By By Paul Wallis Feb 16, 2009 in Environment The fires are unbelievable. They race like lava, running uphill. Traveling at 100kmh, it’s now clear why these fires were so deadly. If you’ve seen pictures of World War Two flamethrowers, they’re like that. It’s just that they’re gigantic. We knew it was bad, seeing fires like the worst historical footage. We weren’t prepared for what happened next. In some parts of Victoria, the heat hit 48C. The fire hazard index was based on disastrous fires in 1939. It’s on a scale of 100. The fire index for 7 February was 200 in some areas. The figures were so high nobody could believe it. These fires were described as 100 feet high. What looks like darkest night with fires is day. Dazzling white fires glare in the cameras. These are the killer fires, where proximity heat is enough to cause massive, fatal injury. The survivors spoke of fireballs, the firemen of fires starting from embers which landed behind the residents, trapping them. An actual firestorm destroyed two towns, Kinglake and Marysville. The fires ripped through the towns. Some trees are still quite green, but whole buildings have been utterly demolished. The fires hit the buildings According to residents, the heat left nothing salvageable in some places. Houses weren't just burning, they were exploding. People were surrounded. They couldn’t even see where the fires were, because the smokes was so thick. At one point the fires joined and formed a fire front 100km long. An area of about 1000 to 2000 square kilometres was either ablaze or the fires had already burned through, in this one fire zone. The fires were unstoppable. Nothing was going to control them. These fires were like nothing ever seen before in Australia. The roar of the fire was like continuous thunder. One resident said it sounded like ten jumbo jets starting up. Even on the soundtrack, that’s exactly what it sounds like. Bushfires are known to be noisy, but not like that. Another man said that they just hid in their cars, covered themselves with wet blankets, and drove away to cooler places when it got hot. More bodies are being found. The death toll is now 189. Less impressive was the staggering unprofessionalism of some of the media coverage. ABC’s One “reporter”, miles from the scene in Sydney, was instantly producing deathless prose blaming the Greenies for the fires. This is real rabble rousing stuff, usually used for geriatric hick conservative audiences, the ones that can’t read but know when to applaud. For a newspaper which is supposed to be the alternative to News Corp, a sickening exhibition. I've always known they were mediocrities, but even by their standards, this is really getting low. Given that many of these areas are declared crime scenes, and that people’s right to privacy, if nothing else, isn’t incinerated by bushfires, it’ll be interesting to see what happens about these multiple incidents. Time for some case law. I doubt if too many Walkley Awards (Australia's top awards for real journalists) will be produced for these journalistic maggots out of the ashes of Marysville and Kinglake. The video of the fires, from ABC’s Four Corners , is quite beyond anyone’s possible conception. The ABC was there from the start. The national public broadcaster also operates the emergency radio net. The first aerial footage came from the ABC, showing rivers of white fire under red skies.We knew it was bad, seeing fires like the worst historical footage. We weren’t prepared for what happened next. In some parts of Victoria, the heat hit 48C. The fire hazard index was based on disastrous fires in 1939. It’s on a scale of 100. The fire index for 7 February was 200 in some areas. The figures were so high nobody could believe it.These fires were described as 100 feet high. What looks like darkest night with fires is day. Dazzling white fires glare in the cameras. These are the killer fires, where proximity heat is enough to cause massive, fatal injury. The survivors spoke of fireballs, the firemen of fires starting from embers which landed behind the residents, trapping them.An actual firestorm destroyed two towns, Kinglake and Marysville. The fires ripped through the towns. Some trees are still quite green, but whole buildings have been utterly demolished. The fires hit the buildings According to residents, the heat left nothing salvageable in some places. Houses weren't just burning, they were exploding.People were surrounded. They couldn’t even see where the fires were, because the smokes was so thick. At one point the fires joined and formed a fire front 100km long. An area of about 1000 to 2000 square kilometres was either ablaze or the fires had already burned through, in this one fire zone.The fires were unstoppable. Nothing was going to control them. These fires were like nothing ever seen before in Australia. The roar of the fire was like continuous thunder. One resident said it sounded like ten jumbo jets starting up. Even on the soundtrack, that’s exactly what it sounds like. Bushfires are known to be noisy, but not like that.Another man said that they just hid in their cars, covered themselves with wet blankets, and drove away to cooler places when it got hot.More bodies are being found. The death toll is now 189.Less impressive was the staggering unprofessionalism of some of the media coverage. ABC’s Media Watch , a unique show which is extremely good at monitoring standards of journalism in Australia, has some truly disgusting material from Australia’s famous epitomes of sensitivity and good taste. Reporters were shoving cameras in the faces of bereaved people. Others were roaming through people's homes, apparently. All good wholesome dreck from that element of the local media for whom constipation is a professional ideal.One “reporter”, miles from the scene in Sydney, was instantly producing deathless prose blaming the Greenies for the fires. This is real rabble rousing stuff, usually used for geriatric hick conservative audiences, the ones that can’t read but know when to applaud. For a newspaper which is supposed to be the alternative to News Corp, a sickening exhibition. I've always known they were mediocrities, but even by their standards, this is really getting low.Given that many of these areas are declared crime scenes, and that people’s right to privacy, if nothing else, isn’t incinerated by bushfires, it’ll be interesting to see what happens about these multiple incidents. Time for some case law.I doubt if too many Walkley Awards (Australia's top awards for real journalists) will be produced for these journalistic maggots out of the ashes of Marysville and Kinglake. This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com More about Australian fires, Four corners, Media watch More news from australian fires four corners media watch