170+ dead in Australia wildfires

[track400m]

listen here get this video off im a firefighter from Australia and i was there in the bushfires you dont understand how hard it was 2 get to people you fucking dick head its not like america we dont live touching gutters sometimes our fucking next door neighbours are 100s of kms away the fire moved at a rate of 3km every 5mins even faster they had no time you dont have no idea just get this video off please you make me sick

[MRMILO57]

Yesterday 3 of March 2009 concerning that days weather forcast.

The Victorian government and it's associated departments..BOM...Bureau of Meteorology and DSE...Department of Sustainability and Environment , made complete fools of themselves, some of the media were in on the scaremongering as well.

Discusting!

[CentralVisionStudios]

Take this fucking video off, people werent cowering in their homes trying to save it, due to the strong winds fires moved irregularly and so quickly their was nothing to do, people in cars were trying to flea and were trapped, im a fire fighter and find this an offensive video so do us all a favor and remove it.

[JCVdude]

I express my deepest apology again to all the people from Australia. My point was that I just find it inexcusable in this day and age that so many good people perished in the most horrific way imaginable. When all is said and done and the blame game begins, as it undoubtadly will (arsonists) I feel the governments have some blame to except for the loss of life.

Perhaps helicopters, the military or something more could have and should have been done to avert this tragic loss of life.

[Kinglakeresident]

I live in Kinglake, I find you totally offensive. People tried to evacuate, did evacuate but this was not a fire like you've ever seen or you would keep your stupid ignorant opinions to yourself. How do you flee a fire that has no warning, one that moved at a 100 k's an hour. One minute daylight and next too late to flee.

You are a fat ignoramus doing a bad wank to get your fat face on this site.

[JCVdude]

I apologize for any misunderstanding. I am fully aware of how fast wildfires can move and with the human toll they can have. In 2003 Kelowna residents had to flee in the night as wildfires swept through residential neighbourhoods. I saw first hand as pine trees full of pitch exploded. The fire jumped half a mile or more in single bounds, it (the fire) was covered by media from around the world.

[bentarrow169]

yeah dude..you just made the biggest dick of yourself..its obvious you have never even been to Australia let alone rural Victoria..your ignorance is the only thing you are showing through your crappy video..

[IExposeMormonism]

If you took a few D-11 Cats and started clearing a swath this would be over. soon. "They" will say its too destructive to do this! or its impractical .but it's easy. and you have a new road when your done!

[aussieNickuss]

Why is this arrogant and ignorant twit still on screen. All he should be saying is "there but for the grace of God go I" Take him off!

[gothicaminotaur]

get your facts straight these wretched things are so fast that you dont have time to flee. please take this off it is offensive and you are virtually saying that Australians are stupid. it was a firestorm not just a fire. get a life and get some compasion

[ral13061988]

JCVdude get your facts straight before you start running your mouth. the fires were there right on their door step before the news even broke. most people had no choice but to stay and fight. Australia is a drier land than Canada so the fires spread quicker not to mention the heat and the wind!!! the police and fire fighters did all they could to help these people.

[jaqkmc]

Furthermore, I hope that you will take it upon yourself to remove this video as anyone affected directly by these fires would be deeply offended.

[jaqkmc]

I'm sorry JVC dude. But you are not, infact, speaking from a position of understanding. There are so many factors that you are unaware of. 200+ people who endure bushfires on a regular basis do not die out of ignorance. Australian wildfires are beyond anything that anyone experiences overseas, and we are actually the most advanced country in the world when it comes to fire-fighting and fire research.

[santabutthead]

you dont know anything u fucking idiot, People did try to leave as soon as they heard the news but u dont undertsand the power of the wind causing the fires to jump leaving no exit, research your shit because to me you seem like a ignorant fuckwit,

[hazzapop]

Also, the government cannot be blamed due to the fact that the fires sprung up so quick that towns were alight before anybody had time to react.. it is different havin one town of 40,000 people threatened compared to hundreds of smaller towns.. there is no way people could of been evacuated in time... especially seeings that alot of the roads were blocked... to understand you would have to go to victoria and see what it is like for yourself

cheers Haz

[hazzapop]

On the first day of the bushfires the speed of the wind was enourmous i have heard accounts of survivors sayin they saw smoke for the first time and under a minute it was basically raining fire buildings were alight before they even knew what was happening...

[hazzapop]

i dont think you understand a whole deal about the victorian bushfires.... rural victoria is made up of thousands of towns with populations under 2000 or so people.. alot of these towns only have one road in and out.... eucalyptus trees explode when they catch on fire allowing the fire to spread quickly....

[agent1986]

Different towns in Victoria didn't know that there were fires in their area, as the fire came to quickly due to unexpected weather and high winds.

It only takes 2 minutes for a house to burn down. By the time the people knew they had to leave and there was a fire, it was too late. Do your research, and keep your comments to yourself until you study the facts first. As if the people would not have left their homes if they knew a fire was coming.  No-one wants to die. Shame on you!

[hevonline]

.

IM NOT CONVINCED YOU ARE DOING THIS FOR PUBLIC ATTENT^ION.SHAME. Surely you couldnt be that ignorant, I hope you dont represent other Canadians or America,.YOU ARE HURTING PEOPLE BY PUTTING THIS ON YOU TUBE. It aint that hard to research how the inferno, managed to kill. Weather, fire wind, heat. derrrrrt. ..Aussie culture, is tough, youve obviosly never really lived on 'The Land' so pleas go back 2 sleep

[maxiasha]

you are a fool. you were not there. how dare you tell people that they could have escaped. it was not a fire it was an inferno. And I find you disturbing. I think you need more help than the people that have lost friends, family and property.

[Famsar]

shame on you, in your room, safe

I suggest you go an research the history of bushfires in our country, the CFA's advice and the environment you are commenting on.

Ignorance.

[yaksuit]

I would suggest that you intuitively ask yourself what it is you realy meant...i will have a guess....you are trying to get the training wheels off your metaphysical bike...i mean well also...love to all 11:11 oneness

[yaksuit]

i can sense you mean well dude...ego materialsim is not something that a westerner like yourself should be spouting on such high moral grounds. i have been living in australia two thirds of my life. The conditions and this includes and please understand that australia has much smaller and more scatterd communities between land and population that your examples refer to.

[pinkyponkjuice72]

im sorry but unless you have all the facts about what happened then i don't think you have the right to say what you are saying

you have no idea what the conditions were like in oz show some respect to the australians and the people who have died.

you truely are a tosser

[mpnsw]

YOU HAVE NO IDEA! People had little or no warning & limited escape routes. You don't know Australian conditions. If you were in Marysville or Bendigo etc on holidays you'd be fighting for your life too.. many Aussies died helping others survive. AUSTRALIANS REPRESENT!

[buzzbuzzXP]

and u know what?!! i hate u! so does all of these other people!!! i used to think americans arent as bad as people says they are, but u just show me that what i think is wrong........

[oidancinboy]

Don't judge the whole on one guy with a camera. There are many people here that are watching, praying and doing what they can to help

[hotsh1tyo]

He's not American, he's Canadian.

[buzzbuzzXP]

U ARE A TOOOL !!!

have no idea what ur talking about, did u see people was burnt inside their cars!!?? still think they didnt tried to get out.....??? and this happened in AUSTRALIA, not CALIFORNIA !!!! it is not the same, it is different...... u have no idea what ur talking about.......!!!!!!!!! no duh family and people matters most, but what if u cant get out.. u just cant... u hav no idea what they have been through.. so shut ur mouth !!!

[bongpig]

your an absolute tool. You have no idea

[swaters4]

Pipio 49, i had met a very sexy blond at bathurst 83,a riot by the way,we made our way to her parents home in gelong,victoria on my ducati and then i spent some time at Torque, Ash wednesday stopped there, but most of the great ocean road had been burned.I dont care if you believe that or not, its fact.

[katsracing]

As it has been said befor you have NO CLUE what your talking about. If you have any human feelings at all you will remove this video, i hope no one who lost family or friends see this, as an Australian my heart breaks for all those affected by this national tragity. If you are sad for the people who have died say so, but please keep you mouth shut on things you dont understand (like Austrailan bush fires!). Today as we will for days to come we mourn the loss of many, and look to the future....

[5767dave]

its a bit hard to get out of the way mate when the front was moving at 140 kph and heading north then turned and headed west with in secondes and was over 100 km wide so have a bit of respect for all the people who died in the streets so helpiess the australian bush is nothing like over there and comment on some thing you no about because you dont no about this

[pipio49]

u have no idea mate. most of the people that lost their lives didnt have any warning. even if they did they had no more that 5 minutes. by the time u jump in the car and drive of with the winds pickin up at 100km/hr u have a slim chance of surviving. the fire wasnt coming from 1 directin like the story u were syayin it was coming from 2 or even 3 different directions.

get the real story before u upload a video with u just talkin bullshit.

[nicolesss895]

So your saying these corageous victms died becuase they chose to stay? you dont know anything but what the news has told you, people were given literally minutes to leave...Fireballs engulfed the small town and were travelling over 100 kms per hour...how dare you show your worthless face on you tube with your ridiculous opinions and have a little respect for these beautiful people who were tragically lost.

[tinks82]

The fires were moving at 100kms an hour. Thanks for the advice though dude - but you dont know what you are talking about

[evedderrocks]

You have no idea , when you have fire coming from different directions and strong winds they had there was no getting out of the way , we have bush fires before but nothing like this.

[shaunslandy]

You seppos have now idea how fast and without warning these fires can come and with arsonists going along lighting fires all around the country side. people can become trapped.

Get your fucking arse down here and help fight the fires and put your ignerate self on the fire line, then and only then can narrow minded yanks make any sort of comment. No wonder

people other people from around the world want to kill Americans.

[penpencil23]

fuckin idiot

[madsnake]

you are wrong mate you have no fucking idea my gf's aunty and cousin passed away in the marysville fires.. you cant simply get out all the time when winds are blowing fire at over 100kmph you cant run.. sometimes the fire is coming from 2-3 different directions most of the people that have died in these fires werent worried about the shit in there houses mate they were trying to get out but with the conditions of the initial day 46degrees and winds over 100kmph they didnt stand a chance...

[hewnfelbar]

Yeah you have this wrong mate, Australia isn't like Spain or California. The days this happened on, it was 46 degrees C. With high speed winds...AND some of these fires were started by firebugs! There was no warning sometimes. It is easy to make these assumptions from where ever you are.

[67675656565655656565]

there is no way i would live in a place were it is prone to having bushfires.

[I3loodTeeth]

Dude I live in victoria, australia and I don't think you have the full story. These fires are happening all over victoria in forest areas and because of the ferociously high temperatures and high winds, the fire can seem to be km's away but be on your doorstep in a matter of minutes. People got caught out... it is as simple as that. How do you get out of the way of a 100km/h firewall bearing down on you while you are driving down a winding road on mountainous terrain? No straight roads there.

[swaters4]

It is hard to imagine how this happened and easy to have a simplistic view as JVC has implied,,in 1983 i rode a motorcycle through victoria where ash wednesday fires had been and you understand how ferocious these fires are. its so sad to see the pain they are in, but i am proud of there strength ,they will recover.

[pipio49]

ash Wednesday was in the Adelaide hills south Australia mate not Victoria. it is sad to c them go through this but all we Aussie will help them through this.

[batmanmick]

Ash Wednesday actually covered both states.

[robdob16]

actually JCV reminds me a bit of Les Murray, Soccer commentating Extraordinaire

[robdob16]

in response to fiveeightsaccount's comment:

wait a minute don't tell me Benny Hill have an astranged 2nd cousin's brother's father's twice married grandfather Benny Hinn

if so god help us!!!

[robdob16]

but you dont quite realise how much terror people would have felt. Since we are in a drought most country people in victoria rely on tank water. In some cases the water supply may be limited if not non-existent and as such some people would have run out of water to use as a guard against the flames. As most will tell you flames would have been everywhere. Anyway my point is across thanks again for your sympathy and compassion

[robdob16]

Let me tell you mate. When you're facing fires roaring at speeds between 50-100+km/h it's not that easy to simply "get out".

I wasnt directly involved in the fires but i live in Greensborough near whittlesea and i know people who were involved and even died. While you might think that people can just round their families up and leave, i'll tell you. There's flames and thick black smoke and your heart is racing. You go into shock and fear sets in.

I realise and thank you for ur sympathy cont...

[misterproach]

Oh and if you want to really make people take notice of you, how about making a video of you donating money to the red cross online

[xForeverYoungx]

Seriously, I live right in the middle of where the bushfires were, and people got no warning! The fires moved so fast, and surrounded them before they even knew what was going on.. Yeah some people stayed to defend their houses, but most of them had no warning becasue of how fast the fire was travelling! There was more than one fire too, so they all just came together and surrounded people.

[andrewlogan]

dam ur a fuckn douche. STFU!!!

[akbark4947]

JVC dude, this fire was more like an atomic bomb going off than a forest fire you get over there where you are. One guy trying to flee on a motorbike literally evaporated due to the radient heat. Another driver had molten glass from his windscreen dripping on his lap when he was driving. He got in his car as soon as he had warning.

So the angry responses you are getting are due to your lack of understanding of the situation. Less lecturing and more sympathy!!

[unlocked1evil1]

Oh and if you think i might be pissed off with you ....i am, your just in that shit majority, that says...Oh i would have done this, oh i would have done that, ohhh i'm a expert, ohhh i have sex with goats...who cares, do something to help, donate, to the (red cross), those poor people need help, not you fucking gas bagging...so SHUT IT!

[unlocked1evil1]

HEY pal, how about shutting the FUCK UP!, your not an expert, and you know NOTHING of the Australian bush. You have pines oh big deal, gum trees are worse, and the winds were like a 80kph or more. The people had lost power, so how the fuck "does a government" warn them, as you say. Why don't you donate some money for the people, instead of just yakking on with all your BULLSHIT!

[fiveeightsaccount]

Why should anyone in Australia be interested in the opinion of Benny Hinn's incestuous offspring. You really don't get it, do you...

[skyeway]

yeah i watched 1and a half minutes of this and it made me sick. I live in whittlesea and it takes about 15 - 20 minutes to drive to Kinglake from here but the bushfires got there in 5 minutes. people didn't know that it was coming to Kinglake. You have got to be kidding saying its avoidable and my friends died because of their own lack of preparedness of a fire. Not Impressed. I hope the rest of the video you turned it around.

[aRietD]

dude u dont get it

there were not one or 2 majour fires they were burining everywhere

say i ran from my house the road was blocked because there is another fire if u find some aireal pictures u will understand but yes there were some greedy people who stayed home to defend

[JCVdude]

Sorry, don't mean to offend. It's just that the loss of life is just so tragic. Our trees here, the pines, also explode because they are filled with pitch and in the last few years alot of people have left the cities to live the rural life and those folks are not aware of what can happen so quickly. Again my condolences to the Australian people. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you all.

[hubertIIcumberdale]

yeah dude for 1 u obviousy dont know the Australian bush, its made to burn, eucalypt's dont just burn, they litterally explode and when uve had 4 days of 45 degrees C and the highest amount of "fuel" on the ground in 30,000 years.... i see that u are trying to say that u feel sorry for the loss but dude u should just shut the fuck up because all u are doing is making it sound like we have no idea how our country's bushland works and no idea wot to do on our land.

[wellingtonian]

I totally agree mate.

What does this shithead know about the

Aussie bushland?

he should keep drinking his coffee and shut the fuck up.

[andyroo1991]

Guys, I know this bloke is ignorant of the conditions we faced in those fires. But lets retain our intelligence and our dignity by 1) not outwardly insulting him when he is obviously compassionate and confused at the loss of life and 2) He's not a Yank, hes from British columbia

[Ursus54]

Right then. So he's not a Yank and he may be compassionate, but he still shouldn't be commenting on something that he knows bugger all about!

[Ursus54]

Who is this dickhead? All he does is prove that most Yanks have absolutely no idea about the rest of the planet, let alone Australia. As someone said earlier, a eucalypt forest burns like nothing else on Earth. Comparing any other fires from anywhere around the world is irrelevant!

You have no idea mate!!

[edmartian]

Your ignorance to the situation is obvious, but understandable. No-one has ever seen a fire situation like what has happened in Victoria. These fires moved so fast that in some towns it went from a normal day to the entire town being on fire within 10 minutes. Some people that did what you seem to think is the solution and fled as soon as there was any warning died in their cars trying to escape. I am not surprised at some of the angry responses you have recieved.

[nasrin19]

I'm sorry but I dont think that someone who has not lived in Australia is able to understand our climate or how our country works. Yes, people are given a choice to stay and defend their homes and most of the people that did survive were lucky, but I have friends that had a plan and their plan worked and worked well.

We are all upset by these fires thank you for your kind thoughts to the families that have lost lives, but I dont think saying "it shouldn't have happened" helps in any way.

[thomasallport]

Yeah buddy you try and out run a fucking fire going that fast you have no idea what your talking about, i dont want to hear stupid fucks like you, hardly ANYONE had any warning, and id like to see you outrun it you fat cunt.

[bigaussiejosh]

you have no idea mate

[gidjiboyz]

Fcuk you u old fuck, i cant believe u, the fire moved at 110kilometers an hour

id like to see you, try and out run that,

get ur facts right u retard before you try to make any statements

it was like 48 degrees celcius that like 98 degree F

so hsut the hell up with ur bullshit

FUCK YOU

[Logicbeatslies]

it was like 48 degrees Celsius that like 98 degree F

No 46C is 115F

This guy has no idea about how combustible Eucalyptus are.

Imaging big noting yourself (regardless of how ignorant you actually are) over such a sad event.

What he fails to realise is that all of the town affected are used to brushfires and have extensive plans, but nobody guessed the fires could be that ferocious.

It is unprecedented and something this dumb Yank has no chance of ever understanding.

[mwilliams1991]

God Bless you

[patellaman]

There was no warning.... I've heard people say that it was a normal day and within 5 minutes the sky was black... Not enough warning for anyone...

[JCVdude]

Cindy here, the fire here in Kelowna way back was terrifying. Winds were pitching the fire forward with 60-70 kph wind gusts. Residential firefighters were facing walls of flames, up to 125 metres high, and advancing at 100 metres per minute in some cases. Burning debris the size of dinner plates were reported landing six to eight kilometres away from the fire. My son and I kept the water on our roof and yard every day. We had hot debris the size of oranges landing in our yard.

[JCVdude]

There was a Crew of Firefighters that by a miracle only were saved. They had been trying to save homes when the fire, due to it's own winds and storms, leapt over them. As I understand, they covered themselves with the heat resistant gear and were calling their families on cells to say goodbye. For some reason, they were spared. So, these were experienced men and sill nature nearly defeated them. It was a terrifying time. We were evacuated very suddenly one night due to the speed of the fire.

[EliteKProductions]

I live in Victoria i was fighting a brush fire the other day 2KM outside my home it wasent as bad but it was 12am at night and they said the flames were so fast and so intense people dident have time to run it was a firestorm. And no one had any warning so that's why people dident flee they had no clue there was a fire coming. But i wish all the best on the recovery but those places will never be the same ever again.

[Hybzy]

Until you've witnessed an aussie bushfire you have no idea what you're on about. We've fires here yearly without deaths that are comparable to those in Cali. Many people who died in these weren't trying to protect their things, they were caught unaware. The temperature on saturday was 120, and the winds were 60mph. The air burnt your skin even when you weren't around a fire. 170+ people wouldn't perish if it were avoidable. We're not a nation of fools, so stop being so patronising.

[Muff0]

Infact, 'forest fires' as you yanks call them are common place here. In fact its not uncommon to have hundreds of fires in one season, a lot of people are well equipped to fight these fires and defend there homes. And casualties are very rare, Saturday was just a freak day, no one could of predicted what was going to happen. It was the hottest day on record (46.7c) with gale force winds. The fires came from nowhere, one man reported that he was traveling at 70mph and the fire was keeping up.

[californiacrazybeck]

In US, you can legally stay and "defend" your home/property even during so-called mandatory evacs. Stupid yes, but it's not illegal.

[jon2xu]

i heard a man say there was no warning. He said he didnt even have 5 minutes . He is lucky to be alive.

[pipio49]

the JVCdude has no idea he just believes wot other americans say. listen to us aussie that know all the right facts

[jadeevalley]

thnx for sharing this with us..in our thoughts and prayers. it was nice of you to make this video.