O/T- Aussie Bushfires & false information across "social media"

G'day to my photo friends & colleagues

On the TV news tonight was a map of unknown origin but allegedly circulating widely across 'social media' showing what appeared to be about 1000 orange-red spots alleging fires happening within Austraila.  To put it crudely, it is total bullshit

Whomever has devised it seems to have totalled 5-years of fires, large and small, grass fires to forest fires and is claiming that it is the xmas-2019 fire status.

Also on tonight's TV news comes the news that the US government has issued an advisory warning to potential travellers to Australia.  Travel warnings are usually issued for riots and violence - not for smoke haze across a small area of country.  Yes- certainly we have been very badly affected by serious fires and they are still burning in places, but over the last 3-months of fires most have been extinguished within a week or so.  Our trouble is that new fires start up, 90% of which are from lightning strikes into extremely dry forests. Some 9% are from farm or industrial machinery sparks and 1% from arson.  Yes we have people here who set fires - personally I would remove their means of reproduction, but that's another matter

I would invite readers to share with family, friends and colleagues that while Australia is going through a very tough time, it is not a terminal state of dispair.  We are still open for tourist business and well over 80% of Oz is completely non-fire-affected.  Here is a sketch I have created of Oz showing my perceptions from tonight's TV news.  The red diamonds are serious fire areas as of today 10-January, and the yellow circles are the areas likely to have smoke haze.  You can easily see which areas are wide open to tourism ... all of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, all of central Australia and Uluru, all of Kakadu just outside Darwin, all the north-west area of the Kimberley and the Pilbara. 

Areas badly fire affected are in the south-east corner of Oz, the countryside between Sydney to Melbourne to Adelaide ~ but those cities are open for business.  Sydney and Canberra have suffered from smoke haze, but there's plenty of places to go to away from those two state capitals.  

Each year we have 1-million+/- tourists to Australia who enjoy the safety of the country, the fact that the US $ and the British pound are each worth more than the Aussie $, so it is comparitively cheap to travel around.  Yep - air fares to get here are more than flying 'over the pond', but the results once here are never forgotten

Thankyou for your time
Phil from the great land Downunder
email- [email protected]

I hope you get those fires out soon. However, our lame street media were all showing the map with fires burning everywhere, it wasn't just social media. We have grown to expect lies 24/7 from the press these days. Glad to hear its not as bad as they claim. 
Stay safe, Ozzie!

G'day mate

Thanks for your thoughts ... and ...
We can't hide the fact that these fires are serious AND they have been going for far longer than ever before, much the same as in California. Normally our fire season is Dec-Jan-Feb with a maybe for March. Currently it has been August to January - and it will only stop after we get good soaking rains

Also - if there is a fire of 50km / 30 miles across up in the alpine high country, that fire might have a 500km perimeter once one counts in all the wiggles etc. around hills and valleys. Because it is in the alpine areas, it is being allowed to burn itself out ~ but while it is a huge fire, if your little village / small town is in or close to that fire, then you are in trouble.

The other =but= is that the whole country is not on fire as some 'social media' reports have tried to make out

As a country - yes we are in trouble. It is going to cost billions of dollars to rebuild and return to whatever 'normal' becomes ~ but we are alive and the country is open for tourism and regular business

Another side of this whole thing is the scammers who have also set up on social media as "fund raisers". Should your heart go out to Aussies in trouble, please choose carefully and /or stick with the well known, internationally known organisations

Phil from the great land Downunder

I think I know the map you are talking about, it showed nearly fires all over the country.  Glad I'm seeing your post here.  Still very bad.  Hope that get's handled soon. Our prayers are with you and your countryman!  

effron wrote: I hope you get those fires out soon. However, our lame street media were all showing the map with fires burning everywhere, it wasn't just social media. We have grown to expect lies 24/7 from the press these days. Glad to hear its not as bad as they claim. 
Stay safe, Ozzie!

I think I have seen this map too and I know that it is untrue. I have friends who verified the information. Thank you for enlightening us even more with this fact. I hope that it'll get better.