South Australia on Fire

Catastrophic bushfire burning in South Australia kills three, thousands of animals

Thousands of animals burned alive by monster fire that has also killed up to three people, said a report.

Locals on social media estimate that as many as 9,000 pigs may have been burned alive in the Wasleys Piggery, one of the state’s largest pig farms.

• The massive fire has a 40km front and is burning uncontrollably.
• It’s burning north of Adelaide, and has a 211km perimeter, said the local fire chief, adding that there was a continuous fire line from Adelaide to Port Pirie.
• “We also know that there are many homes, sheds, crops and livestock losses due to the active fire front, I can’t give you exact figures at this point,” said South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill.
• Properties in Tarlee, Freeling and Kapunda have been affected by the blaze, which had burned more than 85,700 hectares on Wednesday.
• About 1,000 people are working to fight the blaze including 70 appliances on the ground along with 340 volunteer firefighters.
• The blaze has destroyed homes and buildings and was headed toward the wine-growing region of the Barossa Valley, said a report.

A Tsunami of Fire

The front of a massive bushfire nears a house at Mallala, north of Adelaide, November 25 2015. Credit: ABS News (Aus)

Hay bales catch alight during the catastrophic Mallala fire in South Australia. Image credit: ABC News/Tony Hill

A big fire burns in crops in the Mallala area, north of Adelaide, November 25 2015. Image credit: Supplied by Walco Seed Cleaning/ via ABC News (Aus)

More images posted at Bushfire burns north of Adelaide

More information at www.cfs.sa.gov.au

Australia Had Warmest Spring, Third-Warmest Year in 2014

CLIMATE CHANGE DISASTERS
EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS
MAJOR EMERGENCY
RISING TEMPERATURES
DESTRUCTIVE WILDFIRES
MASS EVACUATIONS
LOSS OF HABITAT
LOSS OF CROPS & LIVESTOCK
SCENARIOS 900, 800, 555, 444, 111, 101, 100, 080, 071, 070, 03, 02
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SSTs around Australia were unusually warm at 0.49°C above average

Australia recorded its third-warmest calendar year in 104 years, since national records began in 1910, said the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

“Today’s release of the Bureau of Meteorology Annual Climate Statement 2014 confirms Australia has recorded its third-warmest calendar year since national records began in 1910.”

Mean temperatures were 0.91C above the long-term average last year, said BOM.

“This follows the warmest year on record in 2013, which was 1.20°C warmer than average.”

The news comes amid South Australia’s worst bushfires in thirty years, as a major wildfire Adelaide Hills continues to burn uncontrollably, with soaring temperatures and strong winds forecast to fuel it further.

The monster blaze has already consumed at least 38 homes, 125 outbuildings and four businesses, the South Australian authorities have confirmed.

BOM Report: Selected Highlights

• Spring 2014 was the warmest on record in Australia.

• A number of major bushfires occurred during January and February, with particularly destructive fires in Victoria and South Australia.

• Six significant heatwaves and warm spells occurred, including one of southeast Australia’s most prolonged heatwaves in mid-January.

• Prolonged rainfall deficiencies continued for inland and southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales.

• Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) around Australia were unusually warm; 0.49°C above average for the year to November.

• Australian temperatures have warmed approximately one degree Celsius since 1950, and the continued warmth in 2014 adds to this long-term warming trend.

Bushfires Destroy Homes across SE Australia

EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATIC EVENTS
RAGING BUSHFIRES
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Bushfires spark emergency warnings across Victoria and South Australia

Scores of bushfires have consumed large swathes of Victoria and South Australia, destroying homes and farms amid the worst fire conditions since Black Saturday.

On and around February 7, 2009 (Black Saturday) bushfires killed at least 173 people, left more than 400 others injured, and destroyed about 2,000 homes.

“There has been no official confirmation of the number of properties lost but ABC reporters saw homes razed in the Gisborne, Craigieburn and Warrandyte areas,” reported ABC Australia.

Bushfires near Craigieburn, north of Melbourne, Victoria, February 9, 2014. Credit: Darren Arthur/ Audience submitted via ABC Aus.

Many residents have been ordered to leave their homes as flames spread to the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city.

• At least 70 bushfire are burning across the state of Victoria.
• More than 140 Emergency Warnings have been issued.

Authorities have closed roads across the devastated areas and told residents who evacuated their homes not to return, said the report.

Smoke rises from the Bangor bushfire in South Australia, February 9, 2014. Image Credit: Kendall Jackson/Audience submitted via ABC Aus.

South Australia

Meanwhile, the Bangor fire, which has consumed more than 30,000 hectares in South Australia, is slowly creeping  towards the towns of Beetaloo, Beetaloo Valey, Laura, Stone-Hutt, Wirrabara and Wirrabarra Forest, having breached its containment lines on Saturday, the report said.

Emergency Warnings: http://www.emergency.vic.gov.au

Developing story …

Related Links

• Southern Australia Burning in Another Day of Extreme Temperatures January 17, 2014
• Adelaide World’s Hottest City at 43.3°C January 16, 2014
• Uncontrolled Bushfires Rage in Victoria and South Australia January 15, 2014
• Australia: Temperatures Continue to Soar January 14, 2014
• Extreme Heat Wave Setting Australia on Fire January 13, 2014
• Record Heat Scorching Australia January 3, 2014

• Major Heatwave Enters 5th Day in Australia December 16, 2013
• Australia’s Bushfire Losses Top 1,000 October 25, 2013
• Costs of Back-to-back Disasters in Australia Continue to Mount October 22, 2013
• Australia Declares Emergency as NSW Bushfires Destroy “Hundreds of Homes” October 17, 2013

• Back-to-Back Disasters Could Hit Australia: FIRE-EARTH Forecast [Index of related links since 2007]

See also:

• Stick the Policies, Stop the Climate Change! February 12, 2009

Southern Australia Burning in Another Day of Extreme Temperatures

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
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Hundreds ordered to evacuate as  bushfires continue to rage out of control

A massive 45,000-hectare bushfire in Victoria is creating its own weather system, as authorities  declare multiple emergency warnings in the worst hit areas.

A 12-km convection column, known as a pyrocumulonimbus cloud [pyro-cb,] has been creating its own weather above the Grampians fire, including thunderstorms and lightning, said a report.

The American Meteorological Society describes pyro-cb as “a cumulus cloud formed by a rising thermal from a fire, or enhanced by buoyant plume emissions from an industrial combustion process.”

Image shows a pyro-cb column forming above the Grampians fire. Screen dump from ABC Australia Video clip.

Hundreds of bushfire are burning across Australia including more than 70 in the state of Victoria, which are raging out of control. Dozens more blazes are burring in South Australia, West Australia and at least 45 in New South Wales.

Officials have confirmed that a woman was killed in the Grampians fire at Roses Gap, whilst a number of homes were destroyed in South Australia’s Eden Valley northeast of Adelaide, said a report.

The flames are spreading so fast, they were described as being like “running water” by a helicopter crew monitoring the disaster areas.

Authorities also fear that up to 25 fires currently burning uncontrollably east of Victoria could join to form a mega fire measuring at least 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres).

More than 1,000 fires across Southern Australia have been sparked by lightning since last week.

Developing story …

• Australia’s National Warnings Summary

Related Links

• Adelaide World’s Hottest City at 43.3°C January 16, 2014
• Uncontrolled Bushfires Rage in Victoria and South Australia January 15, 2014
• Australia: Temperatures Continue to Soar January 14, 2014
• Extreme Heat Wave Setting Australia on Fire January 13, 2014
• Record Heat Scorching Australia January 3, 2014

• Major Heatwave Enters 5th Day in Australia December 16, 2013
• Australia’s Bushfire Losses Top 1,000 October 25, 2013
• Costs of Back-to-back Disasters in Australia Continue to Mount October 22, 2013
• Australia Declares Emergency as NSW Bushfires Destroy “Hundreds of Homes” October 17, 2013

• Back-to-Back Disasters Could Hit Australia: FIRE-EARTH Forecast [Index of related links since 2007]