FIRE-EARTH Alert: TMGP

CJ Members

FIRE-EARTH Alert: TMGP

• Details of the TMGP Alert are available from BEACONS.

Mass Evacuation Ordered as Wildfire Threatens Homes in SoCal

“Old Fire” consumes 500 acres, threatens 1,200+ residences in Calabasas, LA County

The fast moving wildfire broke out Saturday afternoon and rapidly burned about 500 acres in and around Calabasas neighborhoods prompting the authorities to order at least 5,000 people to abandon their homes.

The fire was fulled by strong winds, low relative humidity and 100-degree (F) temperatures.

The fire was apparently sparked when a pickup truck struck a power pole on Mulholland Highway in Calabasas, according to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

“Witnesses reported that the truck was traveling at a high rate of speed before colliding into a power pole, causing the pole to fall and a transformer to explode, thus igniting the Calabasas fire.”

 

Extreme Weather Events Pummel Australia

Extreme Rain Events, High Winds  Pummel NSW, Tasmania as Queensland Mops Up

“Wild weather that thrashed parts of Queensland over the weekend is continuing to pummel New South Wales, with the east coast low pressure system reaching as far south as Tasmania amid warnings of heavy rain, flash flooding and damaging winds,” said a report.

A flood evacuation warning is in place for multiple areas in NSW including residents living along the Georges River, in Sydney’s southwest, the report said.

Huge surf is also causing widespread coastal erosion with police door knocking affected homes in the Northern Beaches.

Hundreds of thousands of homes across the state have been affected by power outages as a result of wild weather.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from North Lismore, as major flooding peaked at 9.1 meters in the Lismore area Sunday afternoon.

The weather system has also extended down to Tasmania, with an “exceptional” huge swell expected to hit Tasmania’s north-east on Monday.

The state is predicted to receive up to 200 millimeters of rain in the coming days, with warnings of flash flooding.

Flood warnings are in place for eight rivers in the state, with major warnings current for the Meander River and Mersey River, with forecasters warning the Mersey basin is at most risk of major flooding.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has forecast ‘king waves’ of up to eight meters to cause erosion along the northeast coast.

Mount Victoria recorded rainfall amounts of 76mm, with destructive winds peaking at 107 km/h at Mount Read.

“That north-easterly swell’s actually getting up to the six to seven-metre mark on Monday which is very, very, large for our secondary swell,” a BoM forecaster said.

“Typically we only see those swell heights in our south-westerly stream. So it’s an exceptional swell for the east coast.”

Since Friday morning, 382mm of rain had fallen at Upper Springbrook in the Gold Coast hinterland, with nearby Mount Tamborine receiving  357mm, BoM reported.