An Explanation For Out-Of-Towners
Feb. 9th, 2009 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deird_lj(Marysville has been wiped off the map. I'm still trying to take this in...)
I thought I'd make another bushfire related post. Just to explain some stuff about what "bushfire" actually means down here.
You see, we don't get earthquakes, or hurricanes, or snowstorms. What we do get are droughts, floods, and bushfires.
The first is pretty much ongoing and has been for years, the second is more unusual, and the third happens pretty much every February.
This is due to a complete lack of water, and exploding trees.
No Water
Yes, folks, I really mean that. There is no water.
Okay, so there's drinking water, and so forth. But there isn't just... water lying around on the ground...
Um...
Let's see if I can clarify that a bit.
If you should happen to be in the bush (ie - bits of countryside that have trees), and you get lost, the first thing you do is find water.
The second thing you do is to stay at the water.
Because, if you lose sight of the water source you find, chances are you won't find any more until it's way too late.
Our country has water. But it's pretty hard to find. And there's really no guarantee that it's there.
...which basically means that, as a rule, our rural areas are very dry, most of the time.
This isn't the major problem.
Gum Trees
This is the major problem.
Gum Trees (or "Eucalyptus Trees") are native to Australia - so pretty much every single tree you'll find outside of Melbourne is probably going to be a gum tree.
And they explode.
More precisely, the term "eucalyptus tree" is a fairly handy hint that these trees contain eucalyptus oil.
They are, in fact, soaked in the stuff.
And eucalyptus oil just happens to be highly flammable.
This is quite useful if you're going camping.
Want to start a campfire? Forget finding lots of tinder - just grab some gum leaves, chuck them in, and the fire will get going instantly.
This is true even if the entire area has been soaked in rain for a week. Sopping wet gum leaves will still burn just fine.
Are you starting to see the problem?
What It's Like
To come up with an equivalent fire-danger situation:
1) Find a wood factory.
2) Drive a truck containing paper into the factory.
3) Chuck paper everywhere.
4) Get a whole lot of petrol, or ethanol, or methylated spirits.
5) Dowse everything in the factory in your flammable substance of choice.
6) Turn the thermostat up to 45 degrees (115 F).
7) Light a match.
...like that.
Except that, in this case, the wood factory covers an entire state.
On a hot day, the eucalyptus oil inside the gum leaves starts evaporating and forming little oil clouds around the trees. Get a spark within a metre of the tree, and the entire thing will go up faster than you can blink.
Get a whole bunch of trees in a row, and the flames go from tree to tree as if a lot of tiny nuclear bombs have just been dropped: one little mushroom cloud after another.
When we say "bushfires", that's the kind of thing we mean.
Of course, if you're not in the mood for me being long-winded, you can just look at these.
I thought I'd make another bushfire related post. Just to explain some stuff about what "bushfire" actually means down here.
You see, we don't get earthquakes, or hurricanes, or snowstorms. What we do get are droughts, floods, and bushfires.
The first is pretty much ongoing and has been for years, the second is more unusual, and the third happens pretty much every February.
This is due to a complete lack of water, and exploding trees.
No Water
Yes, folks, I really mean that. There is no water.
Okay, so there's drinking water, and so forth. But there isn't just... water lying around on the ground...
Um...
Let's see if I can clarify that a bit.
If you should happen to be in the bush (ie - bits of countryside that have trees), and you get lost, the first thing you do is find water.
The second thing you do is to stay at the water.
Because, if you lose sight of the water source you find, chances are you won't find any more until it's way too late.
Our country has water. But it's pretty hard to find. And there's really no guarantee that it's there.
...which basically means that, as a rule, our rural areas are very dry, most of the time.
This isn't the major problem.
Gum Trees
This is the major problem.
Gum Trees (or "Eucalyptus Trees") are native to Australia - so pretty much every single tree you'll find outside of Melbourne is probably going to be a gum tree.
And they explode.
More precisely, the term "eucalyptus tree" is a fairly handy hint that these trees contain eucalyptus oil.
They are, in fact, soaked in the stuff.
And eucalyptus oil just happens to be highly flammable.
This is quite useful if you're going camping.
Want to start a campfire? Forget finding lots of tinder - just grab some gum leaves, chuck them in, and the fire will get going instantly.
This is true even if the entire area has been soaked in rain for a week. Sopping wet gum leaves will still burn just fine.
Are you starting to see the problem?
What It's Like
To come up with an equivalent fire-danger situation:
1) Find a wood factory.
2) Drive a truck containing paper into the factory.
3) Chuck paper everywhere.
4) Get a whole lot of petrol, or ethanol, or methylated spirits.
5) Dowse everything in the factory in your flammable substance of choice.
6) Turn the thermostat up to 45 degrees (115 F).
7) Light a match.
...like that.
Except that, in this case, the wood factory covers an entire state.
On a hot day, the eucalyptus oil inside the gum leaves starts evaporating and forming little oil clouds around the trees. Get a spark within a metre of the tree, and the entire thing will go up faster than you can blink.
Get a whole bunch of trees in a row, and the flames go from tree to tree as if a lot of tiny nuclear bombs have just been dropped: one little mushroom cloud after another.
When we say "bushfires", that's the kind of thing we mean.
Of course, if you're not in the mood for me being long-winded, you can just look at these.
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no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 12:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 12:07 am (UTC)Sending many good thoughts for the people of Australia. Stay safe.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 01:12 am (UTC)I'd never quite grasped how insanely bad it is. Please don't get all fiery, kay?
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 02:34 am (UTC)Now I want some gum leaves for firestarters at camp. But wow.
Dang, it looks like Katrina with burn everywhere instead of stuff everywhere. Eerie and deserted and dead.
I'll be keeping you all in my prayers.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 03:11 am (UTC)The wind also blows the dry leaves and bark to the ground, to provide lots and lots of kindling.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 03:14 am (UTC)Stay cool and damp, all right?
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 04:53 am (UTC)η
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 06:47 am (UTC)η
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 06:16 am (UTC)*flame-retardant hugs*
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 07:27 am (UTC)Live and learn... Exploding trees. Interesting, and *extremely* scary!
I *never* thought I'd say this, but reading your reports actually makes me appreciate the sleet and slush we're having here right now.
The fires are all over the news here, so I've been following the situation and thinking about the people of Australia. More and more death and destruction. Awful! :´(
Stay safe!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 08:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 06:46 pm (UTC)Mountain Ash Old Growth Forests
Date: 2009-02-10 10:57 am (UTC)