Healesville Sanctuary Fires force Healesville zoo evacuation

Hopefully the fires can be got to asap, this is now proclaimed as the worst natural disaster in Australia from what our teacher told us we have set up a school donation fund.
 
I spoke to John Gibbons (Healesville's director) a little while ago and he says the fires are just to the north of Healesville township. The Sanctuary is about seven kms south of the township. Apparently a few houses in Healesville have been lost, but the firebombing by the helcopters has done a lot of good at protecting most of the town. Of course, everyone remains on alert because conditions can change quickly. Few fire-injured animals have been brought in to the vet centre, but that will probably change when things calm down and access to fire-ravaged areas is permitted again.

Hopefully the weather will change for the better and the fires can be either contained or extinguished.

:(

Hix
 
Fires are still to the north of the town (sanctuary is on the south side).

Report on the radio this morning:

AM - Bushfire still threatens Healesville

The programme coming to you from one of the best known country towns in Victoria which is this morning still flanked by bushfires.

I'm on the balcony of a pub in the tree lined main street of Healesville and across the road is the bushfire relief centre, where people come for help.

There's low dark clouds this morning, but no forecast rain. As you look out to the hills the smoke rises from several fires that have been burning for days.

The animals in the famous sanctuary we're evacuated over the weekend.

But the fires torment Healesville's residents.

Since Saturday evening the focus has been on the fire victims and survivors. Rescue, retrieval and care have of course been paramount.

But for those people who remain in the dozens of fire affected and threatened areas there's a dreadful uncertainty, will the wind change direction and put their homes, and them, in harm's way.

...
Click to expand...

[ame]http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/news/audio/am/200902/20090211-am01-healesville-scene-setter.mp3[/ame]
 
We're doing the best we can to help out victims over here, all goverment schools in Victoria will have a Free dress day ( casual clothing) on this friday to try raise money for bush fire victims.
 
Did everyone see the photo of the koala being fed water from a bottle? That one koala is saved but I dread to think of the tens of thousands of animals that will have been killed.
 
I dont know if this photo has been put in any media yet. It was taken by a bloke on another forum. He said it came up to them while they were having lunch. After its drink it sat with them a while and watched the smoke from the fires.


 
over one million native animals are thought to have died in this fire. i guess thats just counting marsupials...
i hope this fire stimulates a review, and overhaul of our country's bushfire management plan. we need to accept that we live in an environment engineered to burn by tens of thousands of years of aboriginal mosaic burning; and initiate a pattern of backburning that will lessen the buildup a fuel which has resulted in such terrible death tolls.
whilst we cannot help the crazy arsonists, you cannot tell me that authorities, including NPWS across the different states have done enough in terms of fire management/prevention. this may stem from lack of government spending, regulation and control including building codes in bushland areas etc and i think theyre just as much to blame as the arsonists.
currently there is a huge national and international media focus on the Victoria fires; i only wish that once the pain and interest subsides that this 'hot' story sustains enough attention to cause some sort of long-term action that goes beyond an inquiry and actually results in a managed fire regime so emergencies like this are prevented.
theres my rant
 
I agree completly Glyn. Most of our bush needs burning at least every 10 years. Most of the areas around Melbourne which have just been burnt have not been burnt for 25 years or more.

I believe that the governments making such a big deal about arsonists will encourage more fires to be lit by copycat offenders.

The reason they are pusing the arson side more than the poor forest management is that they are responsable for the forest management and are pushing the blame away from themselfs.

The arsonists need to be caught but if small areas were regually burnt the fires even on bad days would not be nealy as fierce and would do a lot less damage.
 
Here is some info I coppied from another site. It shows how little preparation there was for fires and how the shires contributed to the disaster.


"Bizarrely, Mitchell Shire Council even made a ratepayer, Liam Sheahan, pay $100,000 in fines and costs for clearing his own fire break, which last weekend saved his Reedy Creek home from the fire storm which destroyed many houses around it.

And Nillumbik Shire, which contains Kinglake, last year warned ratepayers it had just fined two people for clearing trees from around their own homes, and another for simply picking up dead wood from the roadside.

“Nillumbik values its large tree canopies, they are major contributors to the landscape and character of our shire, and provide a familiar habitat for our precious wildlife,” the mayor wrote.

His trees now? Gone. The houses, too."


2003. David Packham, academic and former CSIRO bushfire scientist, in a study for Nillumbik residents of roads around Kinglake, where many have now died:

“The mix of fuel, unsafe roadsides and embedded houses, some with zero protection and no hope of survival, will ensure that when a large fire impinges upon the area a major disaster will result.”

2003. Nillumbik Ratepayers Association in a letter to WorkCover:

“The threat is that many of the roads including major ones and access roads to some schools and aged-care facilities have developed dangerous levels of fuel that on extreme fire danger days could generate fire behaviour that would not be survivable . . .

“This risk has been created by application of Government and shire planning controls that have prevented fuel reduction on roadsides.”
 
Selfless volunteers fight to save wildlife - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Staff who have lost their own homes in Victoria's bushfires are continuing to work at Healesville Sanctuary, saving the lives of injured animals.

The sanctuary has been inundated with native animals who have been injured in the fires.

The sanctuary is closed to the public, but the Australian Wildlife Centre has a skeleton staff there caring for animals including possums, koalas and lyrebirds.

Spokeswoman Judy Robertson says some animals have had to be euthanased, and others face months of rehabilitation.

She says staff are doing what they can to help wildlife, while also dealing with their own losses.

"We unfortunately have some staff who have been devastated with the loss of their home, and given that Healesville is a very close community, we've also had a lot of staff affected by the loss of friends and family and their homes, so it's been quite a stressful time," she said.

"We expect a lot more [animals]. Unfortunately, many that we've seen have had to be euthanased, some have severe burns and smoke damaged throats and lungs, and many we're sure that we'll get in soon, will face many weeks and months of rehabilitation."

The sanctuary has had strong support from around the world, with people from countries including Germany, Japan, the US and the UK donating money via a link on the Zoos Victoria website.
Click to expand...
 
I just saw a little piece on the news about the wildlife coming into Healesville to be treated for burns etc. There was a chap from Healesville talking about how some threatened species may be pushed over the edge by these disastrous wildfires through loss of individuals and loss of habitat; in particular were mentioned Leadbeater's possum and helmeted honeyeater
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top