Margin-winged Stick Insect in Robertson.

My friend Melissa met me at the Service Station in Robbo today and asked me to have a look at a "Preying Mantis". It had been gripping onto the wing mirror of her vehicle - not a good career move for any insect. I was able to say it was a type of "Stick Insect", and as I knew it was a vegetarian, I was confident enough to allow it to crawl onto my hand. (Apparently some Stick Insects do pinch with their claws, or worse, some "spray" unpleasant fluids, but this one was very polite.) It immediately climbed up my arms (they can move surprisingly quickly, on account of their very long legs). It then perched on top of my blue hat, much to the amusement of Melissa's daughter Paris!

Of course, I did not have my camera with me.
How often have I said: "Never leave home without your Camera, Denis!" ?

Fortunately Steve at the Servo was able to provide me with a box, long enough to make a temporary home for this insect, until I could get it home, to photograph it, and then release it.

Here is the full body of this long-legged insect.
It is a near perfect match for this insect on Donald Hobern's insects set.
He identified his insect as Ctenomorpha marginipennis
The Margin-winged Stick-Insect.

Note (in the shot above) how the wings are clearly visible (thickened part), and cover about two-thirds of the abdomen. Males have longer wings, as they fly around in search of females.

Here is its head, close-up, showing the
two laterally positioned large main eyes
and three "occelli" (primitive eyes) arranged in a triangle,
(Click to enlarge the view)
Here is another view of the head and mouth.
There is a basic structural similarity with the face of the insect. in Donald Hobern's shot.

Here is a shot of its wings and lower abdomen.
Here is its tail, complete with "cerci".
In males they are larger, and used as "claspers" (similarly to Dragonflies).
I think this insect might be a female.***

*** Donald Hobern has advised:
"The projecting lump below the abdomen in your photo is the operculum or 'subgenital plate' of a male. Females have a longer, more boat-shaped operculum.

"The combination of size, prominent cerci and prominent ocelli (again a male characteristic) rules out any other species in this part of the country."

Here is a very poor shot of the Stick Insect having been released safely outside.

I have previously reported on three very different species of Stick Insects. One was an endemic (local) species - the Tessellated Phasmid Stick Insect; one was the "Laboratory Stick Insect" (from India) - which was "pet"; and one other, the very spectacular "Goliath Stick Insect", (which was also a "pet") - it comes originally from Queensland, but was raised by CSIRO, and given away to a school child, as part of an "Open Day" promotion for the Division of Entomology.

An "Open Letter" from the Firefighters Union

Fire "Appliance" dwarfed by huge clouds of smoke. Victoria. February 2009. Unfortunately, the name of the photographer is not known to me. This was circulated via email today.
DJW Edit: Photo: Alex Coppel

*******

This is an "Open Letter" from the United Firefighters Union of Australia from Peter Marshall, the National Secretary of the UFUA.

Dear Mr Rudd and Mr Brumby,

On behalf of more than 13,000 firefighters and support staff in Australia, I write this open letter to request a review of Australia's fire risk and our readiness to meet future catastrophic events.

The fires in Victoria have ripped through towns and suburbs, farms and forests, destroying lives and livelihoods. Ashen remains are the sorrowful legacy of the devastation they caused. Never before in Australian history have we been confronted with such destruction at the hands of fire.

Firefighters work in conditions that most of the public try to flee. We often put our lives on the line. We understand that our job is dangerous by its very nature. However, we are gravely concerned that current federal and state government policies seem destined to ensure a repeat of the recent tragic events.

Consider the devastation in Victoria. Research by the CSIRO, Climate Institute and the Bushfire Council found that a "low global warming scenario" will see catastrophic fire events happen in parts of regional Victoria every five to seven years by 2020, and every three to four years by 2050, with up to 50 per cent more extreme danger fire days. However, under a "high global warming scenario", catastrophic events are predicted to occur every year in Mildura, and firefighters have been warned to expect up to a 230 per cent increase in extreme danger fire days in Bendigo. And in Canberra, the site of devastating fires in 2003, we are being asked to prepare for a massive increase of up to 221 per cent in extreme fire days by 2050, with catastrophic events predicted as often as every eight years. Given the Federal Government's dismal greenhouse gas emissions cut of 5 per cent, the science suggests we are well on the way to guaranteeing that somewhere in the country there will be an almost annual repeat of the recent disaster and more frequent extreme weather events.

Something is going on. As we battle blazes here in Victoria, firefighters are busy rescuing people from floods in Queensland. Without a massive turnaround in policies, aside from the tragic loss of life and property, we will be asking firefighters to put themselves at an unacceptable risk. Firefighters know that it is better to prevent an emergency than to have to rescue people from it, and we urge state and federal governments to follow scientific advice and keep firefighters and the community safe by halving the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Unfortunately, the scientists are advising that no matter what we do, a "low global warming" scenario is almost inevitable, and so we must make fire plans accordingly. Fire does not respect state borders and we need a national inquiry into the state of readiness of the country's fire services to meet this century's challenges.

Our existing resources cannot be expected to cope with even the "low global warming" scenario of a 25 per cent increase in extreme fire days — and catastrophic fire events every five years — in major Victorian country locations in just under 12 years' time. Likewise, when the scientists tell us that under a "low warming" scenario in 2020, Wagga Wagga faces "very extreme" events every two years, warning bells must surely be ringing.

Climate change, however, is only one factor.

Huge smoke clouds.
There is a tiny speck in centre-right of the image. (Click to enlarge)
It is a commercial airliner flying in to land at Tullamarine Airport.
No doubt the Pilot was glad to have touched down ahead of that cloud of ash.
Unfortunately, the name of the photographer is not known to me.
This was circulated via email today.
DJW EDIT: Photo: Stuart McEvoy

Peter Marshall's Open Letter continues:

There are many other pressures on our fire services. As cities expand into formerly rural areas and "growth corridors", many volunteer brigades find their new members have full-time jobs in the city and all the pressures of urban life, and therefore less time to devote to firefighting. These areas need more resources. And professional firefighters routinely perform duties from rescue to emergency medical response, and we are now trained to be part of the front-line response to any terrorist attacks: duties we are proud to perform but which will increasingly put us under strain as we respond to more and more fires.

The real question now must be whether the nation as a whole is devoting the resources it needs to fire prevention and suppression. We are gravely concerned that the royal commission to be set up in Victoria will have a narrow brief to investigate a geographically specific disaster. It cannot have the scope needed to provide an overview of Australia's fire readiness.

Further, we want to ensure that it is not a whitewash, with narrow terms of reference designed to ensure political cover for the Victorian Government. The proposed Victorian royal commission should be folded into a broader national inquiry into the nature of Australia's fire risk and our preparedness to meet that risk.

Consideration must also be given to massive new federal and state investment in infrastructure and firefighters. A portion of any stimulus package must go towards preventing future disaster, as well as rebuilding after the current one.

Finally, now is not the time to play a "blame game" with respect to the Victorian fires. But at the appropriate time, we hope to be able to publicly air the concerns we have been conveying over many years to those in power about the state of readiness of our fire services. A national inquiry would allow Australia to get to the bottom of what happened, but also to work out how to ensure that nowhere in the country will it happen again. We urge state and federal governments to make sure this tragedy wasn't completely in vain: grasp this opportunity to develop Australia's first-ever national approach to fire and rescue

Peter Marshall is national secretary of the United Firefighters Union of Australia.

A Dragonfly for Mr Darwin.

It is Charles Darwin's bicentenary today.

To celebrate, a wonderful Dragonfly decided to reveal itself in my garden (yard) today. From what I can track down, it is the Blue Skimmer Dragonfly (Orthetrum caledonicum). I think it is a female, but I am not sure (advice would be welcomed, please, Duncan). This species is normally found near ponds and dams. However, there are no dams or ponds within 500 metres of my place. However, the Dragonfly turned up. It was quiescent, resting on a stick. It allowed me to carry it around, on its chosen stick, without attempting to fly. The weather was cold and misty, today. I don't believe it was newly emerged (again - no ponds for the larvae to have lived in, here). Also, the tip of the front left wing is damaged slightly, so it has "done some work" already. Perhaps it is an old Dragonfly, tired and waiting to die?

Here is the full Insect, resting on a stick.
As with most of my images, click to enlarge the view.
Here is a borrowed image, with the distinctive parts of the wings labelled.
Here is a close-up of the face and eyes of my Blue Skimmer.
I particularly like the two short, sharp little "antennae"
Again, here is a borrowed image, naming the parts of the face.

Below is a close-up of the head and thorax of my Blue Skimmer.
Note the very powerful thorax structure and the strong grasping legs.

Both those "labelled" images (above) come from Martin Peterson's wonderful site on Swedish Dragonflies.

According to Martin's site, Dragonflies are creatures with an ancient lineage, having been around since before the time of the Dinosaurs, but have survived and thrived. Over those millions of years, they have evolved into some 5000 species, world wide. I mention this in honour of Mr Darwin's 200th birthday.

Grey Goshawk on a Grey Day

FIRE ACTIVITY IS CONTINUING IN THE VICTORIAN HILLS IN THE UPPER YARRA VALLEY, AND BEYOND, AS WELL IN THE NORTH-EAST OF VICTORIA. PLEASE GO TO THE PREVIOUS 3 DAYS POSTS, TO USE THE LINKS THERE, TO CHECK THE CURRENT FIRE SITUATION.

Today I heard a Lewin's Honeyeater calling excitedly outside. I went out to see if I could record it. (I have a little Digital Sound Recorder - a new "toy" - which I am still learning to use.)

By the time I got out on the back deck, the Honeyeater had ceased calling and it was eerily silent outside. The only noise was a dripping sound, coming off the roof, because there was a really thick fog around all day. Our fogs often produce "run-off" from the gutters.

Anyway, I sensed that there was something odd about the "silence". So I peered through the fog and saw this. You can see from the trees how grey it was, and what poor visibility I was dealing with. These images are all greyed out, because of the fog, but the closer images (below this one) are all sufficiently detailed to make them worth-while clicking on to bring up the full-sized images).It was not much more than an "outline" to my poor old eyes. But from the "upright stance" I knew straight away what it was - a Grey Goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae***). This species is a resident bird, but seldom seen, because of its secretive manner of "stalking" birds and insects (and small mammals).

These birds are stealth hunters, and very secretive, normally. It is much more common for them to perch, hidden in trees, then to burst from cover, to give chase to birds. They hardly ever show themselves like this. But of course, it was camouflaged by the grey fog. And the resident Magpies were not on patrol. They didn't see it, or they would have hounded this wonderful bird out of the area straight away.

I ducked back inside the house, then rushed to get the camera, click off the Macro lens from last-night's moth shots, and click on the 70-300mm lens. I did a couple of practice shots to test my "light settings", before going back out onto the back deck. The reason I was so wary was that these birds have fantastic vision - probably 20 times better than mine, and they are usually very wary of cameras. Not this one, not today.
Having got that first image, I relaxed a little, and settled down, half-hidden behind a branch of a Wattle Tree, close to the deck. The Goshawk gave me a direct stare - straight back down the lens. But it held its nerve. It did not flinch.

To see the delicate patterned feathers around the top of the chest and neck,
click to enlarge.

Note the strong legs, clearly yellow. Also the yellow base of the beak, and the black curved tip (the black tip is clearly visible in the image 2 above). This is a big, powerful bird of prey. And it was serious about what it was doing. It was hungry. It was hunting, from a perch on the wire. Sitting on the powerline, but listening and moving its head around constantly - looking, listening and looking more.

Here it had turned its head right around. But it did not move its lower body position once.Note the immensely powerful feet - yellow legs, yellow feet, and powerful black claws.

This is the "Figure of Death" - staring down from the wires.
Now you know why the Lewin's Honeyeater had stopped calling.

See below, how it has lifted its pose, head held high, looking down to its left.

And again it looked over to the left, behind it's left shoulder.

The bird kept looking around, listening, raising its head, bobbing its head (it does that to simulate a 3D sensation - to help get a better sense of what it is looking at). Although the bird did not move its position for 16 minutes (which is an extremely long time to have the opportunity to observe this type of bird), it never ceased "hunting".

Then suddenly it had gone.
Silently.
How did it do that?
Had I blinked? I must have done.

Aaah, there it is - right down low, on an old triple fence post, at waist height. Amazing.

Please forgive the very grainy image. it was taken at about 80 metres distance, into a thick fog.
But I have posted it to show this rare event. The Sassafras trees in the background were shading the bird, which made it even more difficult to photograph in the heavy fog. It was only 2:40pm - but it seems like twilight conditions.

Note how powerful this bird is. Look at those massive shoulders.
It was still checking me out, over its shoulders, even from that distance.

For this bird to fly down so low, and to pose on the fence like this is most unusual. Clearly it was "after something" - possibly some of the Rabbit kittens which live down in the bottom paddock.

*** I was intrigued as to why this bird earned the name Accipiter novaehollandiae. That to me indicated it was the first species of this genus described from Australia (the genus is global). Sure enough, it was described by Gmelin (a German naturalist) in 1788. As the first fleet arrived in that year (and seemingly none of the ships returned to England before 1789) it was almost certainly described from a speciment collected by Banks or one of his associates, from Cook's voyage from 1770.

Victorian Bushfires - HOW YOU CAN HELP.

Everyone wants to help, but help has to be organised and considered.
The Authorities are asking people not to just "turn up" to help - even though that is a generous response to a tragedy.

The Red Cross is running an Appeal.
I reprint their notice, in part, so you get the idea.
The website for donations is run by them, and I have nothing whatsoever to do with it, personally.

• Victorian bushfires 2009 - Appeal
• The 2009 Victorian bushfire Fund to assist individuals and communities affected by devastating bushfires in Victoria has been launched by the Premier John Brumby in partnership with Red Cross and the Federal Government. A number of corporate organisations including NAB, ANZ, CBA and Wesfarmers have also contributed to the fund.
• As at 3:30pm on the 9th February, the Fund had received $5.6 million from over 32,000 people through the website and phone, with governments including the Victorian Government and Federal Government and corporates pledging additional sums. Donations are still continuing to flow in.
• An independent panel made up of community leaders will oversee the appeal Fund's operation. Criteria for assistance will include the extent of the hardship covered and the extent to which a person's livelihood has been impacted.
• Donations can be made using our secure online donations form or by phoning 1800 811 700.

The full notice, with caveats and explanations can be seen at their official Website
http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm

Please read that notice, and you can also follow the links at the bottom to other Agencies and Organisations which are organising assistance, including Blood Donations. Follow that link.

• They do want Blood Donations
• They do want offers of accommodation.
• They do not want more Volunteers - at present. If their need changes, or more likely their ability to handle offers of assistance increases, they will make a public announcement.
• They do not want "goods" donated. They are urging people to shop locally, to support local businesses.

Some of these restrictions may seem counter-intuitive, but they are based upon protocols established based on previous experiences with disaster relief after events like Cyclone Tracy, and the Ash Wednesday Fires. Nobody wants to hear, in months to come, of fraudsters operating, and thieves and con-men having ripped people off, at this low point of their lives.

Make your feelings known and provide support through through proper channels.
This is what the Federal and State Governments want you to do.
Its safer for you (dealing with certified agencies), and more efficient in the long run.

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I would like to thank the hundreds of people from all around the world who have visited this little Blog in the last few days.
Obviously you care about your friends and relatives.
Great.

Now you can translate your feelings into Action.

But please do so through proper authorised channels only.

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FOOTNOTE ON THE HISTORY OF DISASTERS IN AUSTRALIA

I am more than a little annoyed at the Media's fixation on the bushfire as the greatest tragedy to strike Australia. It isn't.

It makes for great MEDIA, but it is NOT GOOD HISTORY.

• For example, 12000 + people died in Australia, between 1918 and 1919 from the "Spanish Flu" epidemic. That was before TV and the Internet, and Radio was in its infancy. Not good for the Media. The ignorant children who run TV Stations have no idea!
  
• In the Heatwave that caused "Black Friday" 438 people died from heat-related medical problems - far more than were killed by the fires themselves. Why is that forgotten?
• Cyclone Mahina destroyed Bathurst Bay, Queensland, on 4 March 1889, killing 410 people. They were mostly Pearl Fishermen, and local Aboriginals who tried to rescue the shipwrecked fishermen, and were washed out to sea by the backwash of the Tidal Wave caused by the Cyclone. Dare I say it, these "demographics" are not top of the Media's list. And it was all a long time ago. But it did happen, and ought not be written out of history.

These are just a few examples of natural disasters (including the Flu Epidemic) which dwarf the events of the last few days. Check this "List of Disasters by Death Toll" to put it all in perspective.

Cyclone Tracy is ranked much lower than this current Fire Storm (71 people died) - so I am not trying to diminish the story. I just want it kept in perspective.
.
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******

This Fire Storm needs a name.
"Ash Wednesday" was appropriately ambiguous.
"Black Friday" was suitably ambiguous and the name has stuck.

In a few months time, what will they call these fires?

******

Politicians (of both main Parties) have entered the fray, grandstanding as usual.

Julia Gillard, Deputy PM, standing in for Mr Rudd (who was on the ground in Victoria) said in Parliament:

• "The seventh of February 2009 will now be remembered as one of the darkest days in Australia's peacetime history," she said.
• "A tragedy beyond belief, beyond precedent and really beyond words.".

Julia, I know words are cheap, but PLEASE, PLEASE, find out the truth.

This was a bad fire, but not nearly as large or intense as the 1939 fires.

The thing which has changed is that more people have been encouraged to live amongst the timbered country north-east of Melbourne. That is bad policy. A disaster waiting to happen. We need to tell that to John Brumby's proposed Royal Commission, for he seemingly cannot understand why it was so bad!

Even the High Country fires of December 2006 and January 2007 burnt out vastly more bush than these fires have (so far).

Politicians mouthing words drafted for them by inexperienced Political Assistants, because the words "sound good", is not the standard we should expect from our National Leaders.

.

Bushfires update - Victoria 8.2.09.

Evening Update. As at 9:30 pm, ABC News is reporting that 84 people have now been confirmed as having been killed in these fires, and more than 700 homes destroyed. These figures are being revised upwards as more properties are inspected. And, lets not forget the fires are still burning, especially in the north east (around Beechworth) and in Gippsland.

These fatality figures are now more than were killed in the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 and even more than the legendary fires of Black Friday, from 1939. That fire followed a very similar track to this fire, but about 20 km further south. It burnt out Kinglake and Warrandyte and Yarra Glen (and many other towns). This one destroyed both Kinglake and Marysville.
There is an extensive report on yesterday and today's fires on Wikipedia, already, amazingly.

************

At lunchtime, (AEST), it is reported that 35 people are known to have been killed in these Victorian fires. The town of Marysville is said to have been all but destroyed, and grave fears are still held for the town and residents of Kinglake.

Incidentally, the maximum Temperature in Melbourne yesterday was 46.5 C, (115.6 F) even hotter than I reported yesterday. (Thanks to Lynn for pointing out I had written 36.5C. She knew it was a typo, as I basically had the calculation right.)

The Bushfire Hotspots E-Map link is HERE.
That is for the full Australia map.
You can stream live radio from ABC Melbourne (774) from here.
Click to select which "player" you wish - usually Windows Media Player of Real Player - whatever you have installed in your system. While the fires are burning, they will continue Emergency Services broadcasting.

The Country Fire Authority (CFA) site has emergency bulletins here.

*************

Back to the E-Map system, you can select to zoom anywhere you wish to look at in detail - from that link above.

Select the full screen image by clicking just below the map, near this text: "View full page map with additional information".
Then you can drag the map east, west, north or south, and also zoom in to any level of detail. Select "roads" to show maps and town names, to help you find the areas you want to check out.

*************

This is the image for the area north and east of Melbourne. That shows the 4 main fire groups, near Kilmore, Kinglake and Marysville, the Warrigul area fires (NW of that city), and the fires south of Traralgon. There are other fires as well, but to get the details you need to go the website linked at the top of this page.This is the zoomed image for the Kinglake area. (click to see the image clearly, if you want to check particular roads.). Better still, go to the website above, and search for Kinglake Vic, and then zoom out, to get the district image.This is the image for Gippsland, from west of Warrigul, and also the more southerly fires. Finally, I add this as a special protest about idiots lighting fires deliberately. The Victorian media this morning reported that the fires at Labertouche (marked) had been deliberately lit by firebugs.
What can one say about such unspeakably stupid and criminal behaviour?

Post-script:
Nobody can say that they were not warned.
John Brumby published a warning on Friday, which was carried in the Media.

• With temperatures set to soar to the mid-40s throughout Victoria, Mr Brumby said the conditions were worse than those that preceded the devastating bushfires of Ash Wednesday or Black Friday.

• "It's just as bad a day as you can imagine and on top of that the state is just tinder-dry. People need to exercise real common sense tomorrow," he said.

• "I can't stress this enough, I know that the chief fire officer has been out and he said it will be as bad as you can get and he's not exaggerating," Mr Brumby said.

DJW Comment. Ultimately, it was a factor of the temperature and the winds combining to produce a fire storm, but the tinder-dry state of the forests was also a critical factor. No doubt there will be an inquest or Coronial Inquiry (as there was after the Canberra fires, but that got bogged down in politics and industrial/legal issues).

But the role of humans in starting fires is something which our Society has yet to come to terms with. Power lines, improperly maintained are frequent causes of arcing and sparks. Improper use of Power Tools, on total fire ban days is another major cause of fires. Arson is an obvious cause - something which so many of us are puzzled by. But what about lazy smokers throwing lighted cigarettes out car windows? The Bendigo fires are said to have started beside a highway.

One simple factor - cigarettes - might be responsible for much of the devastation.

SMOKING KILLS - IN MANY WAYS.

Kinglake (Victoria) burns. Many dead. Houses lost.

It was anticipated, but nobody wanted to hear this!

Victorian mountains and ranges are burning, again. Image courtesy of ABC News Website 7/2/09

Tonight's tragic news is that Kinglake, north-east of Melbourne, has been the centre of a particularly terrible fire, and report say 6 people have lost their lives in Kinglake itself, and as many as 14 across Victoria. As many as 40 people are feared trapped, perhaps killed, across the State. Nobody knows for sure, as I write (11:00 pm, Saturday).
This is a breaking story, and a genuine tragedy.

Map courtesy of MSN Maps and Directions

The weather has been horrific, as forecast by the Bureau. Temperatures up to 45 Degrees Celsius (113 Degrees F) are dangerous to health. And, of course, such extreme heat and winds, coupled with drought conditions in the forests, makes a terribly explosive "cocktail" of conditions for Bushfires.

Here is the ABC News site's report from this evening.
Here is the Kinglake area Emergency Notice from the Country Fire Authority.

Urgent Threat Message - Wandong - 9.50 pm Urgent Threat Message for communities near Wandong 07/02/2009

Incident Information

The grass & scrub fire, burning 1 kilometre south of Wandong, near ( Map reference 910N N10), is burning in a south easterly direction and is estimated to be over 1000 hectares in size. The communities of Wandong, Wallan, Wallan East, Eden Park and Whittlesea, Humevale, Bruces Creek, Upper Plenty, Kinglake West, Pheasant Creek, Smiths Gully, Kinglake, Flowerdale, Glenburn & Hurstbridge may be directly impacted upon by this fire.

An emergency relief centre has been opened in Diamond Creek in the Shire of Nillumbik for those affected by the bushfires in the northern parts of the Shire and the Kinglake area.

The centre is located at 28 Main-Hurstbridge Road, Diamond Creek.

Core Advice

• Residents in this area may experience smoke and burning embers reaching their properties, and are advised to patrol their houses to find and put out any burning embers that may be landing.
• Protect yourself from radiant heat by wearing correct protective clothing consisting of long-sleeved shirts, long pants, sturdy boots and a broad brimmed hat. On no account should synthetic material be worn.
• As the fire front approaches, it will be unsafe to be either on foot or in a car as the heat radiating from the fire will be intense. Buildings will offer the best protection during the passage of a fire front. Close all doors and windows and stay inside the house while the fire passes. Remain alert, extinguish any small fires and if necessary, move outside to burnt ground once the fire has passed.
• If you are caught on the road, don't get out and run.
• Pull to the side, preferably in an area clear of tall trees and long grass.
• Put your hazard lights on and close the windows and vents.
• Cover any exposed areas of skin with a woollen blanket and get down as low as possible.
• Only when the fire has passed do you get out and move to safety.
• Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.
• Residents away from home should not try to return to the area as access is limited and the roads may not be safe.
• Continue to listen to ABC or local radio for updates on this fire.

Additional Information

• Tourists are advised to stay away from the following areas: Wandong, Wallan, Wallan East, Eden Park, Whittlesea, Humevale, Bruces Creek, Upper Plenty, Kinglake West, Pheasant Creek, Smiths Gully, Kinglake, Flowerdale, Glenburn & Hurstbridge

• Other information:

For information on fires in Victoria and general fire safety advice, please contact the Victorian Bushfire Information Line (VBIL) on freecall 1800 240 667. Callers who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech / communication impairment may call textphone/ telewriter (TTY) on 1800 122 969. Information is also available at www.dse.vic.gov.au/fires

The ABC is the Emergency Services Broadcaster. You can tune in to them, in Melbourne on 774 AM Band, or go to this page, and click on audio streaming.

The CFA Emergency fire alert page, which you ought Store in your Favourites or Bookmarks is here It contains no less than 24 "Urgent Threat Messages".

Here is a page of Fire & Incident Related Information Services

This is serious stuff folks.

There are other fires in South Australia and NSW, and no doubt elsewhere. But the headlines are mostly about the loss of life - definite and possible, in Victoria.

Persons in other States may check their local (State) Fire Authority websites linked from this page.