Bushfires

'Do you smell smoke?'

Bushfires are raging fires, tearing through the bushland in remote and green bushy parts of a state's land. They are very destructive, and one of the most significant was in Victoria, 2009, in Kinglake and Marysville, along with a few other towns, on the day of February 7th, in Victoria. It was a terrible disaster, that caused millions of dollars' worth of damage, but after fire comes new growth, and plant shoots sprout out from where a black, burnt tree once stood.






 * Your Bushfire Emergency Plan... **
 * 1) **Where do you live?** Do you live in bushland, or where trees and bushes closely surround your home? Do you live near the sea, where the breeze could carry the embers from the fire towards your home? Or anywhere else with strong winds alot of the time?
 * 2) **Is your house bushfire prone?** By that I mean, is it wooden or weatherboard? If so, before a bushfire, wet the wood on your house and dampen it to act against that fire. Does it have sheds, outhouses, stables, or anything that could carry the fire closer to you and/or your house? Mow your lawn, because according to the NSW fire emergency plan, that's a very useful trick.
 * 3) **Find your bushfire survival kit,** that you should have when living in bushfire-prone areas.
 * 4) **Turn on your radio to a local staion,** and have spare batteries if it will by any chance run out. It will give you a little insight to what's really happening and where the fire's headed.
 * 5) **Move your pets to a safer area** with preferred less grass and well-cleared, with drinkable water. If you have cattle or livestock, or know anyone who does, do the same.

It's really important to **have a good emergency plan,** as well as a map of your house and surrounding areas, to deternimine which way you will use for your safety route. Mark the map with possible detours, and what to avoid. Get all members of the house to explain to everyone what they would do in a bushfire and where THEY would escape to.



6**.** **Remove flammable items** from the back of the house, and make sure you sweep ALL the leaves out of the gutter and back verandah. Just one leaf can ruin your life, and burn down your home. Fill the gutters with water, and if you have time, block the piping, or take the plastic water pipes off the outside walls.

7. **Is it safe?** If you have ever watched a tv show or news report about the Black Saturday Bushfires, or even read a book about it or just heard someone talk about it briefly, you'll know that a lot of the grief and damage was not only caused by the fire itself, but also desicions that the people in affected areas made. You've got to know whether it's safe or not to leave the house, fleeing, or stay and protect your home. A yes or a no can be fatal, whichever you choose. Think carefully, and DO NOT travel on roads with burning trees around you... Many people made that mistake and are no longer here today, for burning red trees fell onto their cars and were trapped. If in doubt of any descicion, even slightly, don't.

8. **Embers** are the things that are the most trouble. A lot of people think, "How can one fire create another one?" and the answer is very plain and simple; embers. The little teeny bit of burning debris that has been pushed out angrily by a fire. It flies through the air, still alight, and can just fall straight to the ground and crackle and erupt into flames, creating another bushfire. To protect yourself from nasty little embers, wear special clothing for a bushfire, which includes any kind of eye shelter, big, tough boots, baggy woolly jumpers, and broad-brimmed hats. In short, anything that you think would catch fire easily, don't wear, do the opposite. Hoses that eject mist far and wide rather than straight are great, and on a news report on Catalyst, they looked at the houses that withstood the bushfires, and one of the houses had one.


 * Just remember, always keep a look out, and be alert.**