Bushfires 2019/2020!

[Flying mermaid]

The only way to reduce PM2.5 is to use HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters - these are medical grades used in hospitals.

I have just bought a hospital grade purifier for Ms FM - an IQAir Healthpro 250.

IQAir HealthPro 250 NE | Air Cleaners Australia

The HealthPro 250 is IQAir's best selling room air purifier worldwide. It combines four advanced filtration technologies to effectively remove a great variety of both particulate and molecular air pollutants

aircleanersaus.com.au

There are quite a few HEPA purifiers now - even Dysons, but this seemed a really good one and I could get it.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Yeah, although I had intentions to stay indoors I had to go out for a short while.

Stinging eyes within a couple of minutes and coughing by the time I returned. Funny thing, while thick smoggy conditions, I couldn't smell smoke - maybe my nostrils have got used to the smell

You haven’t got a P2 mask? They really do work even if they look a bit silly!

 

[Quickstatus]

To get it to really work the room needs to be under positive pressure with Air into the room only entering via the HEPAF
Otherwise you only filter a portion of the air.

But its better than nothing

 

[Flying mermaid]

I haven't seen your media, but today is probably the worst Melbourne has been. I still have an irritated throat from the hour I had to spend outside this morning.

Masks people! I now wear mine a lot and I don’t care how silly I look. I bought a box of 20 for $35 and it’s made such a difference for going outside.

 

[Flying mermaid]

To get it to really work the room needs to be under positive pressure with Air into the room only entering via the HEPAF
Otherwise you only filter a portion of the air.

But its better than nothing

It claims to purify close to 100m2 so we will see how it goes when it arrives. Air quality hasn’t been bad the last week but there is a lot of summer still to go and I was worried about the effect on a newborn as well.

 

[Oxy]

For those of you looking at making donations to the Red Cross bushfire appeal, and who hold an applicable card, AMEX have just emailed an offer of 10 ppd up to 10,000 points for donations.

 

[straitman]

The sunset certainly looked eerie from our from verandah this evening.

 

[Tropic]

Historic Jenolan Caves House survives bushfire but tourism takes a hit

Firefighting crews battled for weeks to save the heritage-listed Jenolan Caves House but now the long clean-up begins to bring visitors back to the area.

www.abc.net.au

Mother just reminded me of fires in Blue Mountains in 1957...during their honeymoon in Leura!!

Between 30 November and 2 December 1957, bushfires caused widespread damage in around the Blue Mountains and Sydney. The worst-affected areas were Leura and Wentworth Falls; other damage was recorded at Megalong Valley, Lithgow and Jenolan Caves.

As a result of the fires, 158 buildings were destroyed and four people died. The damage was estimated at approximately £1,000,000.

 

[get me outta here]

Thinking of all the smoke we are breathing in, I am reminded that it contains the remains of billions of animals too. Got your mask on?

 

[Quickstatus]

Thinking of all the smoke we are breathing in, I am reminded that it contains the remains of billions of animals too. Got your mask on?

We have been doing it for a long time. Remember that the smoke/smog in cities from billions of little creatures from burning oil

 

[p--and--t]

Since watching this thread I am now being bombarded with hepa air purifier ads
(and very expensive ones at that)

 

[straitman]

Will you be able to book more sitters?

Yep. We have a replacement sitter.

 

[get me outta here]

Is this because you are seeing adverts as you're not a silver or gold member?

Since watching this thread I am now being bombarded with hepa air purifier ads
(and very expensive ones at that)

 

[p--and--t]

Is this because you are seeing adverts as you're not a silver or gold member?

correct, I am a freeloader

 

[Flying mermaid]

Melbourne is very active with bushfire donations!

Tuesday

dinner at Chin Chin - they are donating $2 per table

wednesday

brunch at Archies - all the staff are donating all their tips in January
Dinner at SAN Telmo - the group has donated $40,000 and many of the staff are donating tips
Harry Potter - collection after the show

 

[dajop]

Well I returned to Singapore this week, after 3 weeks in Victoria/SA. I need to make up a card to hand to people with the relevant information as I've had the same conversation with about 7 or 8 people about the fires and whether my family or I were affected. It's quite incredible how international this news has come and how top of mind it is. I just moved to Singapore 3 days before the Black Saturday fires that killed 173 people , and that barely rated a mention here back then. How the world has changed in 10 years.

 

[Pushka]

Well I returned to Singapore this week, after 3 weeks in Victoria/SA. I need to make up a card to hand to people with the relevant information as I've had the same conversation with about 7 or 8 people about the fires and whether my family or I were affected. It's quite incredible how international this news has come and how top of mind it is. I just moved to Singapore 3 days before the Black Saturday fires that killed 173 people , and that barely rated a mention here back then. How the world has changed in 10 years.

It’s all about the animals. People don’t count so much.

 

[serfty]

It’s all about the animals. People don’t count so much.

Not from what I have been asked; it's been more about people rather than about animals.

In early January people seemed to think that most of Australia was burning rather than ~12,340,000 out of 1,900,000,000 Acres.

 

[RooFlyer]

This is good news. I was wondering how the Wollemi Pine grove had fared (probably paywalled):

Bushfires: Ancient Wollemi pines saved from NSW fires in daring operation

NSW firefighters have rescued the last of the ancient Wollemi pines remaining in the Wollemi National Park after their existence was threatened by the largest forest fire in recorded Australian history.

The pines, which have been growing in the national park for 200 million years, were feared to be lost as the 500,000-hectare Gospers Mountain fire ravaged the area in December, spurning a special rescue operation by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the NSW Rural Fire Service.

The operation involved using air tankers to douse the area of the national park in fire retardant and the laying of an irrigation system by firefighters who were flown in by helicopters.

The effort was kept behind closed doors to ensure the exact location of the prehistoric pines did not get out.

NSW environment minister Matt Kean said on Thursday that the organisations pulled out all the stops to protect these pines.

“If the fires went through we wanted them to be a cool burn as opposed to a hot burn to give them the best chance of survival,” Mr Kean told ABC Radio.

 

[RooFlyer]

Well I returned to Singapore this week, after 3 weeks in Victoria/SA. I need to make up a card to hand to people with the relevant information as I've had the same conversation with about 7 or 8 people about the fires and whether my family or I were affected. It's quite incredible how international this news has come and how top of mind it is. I just moved to Singapore 3 days before the Black Saturday fires that killed 173 people , and that barely rated a mention here back then. How the world has changed in 10 years.

After the 1967 bushfires in Tasmania, there was a story circulating in Europe that Tasmania had been evacuated by submarine That may be apocryphal, but its a good yarn!