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Road Closure: Snow Storm shuts down I-5 North Posted: 10 Feb 2009 08:45 PM PST Northbound Interstate 5 is closed tonight from the Fawndale Road exit north of Redding to the Oregon border due to multiple spinouts and accidents, a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said. The closure went into effect at 8 p.m., Weather will determine when the closure will be lifted. Chains and snow tires were required for southbound traffic in that region.

Australia: Sam the Injured Australian Koala bear recovering Posted: 10 Feb 2009 08:22 PM PST Sam the koala is doing fine, And he, it turns out, is a she. HEALESVILLE, Australia (AP) — The koala moved gingerly on scorched paws, crossing the blackened landscape as the fire patrol passed. Clearly in pain, the animal stopped when it saw firefighter David Tree following behind. "It was amazing, he turned around, sat on his bum and sort of looked at me with (a look) like, put me out of my misery," Tree told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I yelled out for a bottle of water. I unscrewed the bottle, tipped it up on his lips and he just took it naturally. He kept reaching for the bottle, almost like a baby." Injured Australian Koala bear Local CFA firefighter David Tree shares his water with an injured Australian Koala at Mirboo North after wildfires swept through the region on Monday, Feb. 9, 2009. Suspicions that the worst wildfires ever to strike Australia were deliberately set led police to declare crime scenes Monday in towns incinerated by blazes, while investigators moving into the charred landscape discovered more bodies. The death toll stood at 181.(AP Photo/Mark Pardew) The team called animal welfare officers as it resumed its patrols on Sunday, the day after deadly firestorms swept southern Victoria state. "I love nature, and I've handled koalas before. They're not the friendliest things, but I wanted to help him," Tree said. Tree says he's spoken to wildlife officials, and the koala, nicknamed Sam, is doing fine. And he, it turns out, is a she. The rescue was one small bright moment in Australia's wildfire tragedy. Thousands of acres (hectares) have been burned out, almost 1,000 homes destroyed and more than 180 people killed. Countless animals were killed in the disaster, which hit farming and forest regions to the north and east of the Victoria state capital of Melbourne, and many more fled in panic. The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals said it was establishing shelters to care for thousands of pets and livestock affected by the disaster. Info Source: AP - Link Related story: Cal Fire Lil- Smokey

Australia: "stay and defend" policy on the table in fire inquiry Posted: 10 Feb 2009 01:02 PM PST "Stay and Defend" is a policy that encourages residents to evacuate as early as possible or prepare to defend their homes from advancing wildfires. Australia bush fire escape -Witnesses said the inferno was like a nuclear bomb and have told of trees "exploding" with the intensity of the heat. Some vehicles had crashed into each other as their drivers frantically tried to escape the fire many of those cars lie abandoned and burnt-out after their owners scrambled to reach safety Photo: Times online - Link In the wake of a record setting series of fires which continue to burn today, Victorian Premier John Brumby announced a royal commission of inquiry into the still-unfolding wildland fire catastrophe. Brumby vowed that "everything will be on the table" in the inquiry, including the "stay and defend" policy that encourages residents to evacuate as early as possible or prepare to defend their homes from advancing wildfires. The death toll continues to rise and the total could reach 300 dead. Survivors of the infernos have described watching distant orange glows on the skyline suddenly speed toward them as roaring walls of flame that left little or no time to escape. Cars lay strewn across the Kinglake-Whittlesea Rd. Picture: Trevor Pinder The extreme speed of the wildfires proved too much for many of the victims who tried to flee, said Andrew Sullivan, a bush fire specialist at Australia's Commonwealth and Scientific Research Organization. A motorbike lays on the Heidelberg-Kinglake Rd in the Arthur's Creek/ St Andrews Area. It is believed that the rider of the bike was found deceased near the crash scene. Picture: Darren Tindale Sullivan a defender of the "stay and defend" policy stated "The plain fact of the matter is, being in a house is much safer than being in a car, which is much safer than being in the open," Sullivan said. A collision on Kinglake-Whittlesea Rd. Picture: Trevor Pinder Many of the victims have been found in the charred wrecks of vehicles consumed by blazes as high as four stories driven by 65 mph winds. Many escapes were thwarted when escapees blinded by smoke were involved auto collisions while attempting to flee. Victoria's premier defended the policy of permitting homeowners to stay and try to protect their property, often with nothing more than garden hoses against fires so huge that they easily overwhelmed professional firefighters. Brooke Coleman, 29, said her family followed their prepared fire plan—she left with her 18-month-old daughter and husband Zack stayed to try to protect their house, one of few that survived in Kinglake. "We wouldn't have a house if my husband hadn't stayed up there," said Coleman, whose husband lived in the town—and with wildfire threats—all his life. "The "stay and defend" policy "has served the state very well in what I'd call normal conditions," Brumby told Australian television. Authorities said that many fires are unlikely to be extinguished soon. "Most of the fires are in inaccessible terrain. They're likely to keep burning for some time," said fire specialist Sullivan. "All it takes [for it to get worse] is another week or so and we come back to the same heat wave conditions. "What they need is rain," Sullivan said, "and that's not forecast." Brick and steel construction burns Credit: Times online - Link Fire resistive construction destroyed in Bush fires Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun More brick and steel construction Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun Related story: Detailed account of a families narrow escape during a Stay and Defend situation, this is a must read for all concerned with wildland urban interface evacuation policy: Times Online article - Link 'First you're fighting for your home, then you're fighting for your life' One journalist from The Australian describes his family's struggle for survival when the firestorm overwhelmed their home 'They call it "ember attack". Those words don't do it justice. It is a fiery hailstorm from Hell driving relentlessly at you. The wind and flying embers explore, like claws of a predator, every tiny gap in the house. Embers are blowing through the cracks around the closed doors and windows. ' Whole town declared crime scene: In the town of Marysville, which was almost wiped out over the weekend, rain fell briefly. The town has been declared a crime scene, and police are searching for evidence of arson. We stop at a police check-point down the hill. They ask us where we've come from and what's happening up the road. I tell them there's no longer anything up the road. Australian royal commission of inquiry: Normally headed by judges with broad investigative powers, royal commissions can work for months to provide a detailed analysis of issues and events and recommend policy changes to government.

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