hey guys i just want to share the tragic news happening in australia right now, some people think its funny to light fires and mind you these are arson all delibertly lit and many people have lost their homes and family and the fires are still burning, lucky for me it hasnt affected me or my family but my heart goes out to those who have. One-hundred-and eight people have been confirmed dead in the ferocious bushfires that ripped through Victoria at the weekend, according to The Department of Sustainability and Environment. The staggering death toll makes these blazes some of which are still burning the deadliest in Australia's history and there are fears that the number of fatalities will rise again. There was little rest for many firefighters overnight, with 25 bushfires still raging out of control at 3.30am (AEDT) today, but in some areas rain brought some relief. At least 750 homes have been destroyed and an estimated 330,000ha burnt out while authorities said some fires could take weeks to contain. The latest death toll, announced at 6.30am (AEDT), surpasses the toll from the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, in which 75 people died in Victoria and South Australia, and the Black Friday bushfires of 1939, which killed 71. Reflecting the chaos caused by the fires, police early today said they could not identify the exact location where five of the victims died. Of the 108 confirmed deaths, at least 63 perished in the largest blaze, in the Kinglake region, that has cut a vast swath across the central highlands from Wandong, south to Kinglake and nearby Saint Andrews, and northeast towards the upper Goulburn Valley. One fire official said the blaze now had a perimeter extending hundreds of kilometres and may take weeks to contain. The Kinglake fire, which sprawls across 220,000ha about two-thirds of the area destroyed by fires across Victoria has all but consumed towns including Kinglake and Marysville. It was expected more burned houses, and more victims, would be found once day broke. Survivors of the blaze at Kinglake, northeast of Melbourne, have told how the deadly inferno was like a tornado. It was like half a dozen F-18s coming up the mountain at once and it gave you about three to five minutes to get inside and get out of the heat, one man whose home was completely destroyed told Nine News. There was very little time to react, he said. The radiant heat was awesome. And then like that everything was gone. It's ripped my heart out, my life and soul. Another survivor told Nine News he narrowly escaped death in a car. It was like a tornado we were driving through, both sides of [the road] we were on, and I've never been so terrified in all my life ... you know I've never feared much in life but I tell you what, last night it was terrible. A woman staying with a friend at Kinglake said a badly burned man and his daughter arrived at the property yesterday. The father said his wife and other child had been killed. He had skin hanging off him everywhere and his little girl was burnt, but not as badly as her dad, Marie Jones told The Age. he just came down and he said 'Look, I've lost my wife, I've lost my other kid, I just need you to save [my daughter]'. According to residents, much of the town of Kinglake, which suffered at least eight deaths, had been destroyed and nearby Marysville was wiped off the map as the fireball showed no mercy on a fearful Saturday night and early Sunday morning. It was a most horrible day. It's going to look like Hiroshima, I tell you, it's going to look like a nuclear bomb. There's animals dead all over the road, Kinglake resident Chris Harvey told AAP. Six of the victims were in one car trying to outrun the inferno which swept through Kinglake in minutes. Dr Harvey said the town was littered with burnt-out cars, and he believed many contained bodies. Dr Harvey's daughters Victoria and Ali, both in their 20s, told of a local man, Ross, who lost both his daughters and possibly a brother. He apparently went to put his kids in the car, put them in, turned around to go grab something from the house, then his car was on fire with his kids in it, and they burnt, Victoria said. Fires still burning Victorian Emergency Control Centre spokeswoman Caroline Douglass said the Kinglake fire poses two major threats. Residents of Taggerty, Acheron, Snobs Creek and Eildon are on alert, with the fire active in their area. There are quite a lot of hot spots in that area and it is still quite dangerous, Ms Douglass said. Residents in the Kinglake area have also been asked to remain alert, with containment lines not completed. Fears are held for communities near Beechworth, in the state's north-east, where a fire has burned 30,000ha so far, Ms Douglass said. Two people died at the village of Mudgeegonga, in the hills south of Beechworth on Sunday. Ms Douglass said the fire was still threatening Stanley, Bruarong, Dederang, Gundowring, Gundowring Upper, Kancoona, Kancoona South, Coral Bank, Glen Creek and Running Creek. The fire had entered the Mount Big Ben area, south-east of Yackandandah, and while quiet overnight may affect Kergunyah, Kergunyah South and Gundowring North during the morning. Further spotting east of the Kiewa River may also put the towns of Eskdale and Little Snowy Creek at risk. The wind is expected to swing to the south and it will push the fire in the direction of Yackandandah over the next day, she said. In Gippsland, the 32,860ha Churchill fire burned almost to the coast and claimed 21 lives. Ten died at Calignee, south of Traralgon in the Latrobe Valley, with five dead at nearby Hazlewood, two at Jeeralang and four at Koornalla. Fire activity had eased overnight but a host of townships are on alert, including Hazelwood South, Jeeralang, Jeeralang North, Jeeralang Junction, Balook, Le Roy, Jumbuck, Valley View, Budgeree East, Traralgon South, Callignee, Calignee North, Calignee South, Carrajung Lower, Won Wron, Woodside, Devon North, Yarram, Calrossie, Alberton, Tarraville, Port Albert, Langsborough, Manns Beach and Robertsons Beach. The Bunyip Ridge fire in west Gippsland burned 25,000ha. It has much-reduced fire behaviour, which is great, but we are yet to get containment lines around it completely. We ask residents to remain vigilant there, Ms Douglass said. A blaze that has killed two people at Bendigo, and another near Horsham, have been contained by fire crews. With fires also burning in the Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne, staff at Healesville Sanctuary have evacuated its entire threatened species collection. Staff have transferred 60 helmeted honeyeaters (including eggs and hatchlings), 25 mountain pygmy possums and their pouch young, 32 Tasmanian devils, 69 orange-bellied parrots, two brush-tailed rock Wallabies and five koalas to Melbourne Zoo as part of the sanctuary's emergency management plan. Ms Douglass said the weather was the key to gaining the upper hand. The weather in the south has been much cooler. In the north of the state, though, it's still very warm. It's very dry, she said. Moderate to fresh southwest to southerly winds are predicted for Victoria, with isolated light showers on and south of the ranges and morning isolated thunderstorms in the north, where it would remain warm with very high fire danger. Workers at the emergency control centre are doing it tough but are more worried about firefighters in the field, Ms Douglass said. It's certainly sombre, especially as they keep updating the death toll. Every time it goes up, it gets a bit quieter, she said. It's hard to keep going knowing the impact this is having in the broader community but I think it's a lot harder on the firefighters out doing their jobs that keep discovering more houses that are burnt or more remains of people. It must be very tough on them. Noise of fire 'indescribable' Jim Scott, a resident of Kinglake for 22 years, yesterday said the loss of life was devastating. This horrific wind came through and just took the roof off our house, our shed, he told the Nine Network. I've never seen anything like it, it was horrific. This is devastating, the loss of life. Sue Aldred, another resident of the Kinglake area, said she lost a couple of sheds on the family property, but saved their house. All of a sudden we were in a raging inferno, there was coloured smoke and the noise was indescribable, she told the Nine Network. It was terrifying. I did fear for my life at one point, there was a horrible moment of indecision where I just thought... I'm going to stay here and beat this flame back, and where do I hide?... which building do I hide in? It was horrible. Raylene Kincaide, a resident of Narbethong, northeast of Melbourne, said her home had been destroyed and there was little left of the town. Everyone we know has lost everything they had - it's not nice, she told ABC Radio. I've been in Ash Wednesday but this is probably worse. [x] A 15-year-old boy has been charged with lighting a scrub fire in the NSW Blue Mountains. <a class="first tab-selected"></a> <a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/video.aspx" title="Latest videos">Latest videos</a></h3> <a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/video.aspx?videoid=81177b26-338a-4d5d-af7a-261d6669c004" class="vidImgLink" title="Death toll climbs to 108"> </a> <a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/video.aspx?videoid=81177b26-338a-4d5d-af7a-261d6669c004" class="vidStrapLink" title="Death toll climbs to 108">Death toll climbs to 108</a> Posted: 08/02/2009 <a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/video.aspx?videoid=df26a369-635d-4600-b0ae-a7550b5c1c46" class="vidImgLink" title="Number of homeless set to rise"> </a> <a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/video.aspx?videoid=df26a369-635d-4600-b0ae-a7550b5c1c46" class="vidStrapLink" title="Number of homeless set to rise">Number of homeless set to rise</a> Posted: 08/02/2009 <a href="http://direct.ninemsn.com.au/ADCLICK/CID=fffffffcfffffffcfffffffc/SITE=NEWS/AREA=NATIONAL/SUBSECTION=/LOC=RIGHT.1/AAMSZ=PROMOCLIP/METHOD=JSCRIPT/PAGEID=1234125816090/ACC_RANDOM=1234125826076" ></a> -- Edited by Chars at 16:02, 2009-02-08-- Edited by Chars at 16:04, 2009-02-08
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