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Subscribe to RSSA grandfather in Tasmania recounts how he saved his five grandchildren by taking sheltering under a jetty in the sea for three hours as wildfires raged around them. ITV's Paul Davies reports.
As "tornadoes of fire" roared toward their home, the Holmes family fled and then jumped into the sea, clinging to a jetty for three hours to escape wildfires that have devastated Australia.
The blaze spread swiftly in the Tasmanian town of Dunalley, Tim Holmes said. "The next thing we knew everything was on fire, everywhere, all around us," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Holmes said he sent his wife Tammy and their five grandchildren -- who are aged between almost 2 and 11 -- to the jetty to seek refuge from the flames, which destroyed three homes owned by the family. "There was no other escape," he added.
Holmes sent a text message to his daughter, Bonnie Walker, showing her children in the water.
"It's still quite an upsetting image," Walker told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "It's of all of my five children underneath the jetty, huddled up to neck deep sea water, which is cold. I knew that that would be a challenge to keep three non-swimmers above water and with only my mom, dad and our eldest daughter.
Read more on this story from Britain's ITV News
"I spent a lot of time with good friends and prayed like I never prayed before and I think those prayers have been answered."
Holmes recalled how the fire "raged for three hours" on the shore on Friday, surrounding the family with smoke. "Everything was on fire and it was just exploding all over the place," he added.
They managed to escape after Holmes recovered his dinghy. Walker was reunited with her children on Saturday.
Australia's record-breaking heatwave has sent temperatures soaring, melting road tar and setting off hundreds of wildfires - as well as searing new colors onto weather maps.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has added dark purple and magenta to its weather forecasting map to represent temperatures of 51 to 54 degrees Celsius (123.8 to 129.2 Fahrenheit), officials said.
PhotoBlog: Heat, high wind create 'catastrophic' fire condition in Australia
Temperatures on the map were previously capped at 50 degrees Celsius, represented by the color black.
Tim Holmes / AP
Tammy Holmes and her grandchildren take refuge under a jetty as a wildfire rages nearby in Dunalley, Australia, on Friday.
No deaths have been reported, although around 100 people haven't been accounted for since last week when a fire destroyed around 90 homes in Dunalley, which is located east of the state capital of Hobart. On Wednesday, police spokeswoman Lisa Stingel said it's likely most of those people simply haven't checked in with officials.
Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Fires in February 2009 killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.
ITV News is NBC News' UK partner. Reuters contributed to this report.
Cooler temperatures are helping firefighters battle blazes across Australia but forecasters warn of hot temperatures coming this weekend. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
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That's some good Mango juice.
I wouldn't left that in the fridge either!
Thank God there was a happy end to this story. And remember, folks...
Global warming is just another liberal hoax, made up by Al Gore to turn over the US to the UN (insert sarcasm here)
I've never heard of temps anywhere near that high outside of true sand deserts, where fires aren't going to be a concern. Any higher and you could cook a steak to "rare" by just leaving it outside. That's HOT.
Glad the family survived. Under the circumstances, and considering the alternatives, I'll bet that cold water felt pretty darn good.
That's is some powerful photo's/video.
Indeed, thank god there was a happy end to this story.
Thank God? Seriously? Had he intervened prior, they would still have homes.
@Deez-Knuts. It's bewildering, isn't it? When a tornado hits a church, and no one is killed, there's always someone who says that The Good Lord was watching out for them. It never occurs to them to wonder who sent the tornado.
I think that there is a God, and that he's a vicious psychopath who keeps trying to kill people by doing things like throwing wildfires at them. When people escape, it's just good luck.
you know, you are right...I pray for good luck every day!....jerk!
This is indeed a good example of climate change. Tornadoes of fire haven't been recorded since the bible was written (Tokyo and Dresden aside).
@Deez-Knuts - that's what i like about you people, you always blame God in whom you refuse to believe. tell me, why should God act the way you seem fit when all you do is blame, mock, scoff, Him???
i'll tell you what, just leave God out of this and just be thankful that the family is fine. Keep to the topic, don't stray off.
nature wins again yahoooo.....
I ageee stay on topic, besides in order to blame God, that confirms you believe in him :P I just say the family is probably the most thankful they have ever been in either circumstance!
Admirable. The inner strengh and sharpness of those grandparents. God Bless them!
Jeez Guys.....I haven't seen tornadoes of fire since 2007 (in person), 2009, 2012 here in San Diego.
I guess the difference between us and Aussies....when we have 5 children in our care, we evacuate.
In fairness to this guy, though, I didn't have access to an ocean. Too bad he didn't have a boat? The smell, ash and embers...and the eerie color of the sky...brings back memories.
I also note the TEMPERATURES. OMG. Braveshield 16, Desert Warfare Ops in the Mojave, we had temp of 120 for 2 days....I treated more heat casualties than could count. The hardest task was getting enough H2O. I can't imagine adding 10 degrees to that.
God bless and god speed, hope everything turns out okay.
And when we have record breaking cold weather we can also blame good old global warming. It is becoming more known that the planet is doing what it has done for millions of years. But seems like there are plenty of fools who want to make Al Gore and his minions even more money through the "global warming tax".
You people should read Michael Crighton's book, "State of Fear". That man was pretty insightful.
"that's what i like about you people, you always blame God in whom you refuse to believe. tell me, why should God act the way you seem fit when all you do is blame, mock, scoff, Him???"
Not so much, no. But "you people" - that's hilarious. There are many irrational and agnostic atheists - just as there are MANY irrational God believers - but there are also quite a few who don't blame God for anything, good or bad. But should I now start pointing out all the irrationalities and inconsistencies in the beliefs of "all you" God-believers?
I agree that the comments were misplaced, but what they were pointing out is that if you think that God had a hand in your survival, you logically should also believe that he had a hand in creating the situation in the first place (that he might have prevented the "fire tornado," for example.) The point is that people who believe in God want to thank him for anything good that happens - even if that good is actually just the result of human endurance, ingenuity, etc. - but are less inclined to blame him when bad things happen. If you believe that God has a hand in all things, then that means he's responsible for both good and evil - particularly in cases like this, where it's a force of nature causing the problem (so you can't blame "human free will.") You also have to wonder why he chooses to personally intervene in some people's lives, but not in others - ie, one family survives a devastating disaster, but hundreds or thousands of others (including at least some decent, God-believing people) perish (that's not the case here, of course, but I've seen it in other situations like the 2004 tsunami.)
Once again, I don't think such comments should have been brought up here - the mother was clearly just expressing her general relief that her family survived - but don't make the assumption that someone must believe in God if they point out a logical inconsistency in the thinking of those who do believe in him.
Seymour - Suggesting that everyone read a work of fiction to determine the reality of something is kind of hilarious. Crichton was a smart man, but that doesn't mean he was right about everything.
(For the record, I'm not a fan of Al Gore either - unfortunately for you, there are many ACTUAL scientists who understand the truth of global climate change. All your denialism and all your "this respected biologist says that global warming is a government hoax!!!11!!" doesn't change that fact. But continue hiding your head in the sand and exposing yourself as a fool.)
I am sorry for those who are so darn sure there is no "universal spiritual force".
I am sorry for those who believe there is a diety that intervenes in human affairs to reward, punish, teach, pursuade or disuade us. Each of us is responsible unto ourselves for a personal relationship with whatever spiritual force there is.
Now I get to hear the "created in his image" blah, blah, blah. All I say to that....if the balance of humanity is in the image of god...send me to hell....please. A lot of evil in this here "image of god" stuff.
Jay - I am sure there is something to global warming. However, as the article states, this is a normal happening in the Australian summers. So, not sure you can blame global warming for it.
mmm Mango juice, I guess they had to stay hydrated. On other thoughts, why would they stay "huddled up to neck deep sea water, which is cold" when they have a perfectly good jetty to sit on. Especially with 3 non-swimmers.
The jetty seemed to work alright for the dog since he was alive after they were rescued. Yea, ~123 F is hot, but seems like a better choice than sitting in cold water for 3 hours with a potential for pneumonia. As far as smoke inhalation...I've been around wildfires before. They create a smoky haze that won't change with a few feet of elevation difference.
Indiana - We don't know every detail of the situation and 3 hour ordeal, now do we? I always laugh at internet posters who "know better" and "have a better way" about everything. Same category as the internet "Rambo's" who think they "coulda" taken criminals better than the police, etc. How immature are you people?
After reading the article, they gave enough details for me to make my assumptions.
-Dog on jetty...lives.
-record temperature ever set in Australia...123F in 1960. I looked it up seperately.
-water is cold....quoted that from the daughter
-the jetty wasn't on fire...visual observation
What more do I need?
Wow, they must've had to inhale a lot of smoke being engulfed in it for over 3 hours! Hope all are okay.
There is indeed climate change..............just not man-made climate change. It's happened before and it will happen again. Oceans rose and shorelines disappeared 12,000 years ago.
IndianaEngineer, I was thinking the same thing. Until I watched the video and it stated that the jetty caught fire and they all jumped in the water after that.
In true form, NBC writes;
to cause one to think that it was 123-129 degrees F in this location, as is evident from reading several comments. A simple check of the observed high in the area was 102 F, not the above forecasting temps and that the ambient temp was a result of the fire. Now mind you that 102 is still stinkin' hot, but when you take into account that the area is in the midst of a wild fire, it's not alarming.
What MSN didn't report was that the days leading up to and directly after the fire swept through the area, the temps were at and back to the seasonal norm. The temps that were forcasted for the 123-129 range are in the dessert where is it not at all unusual to see temps on the average of 113 F (the highest actual observed temp so far this summer has been 115 F, completely normal for the area). Granted, a ten degree spike would be drastic, but the Australian continent has seen temps in this range back in 1896 where it did actually reach 123 F so while unusual, it's not like it hasn't happened before 110 years ago.
So very happy that this family made it through, having lived through a fire myself, I can relate.
maybe next time they are told to evacuate, they will. maybe. just like the people here in jersey who didn't listen.
Jason Fischer, you sure know how to interject and extensive understanding of peoples beliefs, which only projects opinionated cynicism. Your views are like you, everyone has one, and I just stunk up my bathroom using mine...
God bless these people to be thankful, and happy that their family is safe, and not being too concerned about their material losses. Theses people truely have their priorities in a correct moral precedence, and will be honestly blessed for having to suffer through these hardships.
To all the neanderthals who still after all this time mock global warming and, you know, modern science in general:
You are clearly uninformed. Allow me to correct you because the term global warming is misleading.
1. First of all, you probably shouldn't use an article on catastrophic wildfires caused by record heat waves as an example of proving global warming false. Just saying.
2. Global Warming is real, but a misleading term. The truth is that it really refers to the relatively rapid change in environment made artificially by our society and NOT naturally by our Many experts have actually called it global climate change instead because that is a bit more accurate. However, global warming caught on first and has been the mainstream term ever since. While it is true that just about all scientific evidence suggests the temperature of the Earth as a whole is rising at a relatively rapid rate, that does not mean that we will no longer have winter or that certain areas won't stay the same or become cooler. It just means that the overall temperature average is rising, and as a result weather will change for many areas and in many cases become more extreme. And since it is scientifically proven that we are causing this and NOT nature, we might want to take steps to fix that.
3. Just about any scientist, meteorologist, etc. will tell you this is true and can give you plenty of tested scientific evidence to back it up. It's been repeatedly tested by many very smart, very educated, and highly qualified experts. Rejecting this fact is basically rejecting modern science. And I would like to not go back to the stone age.
Now it's more convenient for certain businesses to not have to spend money on stuff like this. Then they can make more money and it'll be someone else's problem after they die. So if the problem doesn't exist, they don't have to do anything about it. As a result, they tend to prefer not to acknowledge the problem's existence. Since many powerful businessmen are major supporters to the Republican Party, that is probably why the Republicans themselves originally decided it was more politically advantages to deny this. Well, that and our powerful big oil lobbyists. Some people have come around, while others still cling on to denying modern science. Just know why some (not all but some) Republicans still tend to argue against this.
For the record, I'm not Republican or Democratic but an Independent who is NOT a tree hugger but does value nature to a certain extent. However, not enough to sacrifice things like paper books instead of books on glaring screens. I also clearly believe in climate change, but I didn't always. At first, I too was skeptical of the concept global warming. But fairly soon after, I realized I had to accept the overwhelming evidence. And it made more sense once I thought about all the crap we put into the air. Just thought I bring that out there before some "intellectual" hypocrite inaccurately calls me something brilliant like a libtard and ironically dismisses me because I supposedly am too politically biased to be taken seriously or something. You can laugh but it's happened to me on this site before.
4. Given no complications, what would you rather breath: clean air or dirty air? If you said dirty, you are an idiot. Or you smoke or something and have already screwed up your lungs anyways, which probably makes bad air seem less immediate to those people. No offense, but I'm pretty sure most people with fairly healthy lungs would realize it's better to have clean air. Even if there was no global warming/climate change (and there is), our air quality deteriorates when we ruin it by burning tons of filth into the air. This is not only bad for us, but creates health problems. There's a reason why it's not good to breath smoke. Several, actually. But I'm getting off topic again. Anyhow, rejecting the problem of global warming/climate change means feeding the people who to continue to pollute our air and that we continue breath this crap more and more.
I could also talk about water quality and all that other green peace crap, but I think you get the gist of it.
5. With all the crap we put in the air, do you really think it would have no impact? Of couse it has an impact! That's just common sense. Even if global warming/climate change wasn't real (and it is real), you would think all that stuff in the air would have to have some impact on something, right? I mean everything effects something, and I for one can't imagine that something on so large a scale as humanity's collective carbon footprint would have no impact on anything. I mean it's just plain silly to believe that there would be no effect with everything we put into our atmosphere. And it's nonsensical to believe nothing will happen to our climate because of this.
FYI: A major component of whether is how hot and cold air mixes. So if we heat a bunch of air up on a massive scale, what does common sense dictate?
--------------
I'm not saying you have to go out and buy a hybrid or anything like that. But you should at least acknowledge the problem exists. The rest of the world has....
Fox news has brainwashed many Americans. It is hard to imagine why people need to deny the facts involved with climate change.
Imagine that, 123.2 degrees at Dunalley, Tasmania, which is virtually the same south latitude (42,53 degrees south latitude) as Detroit suburb Birmingham, MI is north latitude (42,54 north latitude), which is 14 degrees hotter than the all-time record high in metro-Detroit that was set during the August, 2006 record heat wave there, (which itself was 5 degrees hotter than Detroit's previous all-time record too).
Last summer during our own all-time record 17-daylong stretch of 100-degree plus days here in metro Denver, several degrees closer to the equator than Tasmania, we tied, then broke, and then broke again our own all-time high temperature too, though I will admit that our new all-time high of 108 degrees is 15 degrees cooler than what Dunalley, Tasmania saw this past week too.
In fact, Dunalley, Tasmania is roughly the same south latitude as Boston, MA, Buffalo, NY, Casper, WY, Medford, OR, Milwaukee, WI, and Pocatello, ID are north latitude too, plus Dunalley, Tasmania is an oceanfront port town too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunalley,_Tasmania
Does this mean that next summer that Oklahoma, home of the great climate change denier, Republican Senator Inhofe, could see temperatures of 125-130 degrees for an extended stretch during their prime agricultural growing season too???
Wouldn't that be just too bad too???
Here is a link to a local Tasmanian news source which includes some video about the fires:
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2013/01/05/369692_tasmania-news.html
Good Lord! What an experience... very smart and lucky people!
The family has survived which makes them survivors. The future is in their hands now. May God continue to Bless.
bless these grandparents for thinking ,and doing,not just waiting for help....man,it is a very humbling story,with a perfect ending,for a change !-not ashamed to say,i had a tear,and a smile....they saved the only thing REALLY worth saving....the lives,not "stuff"....
Wow, this family looks to be in danger! Let me take a video and pictures of them. Ridiculous
Any more doubts about Global Warming?
They had to come up with a new color for the weather maps as the temps in Australia have reached 129 degrees.
Mother Nature will fix what we have broken.
Blake-2644321
Wow, this family looks to be in danger! Let me take a video and pictures of them. Ridiculous
==============================
No, what's ridiculous is your post, with nowhere else to go and 3 hours to kill in the water, perhaps taking the video can help take their minds off of the danger around them, they couldn't exactly have played Scrabble, go play in traffic.
And a perfect opportunity to teach those little boogers how to swim!
In a situation like that you have to comfort the little kids that things are not really that bad, even when they are. Taking pictures would definitely help with that, changing the mood and reassuring the children.
@Blake, If you had bothered to read the article, you would have seen that the grandfather took still photos (not videos) and sent them to his daughter (the mother of the children) so that she could see that they were still alive.
@IndigoKid, Tehperatured have NOT reached 129 degrees. The Australian meterologists added another category of 113-129 degrees after the temps had reached 113 degrees --- slightly above their highest category on their scale.
If you read and watch the video, you know that he took them to let their mother know they were still alive. He did it to help her too. I can't imagine what she was going through knowing this fire was ripping through the area. Of course then she had to worry about them drowining, but at least there was still hope - that's why he sent them.
Blake 2644321 - I think the photos did several things. One, assure the mother that everyone was still alive (It was why the Grandfather sent them to her via the cell phone - if you watched the video). Two, have evidence of their ordeal for the future. Three, give a momentary distraction for the children. I'm sure they were also crying, singing, splashing, climbing up on the pier to check. They had THREE hours in the water. I'm sure in the first half hour, they didn't think to take photos. After that, well, i'm sure they started to think more of what they could do during the long wait.
Are you for real? Rescue the people for gawd sakes! Wait...lets keep you in danger for longer so i can further my career by getting these really good oictures and video...Wake up!
you do realize it was the family taking pictures of themselves right? And that the grandfather was taking the pictures for his daughter (the mother of the children) who wasn't there.....read the dam article before commenting geez! It just makes you sound dumb.
The Aussies are having a hell of a time. I'm sure there were rescues going on. This particular family was probably safer than a lot of other people. So the other people had priority. A disaster of this scale means you have to triage your rescue efforts. Half the damn state is burning. This monster of a firestorm dwarfs the man made efforts to contain it.
I really ache for these people. They seem to be getting the worst aspect of the global warming phenomena. When you combine record temperatures and drought, bad things happen. What's worse is that the fires themselves increase the temperatures. I know firefighters succumb to heat exhaustion quite often. When you're at the face of the fire the temperatures are well above the stated 113 degrees. You're in danger from both heat and dehydration.
Firefighters are the bravest people I know. Not only do they take on the monster fires, but they will go to extraordinary lengths to save the people in the path of the fire. Just amazing examples of the best in people.
I have mis-read articles my own darn self....but I always find it hysterical when someone makes a post that screams:
I DIDN'T READ THE ARTICLE, I JUST WANT TO POST SOMETHING NEGATIVE!!!!!
Like the ASSumptions above about why the pic was taken.
It says in the article it was taken and sent to "MOM's" cell phone to assure her everyone was "okay".
And yeah, huddling in the water is okay considering the alternatives......
With those temps, I would have been out there swimming anyway.
@ Indigo Kid
read 1.26
It did not reach 129 F in Australia, the chart now simply goes up to 129 F.
Zavier weed,
Are you for real? Rescue the people for gawd sakes! Wait...lets keep you in danger for longer so i can further my career by getting these really good oictures and video...Wake up!
==========================================================
Zavier weed....................me thinks you bin smok'n too much of it.
I wonder what the woman (grandmother) is holding in that photo above. Looks like a bottle of dish detergent. (Maybe mango-scented?) Also, I wonder what happened to the dog. :-o
That might be something to drink.
You might be right, Max, something to drink makes more sense. But the bottle is shaped just like my dish detergent.
And I still wonder about the dog.
Gene, the dog appears in the video taken later when the family was reunited. Looks like it came through just fine.
When I saw the picture of the dog standing on the pier, I wander what happened to him/her as well.
Admirable, the inner strengh and sharpness of those grandparents. God Bless them!
Thank God the family is alright. This is an amazing picture. At first I didnt think it was from the same story because I thought to myself "who would be taking a picture at that moment?" but I guess it was to show his daughter that they were hanging in there (no pun intended)...
....on a side note I hear he has thousands of likes on Instagram (I especially like the 'Toaster' filter used) ;)
How do you take pictures in a situation like this? Very brave people. I would have been hauling ass in the water.
Did any of you read the article ? It says that grandpa took pics to send to Mom (who wasn't there) to reassure her that the kids were OK.
It's easy to take pictures in these situations. Not everyone goes into a mad panic when disaster strikes. Quite a few of us are able to keep a level head during such events.
DUH, they could have walked to the end of the dock and sat there until the fire wet out. There was no need to get into the water up to their necks and freeze their asses off. I guess they don't have much common sense in Australia either. Looks like the dog was smart enough to figure that out.
the surrounding air temp would have been extreme... not much common sense or heart in some Fla Natives apparently
Most.
Sorry Greg, but the dock was 50 feet long, so there wouldn't have been any "extreme air temp". Get out on the water much? Yes, we down here in Fla. have what you're lacking...common sense!
So, FlaNative1955, when's the last time you were subjected to air temperatures in the range of 130 degrees or more, and if you had the opportunity to cool down a bit, wouldn't you? You should really try thinking some day.
As close as the fire looks, the air would have be searing hot with the winds whipped up.
The fire was raging all around them and the embers would have been flying around in the wind. If they had stayed on the dock they were likely to get burned. Being in the water was the safest refuge.
Sorry but your momma did. Did you read the quote "It's of all of my five children underneath the jetty, huddled up to neck deep sea water, which is cold. I knew that that would be a challenge to keep three non-swimmers above water and with only my mom, dad and our eldest daughter". So in your mind it's better to risk them in the water, and possibly drown, rather than at the end of the dock, where there was no danger? And the fire didn't just appear from out of no where, it had to be burning for hours before it reached them. By the way, the extreme temperature wasn't due to the fire either, it was that hot all over the place,so by your logic they should have been sitting in the water all along to cool down. Don't worry about me thinking, cause I'm light years ahead of most, including you.
duh Fla -- smoke - had to stay low in the water, 'up to their necks', for breathable air. watch the itv video.
As we all well know, reasonable thought has been outlawed in Florida. Aussie friends, most of us understand.
OK genius, I'm sure you saw the still pic of the kids on the dock (and the only smart one, the dog, who stayed on the dock chuckling at the dumb humans in the water), and the smoke wasn't hovering over the water, or choking them,as I'm sure you already know. By the way, congrats on beating Note Dame's ass. And Rick, we replaced reasonable thought (as you call it) with common sense, something I guess you and your Aussie friends probably aren't familiar with.
If you watch the video, it explains that the jetty caught on fire too and that's when they got into the water.
FlaNative1955, whenever he finds himself in a hole, starts digging even more frantically.
the heat from the fire was over 122 degrees, they would have roasted if they had not taken to the water, Aussies are very independent people, it and Alaska are the last frontier, good show mate.
Dont bother guys. FlaNative is just a troll.
Any human with half a brain, or anyone who has talked to a firefighter, can tell you that being that close to a raging wildfire is enough to cause heatstroke, never mind the ash, smoke, and embers flying around. Sitting on the end of a 50-foot jetty would not have gotten them far enough away from the fire to offer protection.
Also, as Bullhauler pointed out, the deck of the jetty had caught fire in spots, forcing them into the water. I seriously doubt even FlaNative would be so stupid as to stay on a dock or jetty that had just caught fire. If he had any brains at all, he'd be the first to jump in the water.
Gotta disagree with you, there.
Having been through wildfires in Colorado Springs last year I can assure you that they may not have seen it coming. Wildfires move extremely fast and can change direction quickly. We were sitting in our office and told by the fire department that we were in no danger. Probably 20 minutes later they were evacuating the building and getting us as far away as possible. One shift of the wind and that was it. The air had gone from about 60 degrees and clean to stifling hot and littered with ash. The run from the building to the car nearly killed us because we couldn't breath. You would think logically you would have time to get out or you would have some kind of warning but many times you just don't.
When I think of all the things that could have happened to this family it is truly a miracle they survived.
@FlaNative,
Didn't bother to read the article, did you? There were "tornadoes of fire" (like dust devils but flames that were actually extemding out over the water in places, the dock was on fire at the shore end, and there were burning embers as heavy as 4.4 pounds raining down all around them. So your Florida "common sense, says that instead of being in the water under the dock, one should sit at the end of the burning dock and just ignore the fire tornadoes and the falling embers? That's really a stupid wat to react --- by just ignoring it. People like you just die in situations like that, mostly because of their "common sense."
FlaNative, sounds like one of the idiots who will sit at home during the next hurricane because "it just makes sense".
Reading the dogged tenacity of FLANATIVE (I, personally, wouldn't admit that).......
Words like stubborn and bullheaded come to mind. I wonder if FLANATIVE was dangling chads in the election, or on the Casey Anthoney jury, or .........
Ahhh!!! This is it......STANDING HIS/HER GROUND!!!!!!!
Saying you are from Florida doesn't much impress me positively anymore. Sorry to all you "normal" people from there......
You need to clean the whackos out.
You can feel the heat from a fire that big over 200 metres away. It feels the same as standing next to a bonfire. Those of you who have never experience fire at this extreme level should have no comment on the families decision to jump in the water.
Watch the Youtube video of the oil tank that caught fire. People running away had to be treated for burns.
My parents' neighbors' house burned down in the summer. My mom said that right before they left the heat they felt in their own house was insanely intense. When I heared what happened I kept saying that I wish I was there to experience the event...a few weeks later I burned a piece of toast in the toaster oven. I'd never seen so much smoke in my life. I couldnt breath and my eyes burned like crazy. I kept having to run out side to get fresh air and then go back in to fan open more windows and fan the smoke. I think it was God's way of telling me to not be stupid (because I've never seen toast burn like that before, it was surreal). Fire is no joke....
FlaNative, I dont think there is anyway that you really think it would have been better for the family to sit on the dock. I think youre just 'fanning the fire'. Its common sense that you would get into the river to escape the fire. Even if there was no smoke, the heat alone would have taken them over. Australia is going through a record heatwave, so much so that the weather station has reportedly adopted a new shade of purple to use on their weather maps to show how hot it is in some areas.
it couldnt have been that bad if they were able to pose for pictures. why is this news?
go back and sit in your rocking chair Uncle Henry. If you can't figure out why this is news, you need to stay off these sites
Henry,
When you're as pussified as krjones, you get scared of your shadow, so you will have tio excuse his ignorance. Maybe his avatar should be nocajones?
Its news because many of us have been through something traumatic like this, and, last time I checked, we were on friendly terms with the Aussies. Anyone who didn't cry at this one is probably not a grandparent or cares, period. And FlaNative1955, it is obvious that you live where you do because you don't have to think much. Florida can go dump into the ocean and no one would miss it.
Hey, Uncle Henry, you think they were posing for pictures? dim wit. Says in the article, if you'd bothered to read it, the father of the kids took the picture for his wife, who wasnt' there. I hope karma bites you in the a&& sooner than later.
catherine,
That is one of the few good things about global warming. Most of Florida is at sea level. As the seas rise, Florida will disappear.
I imagine the heat was so intense that being in the water help to keep them cool.
Glad these folks survived.
i said it on the last article on these fires..and i'll say it again...
..holy crap...
Those poor children must have been very frightened. Thank goodness that the grandparents were able to keep them all alive.
Pulitzer prize candidate.
So who took the picture? Looks staged to me.
Your cynicism is surpassed only by your stupidity.
Kinda the pot calling the kettle black aren't you momma?
John, if you will go back and read the article again, you will find that the grandpa took the picture to show the kid's mom that they were all still alive.
Lisa - Funny how people comment without reading the actual article, isn't it? LOL.
Internet trolls are people who would step over there own mothers too escape disaster.
Great image....love the eldest daughter just getting it done like it ain't no thang.
Nice work!
She's probably thinking "why the hell is Grandpa taking us into neck deep water?
Gram pa deserves a well done. Great story.
And yet many here in the US still believe that global warming and climate change is a myth.
Climat change is not a myth. It happens all the time. The contention is that global warming is a myth. Read today's Reuters report about China (a vast size country) experiencing the coldest temperatures in 28 years. Is that from global warming too?
Exactly macz! What happened during the ice age change? We weren't even around to cause that change!
I am all for taking care of our environment in every way we can. I just doubt that world temperature changes are due to the human imprint.
Bet you still think the world is flat and the sun revolves around the earth too. There is much evidence of cataclysmic climate change in the past likely caused by meteors hitting the planet. This time, people hit the planet. If you don't think the billions of people on this planet have anything to do with these changes you should put down the bong.
World temperatures are changing. I just don't believe it's the end of the world. We will adapt. People will die but it's not the end of man kind like they try to make it out to be.
Climate change deniers watch fox and come here to comment. Stupid Americans.
I'm thankful these folks survived and regret so many of the callus comments left on this thread. Mostly, those from the Florida Native. Australians are a strong lot. I pray for a break in this extreme heat wave that is ravaging their continent.
agreed
Thanks Jeffrey. And we will always stand by USA as one of your only true Allies in this world.
Hmm....good to see that in such a life threatening event, we still have time to whip out a smartphone and snap away pictures and text. I also tend to wonder just how "cold" the water could be when temperatures outside are in the 120's as it states. No doubt a scary experience, but perhaps not as bad as the media makes it out to be, when taking time for pictures and texting take priority over escaping.
dont know about that KenW but the kids sure look scared to me. the only reason Grandpa "whipped out the phone" was to let his daughter know that the kids were safe.
If they are in the ocean and since they are in Tasmania the water would be pretty darn cold - I would suspect the currents in that area are similar to currents off of BC etc - close to a polar region. Just take a look at a map - the next landmass south is Antartica
you are right....who pulls out a phone in an emergency? Nobody ever does that.
Ken
Escaping to where? There wasn't anyplace to go! Sometimes I really hate trolls who feel it is incumbent on them to find fault with every story and every human being who draws a breath. They are so quick to judge and criticize, but I'll bet you just about anything that they have done some incredibly stupid things in their lives. They just lie about it afterwards.
If I was stuck under a pier with my grandchildren, I know that I would have wanted my daughter to know we were still okay, still alive.
Underemployeed...you're another internet idiot using the "troll" term. I especially like how you say I am so quick to judge and criticize as you so quickly did the same thing to me - so, 1. Escaping to the sea, which they did, which indicates there WAS someplace to go 2. It's summer there and temperatures are in the 120's so it's not cold or freezing, therfore part of my overhyping of the story by the media 3. I never said anyone lied did I?, I said it is the media over dramatizing the story as usual 4. If at ANY point I was trying to save my grandchildrens lives, and they were truly in danger, I would NEVER take time to grab a phone, take pictures and send texts. If those were my children and they had died, I would rather not have seen their last photo be a picture of them in dire straights and fear, and be sitting there wondering if they would live or die or wait for the next picture from grandpa. - Therefore, I figure you are more than likely one of those people who thrive on reality TV and would stand and take video of a tragedy rather than try to intervene. You're part of the sick society we live in. All told, this was a happy ending, but both the grandfather and/or whomever decided to contact the media to plaster this in the news, are on equal ground with you and your thinking. OWNED
Who pulls a cell phone in an emergency. Ever heard of 911. Calling your Family to see if they are alright. The question should be. Who doesn't pull out a phone in an emergency?
Americans pull out a gun in an emergency.
did you either read the article or watch the video? The grandfather took the picture to send to his daughter to let them know what was going on. The ones holding the children are the grandmother and the oldest grandaughter
Now onto something intelligent. Does the Red Cross go over to Australia to help? Is there anything we can do to help?
australia has its own version of the red cross its called the red kangaroo.
Oh, Uncle Henry! Such rapier-like wit.
What a moron.
Yeah it's called the red cross. What ever services you have in America we also have in Australia and we a capable of dealing with domestic disasters with out foreign aid.
Kudos to Grandpa! My thoughts and prayers to our Aussie friends Down Under.
It's lucky for that family that they had access to a body of water at all. I'm happy to know they were all saved. As for the dog, I'd be willing to bet it jumped in when it sensed the imminent danger. By nature, animals are pretty well equipped to handle situations like that. It's only when they are confined that they succumb to harm.
found the answer to my earlier question.
You can help
Australian Red Cross is running the Tasmanian Bushfires 2013 Appeal at the invitation of the Tasmanian Government in order to provide assistance to those affected by the devastating bushfires.
You can assist those people affected by the bushfires by making a donation.
Please don't judge all Floridians by FLANATIVE1955 - if you check the other posts made by the individual you will see a common thread - all condescending comments - I will make the leap this individual lives in the southern part of the state in the concrete jungle. I would almost bet they have never been near a wild fire.
I am glad all is well with this family.
noted.
Is there no end to the craze of photos/videos of tragedies? It's hardly possible to believe that while his wife and family cling to the jetty to save their lives, this man thought it was time to take a picture. What kind of person decides to memorialize his family's fear?
I believe it's already been noted several times that the grandfather took the picture to assure his daughter that he and her kids were okay, as she was no doubt aware of the fire situation there, but heck - here goes yet another.
The kind who took advantage of technology to let his daughter know her parents and children were safe.
Ms. Pea(Brain)
What do you say when you see pictures of hostages?
Well, if they can take time to pose for pics showing off their weight loss and new hairdo, they can't be in much danger. Kind of like being at a spa.