I know, we all have a good chuckle at stuff like this:
And then there’s this, which pushes the needle even past Code Red (click to embiggen):
I know, I make fun of our Oz friends a lot on these here pages, but this is no laughing matter:
About 100,000 homes in the Sydney area are said to be at risk, with 31,500 of those being in the city’s North Shore. Residents have been warned to take action before it’s too late.
‘Under these conditions, some fires may start and spread so quickly there is little time for a warning, so do not wait and see,’ the Rural Fire Service said on Monday.
‘There are simply not enough fire trucks for every house. If you call for help, you may not get it. Do not expect a firetruck. Do not expect a knock on the door. Do not expect a phone call. Your safest option will always be to leave early.’
Sheesh.
Looks like everything’s more dangerous Down Under: snakes, spiders, sharks, Train Smash Women — and now, fires.
Good luck, me old cobbers. Holding thumbs on this side of the water…
I grow up in Chatswood, a suburb in the north shore of Sydney. My parents house backed onto a reserve full of native trees, that ran down to a river. On the other side of the river was another reserve, with big old blue gum trees along the ridge line. Those gum trees exhale eucalyptus oil when it gets hot, in big quantities, hence the name blue mountains. When the north westerlies blow, the air travels over central Australia and the winds get super hot. In normal conditions, forest fires in the area burn fuel in the ground – gum trees drop bark, branches and leaves all year round. When those north westerlies get going the fire gets up into the canopy. One day my father and I we watching a fire burn along the other side of the river. Perfect combination, hot days, hot winds. Suddenly the fire just wend “boom” and whole trees started burning. We watched trees literally explode along the ridgeline. Far faster than you could run. When it gets going…..
yeah, those bastards burn really, really well.
scary.
Australia is not for the weak.
I grew up in Southern California. One Scout camp we visited regularly had such a sign outside its entrance, only the scale was from Low to Severe. I never saw the arrow below Very High.