Western Australia Burning

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Quote :

Bushfires on the outskirts of Perth in Western Australia have destroyed more than 60 homes, officials say.

One blaze has now largely been brought under control, but fire-fighters are still battling the fires to the east and north of the city.

High flames are being whipped up by winds of up to 70km/h (44mph). Hundreds of people have left their homes.

The blazes come exactly two years after 173 people died in bushfires that swept through the southern state of Victoria.

End Quote Colin Barnett Western Australia Premier

More than 100 firefighters are battling from the ground and air to extinguish the fires in the bush-fringed suburbs of Perth.

Swirling flames engulfed 64 houses and damaged 32 more, officials said. There have been no reports of serious injuries or fatalities.

Residents of one Perth suburb, Clifton Hills, have been told they are allowed to return home.

A Fire and Emergency Services Authority incident controller told a meeting of affected residents that the fire had been contained.

But other residents could face a longer wait as the fires in their area, while under control, are still burning.

Quote :

Residents of one Perth suburb, Clifton Hills, have been told they are allowed to return home.

Sure! Go back home near the fires! Don't worry, it'll be safe!

I know they were arresting people at one point to stop idiots who insisted on going back too early.

Australia has probably had the worst start to the year to date. Floods, cyclones, fires... I learnt yesterday that my aunty's sister found her house had been condemned after fleeing from the Cyclone Yasi. She just had a baby and her husband is expected go back to work in a week. They can't find any accommodation and any that becomes available is exorbitantly expensive. Geez...

I wasn't aware anything but kangaroos lived in western Australia.

Also, when was the last time Australia went a year without some wildfire wreaking havoc? I say we rename the country Kindling Rock.

Maybe this one hit harder at home than usual because I know someone there whose family lost everything.

Goodness knows I've seen lots of fires in Montana.

We have a hell of a lot of fires in Aus, its the kinda country we live in, but they have been especially bad for the past few years. Same thing with our cyclones and floods

Wow, but Mother Nature is really pissing on Austrailia this year. And it's only February.

Harley Quinn hyenaholic wrote:

Wow, but Mother Nature is really pissing on Austrailia this year. And it's only February.

Now they're moving into fall, though, so maybe things will calm a bit.

Yeah, all the bad stuff generally happens in summer here, so we all breath a little sigh of relief once autumn kicks in. I think we might still get some cyclones, but hopefully they'll be low category ones.