h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm less surprised than I probably should be.

TRiG.

He wouldn't be the first, and, unfortunately, will probably not be the last fire fighter/arsonist.

Another link from Ivan, this one is much nicer

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/17/2545636.htm

Thanks for the links Lil (and Ivan). The first one was no surprise. Volunteer retained firefighters have been involved in setting fire in Europe if reports are to be believed. Perhaps the odd one is in the fire service for kicks not to help. Sad.

The second link does rather restore my faith in human nature, especially as the world is supposed to be in the grip of a credit crunch.

Websailor

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/09/2565444.htm

The Coroner has formally identified every victim of the fires. It had been feared that some people might never be identified.



The Royal Commission continues. I'll post here as and when anything significant emerges.

Thanks Ivan. That is good news in a sad way. They call it closure, though how that is achieved in such circumstances heaven knows. Hope you are ok.

Websailor

I wonder if there will ever be 'closure' on this story. I mean, if I can have nasty flashbacks to the 2003 firestorm and I wasn't even in direct danger as it turns out, what must it be like for people who survived this one but lost people to it? Being able to put a name to each and every body is a tremendous achievement in the circumstances, and I hope it helps.

Me too.

Websailor

It's been a year since the worst bushfires ever.

Rebuilding is still limping along. The 173 people who died were remembered earlier today in a memorial service in Melbourne.

A pair of teenagers are facing charges relating to the bushfire near Bendigo that destroyed about 60 homes and killed a man. The man charged over one of the Gippsland fires remains in custody, as far as I know.

There have been no charges laid over most of the other deliberately-lit fires of last summer. Nobody has been tried as yet.

The Royal Commission is still in progress; I expect it will be some time before it finishes its hearings and there's any findings released.

Some sort of normality is returning. Marysville and Kinglake, two of the towns destroyed, played each other at cricket yesterday. Marysville won. Both towns are construction sites now.

Many people are still ignoring official warnings on high fire danger days...

Thanks for the update Ivan.

<>

Why do people never learn?

Websailor