Sydney fires: member update ?

[chrisk]

i know quite a few members, some of whom dont post so regulalry, live out west and in the blue mountains. i hope you're all ok.

[gstark]

What Chris said.

Thanks for making this post, Chris.

[sirhc55]

Same goes from me . . .

[aim54x]

I'm still hoping people check in...

[bigsarg7]

I too have been thinking of the many members who live in the regions faced by the fires. I actually logged in to specifically see if everyone was ok. So I too am keen to know if everyone is ok and that I am praying no one looses their homes or businesses as a result of the fires.

[ozimax]

No news is good news I suppose, but our thoughts and prayers are with those affected.

[Mr Darcy]

OK.
Colin and I are in an area surrounded by, but not directly impacted by the fires. That may change tomorrow if the fire-and-brimstone people are right. but the nearest fire is over 20km away. Much of it admittedly inaccessible bush. The Southerly Change which seems to be what the firies are most worried about, should actually push the fires away from us. The fires are to the NW and in a wide arc to the north and around to the east

Colin is in the SES and probably has inside information, but is too busy to check in here much less post a reply.

I only checked in because I am packing up my backup boxes to take away if we evacuate tomorrow and I want to make sure this computer's backup is up to date. It may come to evacuation but we hope not.
With a 101 year old in tow, we probably should get out early, but the same 101 year old makes the process difficult. I spent an hour on the phone today to work out where we could take him as he has special needs that will probably not be met at the nearest evac centre. I got the royal run around but no answers. Not even the proverbial "come-on from the whores on 7th avenue" As of now we have no idea where we can go if we leave. The house is reasonably well prepared though with 10,000l water on tap and a petrol pump to drive it should the mains pressure fail. Earlier in the year we put in a series of sprinklers to the south of the house as that is where we perceived the greatest threat based on the lay of the land. Sadly this threat is coming from the north. Next years project - If the house makes it through the summer. We also have ember attack sprinklers on the roof itself, though these run from town water and so cannot be relied on.

Andrew is in an area more likely to be affected, but I have no information on his status. He is probably about 2km from the nearest burnt out area but I am not sure if that fire front remains active. The intervening area is full of houses, though as with everywhere up here, there is a lot of "bushiness" around him. If you look at the RFS map, he is to the south of the most southerly extent of the fire to my east (the Springwood fire) Navigate to the Current Incidents Map page and search on 2774. I am 2782. Colin is 2779.

[aim54x]

Thanks for hte update Greg...shame we do not see Andrew on here much anymore...we can only hope he is ok.

[biggerry]

fingers crossed, i got relos at Katoomba, wennie falls and blackheath, blackheath is pretty darn close atm, hopefully it will pass soon.

[chrisk]

sounds scrary greg. thanks for dropping by and updating. am thinking of all of you and hope you all make it out ok.

[Mr Darcy]

The rain and winds yesterday pushed all the smoke away, so while we watched and waited with some trepidation, it was actually a lovely day here yesterday. Except for the dratted sirens and helicopters. There should be a law against them (Just kidding)

Today is looking even better. It is currently 13 with only light winds though they should pick up as the day gets going. All our local fires are still burning, but behind containment lines, so should remain safe until we get high temps and strong winds again. What we really need is a good downpour.

After yesterday, we are seriously considering doubling or tripling our on property water supply. And upgrading our pumps. We currently have three. One feeds the house, one petrol driven dedicated fire pump - it empties the tank at an alarming rate - and a third whose main duty is to fill our main tank (7,000L) from our backup tank (3,000L) I tried using the latter to drive the ember defence sprinklers on the roof yesterday. Not a chance, so they remain reliant on town water pressure.

Current plan is to add a 10,000L tank beside the 7,000 one and close couple them. This will increase our house water supply as well as supplying extra for fire fighting at need. By putting a valve between the two tanks we will be able to separate them at need. Then another 10,000 to capture the remaining unharvested third of the roof. We don't have that harvested ATM as we use the current tanks for our water supply, and that part has the chimney on it . this leads to a risk of water contamination. But if we dedicate that part to fire use, we don't need to worry about the contamination.

The problem with doing this is that it costs money we don't have Around $5,000 for the tanks. More for the plumbing - the sprinkler heads we are using are about $100 each. More for extra pumps. They come at around $1K each. Hopefully we'll get there by mid winter so we will be in a better position next fire season.

[Remorhaz]

Thanks for the updates Greg - I'm pleased to hear for the moment things look to be improving

[aim54x]

Thanks for the updates Greg. Glad to hear that you have pulled through ok, fingers crossed that the weather and winds stay in your favour