outages and flooded roads.

Then there is the matter of the forces driving Australia’s extreme weather. Wildfires have long been a part of Australia’s natural history, but experts say the country’s fire season has become longer and more extreme due to climate change. Heavy rains have been linked to climate change, too. A 2017 report by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, for instance, found that “climate variability can profoundly change rainfall patterns and intensity over the Pacific Ocean from year to year,” making both droughts and flooding more likely.

But for flame-weary Australians, the abatement of months of fires still comes as a relief.

Now that the flames have subsided in New South Wales, said Rogers in the video, “We can really focus on helping people rebuild.”

[Bill Douglas]

It's New Zealand's fault.

My theory. NZ has warmed up so much we get a large high pressure sitting over the country. Small high pressure systems move away in a day or two, but these large ones stay for a week or more. this creates a low pressure system that stalls and it routes hot humid air from the Samoa area straight onto Australia's east coast where it condenses into rain.. Two weeks of this and the place is under water.

It didn't use to happen.

[Steve Viegas]

If my conversion is right, that is about 12 times the size of the California fires of 2018. I can't even imagine the devastation. So many places to send my positive thoughts these days...

[Sooner or later]

About the size of Indiana

[Tobra]

Freakin' Kiwis

Seriously though, other than the precipitating torrential floods in Australia thing, they are they are pretty good neighbors aren't they Bill? If they were like China they would be sending you sheep flu or something.

At least the rain puts out the fires for you. Glass half full, don't build near the creek.

[masraum]

found this on the net.

http://11.4 mha is 44,015.646 sq miles or 114,000 sq km ...Pennsylvania is 45,310 sq. miles

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Tobra

they are they are pretty good neighbors aren't they Bill? If they were like China they would be sending you sheep flu or something.

The countries are pretty close. A lot of Kiwis live there and even more Australians live here. Joint military exercises and compatible systems and equipment. Our firemen learn a lot by helping out in Aus and the US, so that works out well. They beat us up a little but heaven help anyone else who tries to beat us up as they see themselves as our big bro.

[sc_rufctr]

Damn Bill... We love the Kiwis.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

damn bill... We love the kiwis.

anzac....

[Bill Douglas]

Lol