Thursday, October 10, 2013
Entry 8 - Sunday 20th February 1983
Ever since the 16th of February 1983,
that Wednesday has now been called Ash Wednesday. The fires that ruined so many
lives lasted 4 days, ending on Sunday the 20th. The winds had cooled
down and the fire-fighters finally got a chance to calm the fires, eventually
extinguishing the fire.
Entry 7 - 16th February 1983
As the cold front moved inland, winds became
much stronger, moving the fires south in long, narrow strips. Spot fires joined
the narrow fire strips, forming a much larger one ahead of the main fire. Fire-fighters
hired extra staff, equipment and aircraft. The CFA volunteers joined in to help
with the fire-fights, riding on the back of the trucks and trying there hardest
to put out the fires. SES volunteers came to help as well, declaring that Ash
Wednesday was a disaster.
Entry 6 - 16th February 1983
The fires spread across the Otway Ranges,
Adelaide Hills to the east of Melbourne and down along the Great Ocean Road. 8
areas in Victoria were considered severely affected by the fires, these places
were: Cudgee, East Trentham, Otway,
Belgrave Heights, Cockatoo, Monivae, Branxholme and Warburton. In total 75
people in both South Australia and Victoria were killed and 2,894
buildings/homes were lost.
Entry 5 - 16th February 1983
Chaos struck. Over a hundred fires started that
day in the Otway ranges, burning down almost anything in its path. Since the
drought had dried everything out, it made the leaves and trees easier to catch
fire. Not only did the drought play a big role though, that landscape did as
well. Since the ranges at Otway are steep, it aloud the fires to jump from one
hill to the other without having to go into the valley. That, combined with the
cold from heading inland made a match in hell.
Entry 4 - Wednesday 16th February 1983
It was the 16th of February when I
planned to leave, a full week after the dust cloud incident in Melbourne. It
was late afternoon when many fires were reported, and most in the driest and
hottest areas of Victoria. I hadn’t thought it was that bad considering the
many others fires in Victoria and south Australia, but as the winds became
stronger it became clear this was by far the worst.
Entry 3 - Sunday 13th February 1983
It had been a few days since the dust cloud
disappeared and nothing seemed to have happened. A few bushfires here and there
but other than that, it was a quite week.
Entry 2 - Wednesday 9th February 1983
I had come to Victoria to write an article about
the dust cloud that surrounded Melbourne, 9th February. It was an
incredibly windy day in Melbourne when suddenly a large cloud of dust swept
across the city. Everyone was in hysterics as the cloud was so thick and huge,
it had actually blocked out the sun. When looked into later that day, it was
discovered that strong winds had lifted up 200,000 tons of dry soil from the
ground and pushed across South Australia. The dust combined with smoke from
burning fires reduced visibility, which gave the fire-fighters little warning
of approaching fires.
Entry 1 - Bibliography
- http://www.abc.net.au/archives/80days/stories/2012/01/19/3411671.htm (75 Perish on Ash Wednesday)
- http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/fire-and-other-emergencies/major-bushfires-in-victoria/ash-wednesday-1983 (Archive page)
- http://www.google.com (Google)
- https://www.google.com.au/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi&ei=o1BWUvDTFs2tlQWY-IGoBQ&ved=0CAQQqi4oAg (Google images)
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