for those whom it may concern... ex Rob Gell .. Ch 7 Melb continues to experience dry weather... this being the driest start to a year on record. Total fireban for most of the State tomorrow... after some mild changes, temp rising to 38C on Frid, then a late change. Forecast 27 C on Sat with occasional showers followed by 23 C on Sun with clearing showers. With that forecast for Sun., without rain... me thinks windy ??? Fires are still active around the Warburton \ Eildon regions. Ride Safe
Apparently in Victoria tomorrow we are going to experience strong winds with high temperatures, while many areas are still burning.
Never mind all that. If you live near anywhere worth riding, you can't ride because the best roads to the north and east of Melb were/are all bushfire affected and many are restricted to local traffic only or closed to all traffic, unless you know the roads better than the police in which case you may know how to avoid some of the roadblocks. Nev.. '07 XB12X '08 DL1000K8
Speaking of which our usual route was through the worst-affected areas. Can anyone give me a route to Warburton from ..say.. Goulburn or Gundagai and then from Warburton to the Island that's mildly interesting but won't see me getting in anyone's way? Thanks ..... Clem
You'd really want to be checking with the locals in Warby before you leave, Clem. I'd be avoiding that area like the plague. The fires are still heading that way as we speak. Note for anyone heading to PI from the north of Melbourne, There will be a very high likelihood of roads east of the Hume Hwy and north of the Princes Hwy being roadblocked which will result in you having to make detours adding hundreds of Km to your trip. The road closures are published on www.vicroads.vic.gov.au I think the Melba Hwy from Yea to Lilydale is the only north south road open. The maroondah Hwy between Healesville and Narbethong (The Black Spur) is closed. All access roads to the Reefton Spur north and south are closed. The Acheron way is closed so you can only enter Warby from the west. The Bunyip fire is south of Warby so I would imagine access from the south would be difficult also. Interesting routes will be hard ot find.. Nev.. '07 XB12X '08 DL1000K8
Thanks heaps Nev. Yea to Lilydale sounds promising [better than the Hume anyway] but I'll check on Wednesday night. Cheers .... Clem
Not having lived in Melburnia for 22 years I'm starting to forget the highway names, but methinks as the Gippsland fires are under control and the worrying areas are shifting, that coming in through Lakes Entrance and diving off down south before you get even near Melbourne would be the go? Or is there something I am missing here?
You can relive old times by going to: http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/incidents/incident_updates.htm search for 'Maps' and look at the statewide summary. PI appears to be safe for the time being. That will change this Saturday at 2am when someone sets off rockets. Always plan your escape route!
Not this time I suspect http://www.smh.com.au/national/residents-flee-as-fire-looms-20090223-8ewp.html JL
Yeah not a good place to be. 2 of the 3 roads out of town have already been closed for a couple of weeks. Wouldn't want to be trying to get out on the last remaining road if the fire approached in a hurry. There were 4 roads out of Kinglake... Nev.. '07 XB12X '08 DL1000K8
