Yeah. It's sorta scary cos Dunedin is not normally a high risk fire area. In fact it's more known as being a bit on the cold & rainy side. Lived here 20 years now & never even heard of a forest fire in the area.
The high winds (100K/hr & gusty) are a problem too as they're not just fanning the fire, they're also reducing flyability for the helicopters.
God this is wierd weather we're having this year.
We had spring start halfway through August (usually the coldest month) when it doesn't usually start until a month later. For the most part it's been warm & dry... drought comming type weather... but the other morning it was snowing!???
News just on. They think they've got the fire back under control. The people in Ravensbourne have been allowed back home but are to stay on alert tonight (apparently they were taken out last night in the middle of the night still in their PJ's ane everything) & they've bulldozed a new, wider fierbreak to try & stop it spreading. Although with these winds that's not really much more than a sop to the public. The winds are wierd too. It's blowing up a storm even out here in Careys bay & normally we're so sheltered that even if it's really windy in town, out here it's barely a gentle breeze.
Just had a thought. there's a buch of eucalypts up the hill beside us. Better hope nothing blows out this way as Eucalypts are a fire waiting to happen.
I remember back when I used to live in Alexandra (that is a high risk fire area) & the council went around planting Eucalyptus trees everywhere in one of their beautification schemes... logical really... high risk fire area... so lets plant trees that are packed full of volatile oils & for which forest fire is a natural & required part of their lifecycle. Makes sense to me
Ahhh well, might pack an overnight bag & keep my clothes handy when I go to sleep tonight.
