호주 원정의 시초가 되었던 Warrumbungles mountain 주위에 산불이 나서 우리가 알고 있는 곳들이 많이 피해를 입었나 봅니다.

호주에서 온 이메일을 첨부하니 관심있으신 분들은 읽어 보시기 바랍니다.

Hi All,

For those of you who may not have heard, the Warrumbungles area, and in particular, Timor Road, was struck by a catastrophic bushfire last weekend which remains un-contained in a number of areas.

Dozens of homes have been lost in the fires as well as scores of other buildings.

The local residents and staff up at the Siding Spring Observatories were all evacuated from the Timor Road area into town and are coping well given the circumstances.

Parts of the Siding Spring Observatory have been damaged by fire. The main telescope has survived, although it is not known if it has been damaged.  The Visitors Centre and the Astronomers Lodge (the main accommodation) have been significantly damaged as well as several other residences and sheds on the mountain, however it is not yet known whether the extreme heat has damaged or affected any of the telescopes which appear to have largely escaped the wrath of the inferno.

The Mopra Radio Telescope appears to have remains relatively intact, however the control building was significantly damaged.  The shielded room appears to have sustained very little damage inside, and may stand a chance yet.

Whilst significant peripheral damage has been sustained at the Warrumbungles Mountain Motel, its Residence and storage buildings have all survived relatively intact.  Sally and Dick (and the dogs) have all survived unscathed and the motel will open for business again once fire crews have assessed the damage and allow people back into the area.  At this stage, The 2013 OzSky Star Safari will still go ahead as planned, albeit with some variations to usual practice...

Donna Burton & Chris Ramage's property just up the road has sustained significant damage, however her home has survived intact thanks to a fire-fighter who happened to pass by her home at 3am and doused a flare-up.

Peter Starr's property, across the road from the Warrumbungles Mountain Motel, has lost the "old house" on his property, however the "new house" and the observatory domes have all survived intact.

John & Jan Shobbrook's property at the base of Siding Spring Mountain was unfortunately destroyed, however his motor home appears to have survived intact and will serve as their home for the foreseeable future.

Rob McNaught's home was also unfortunately destroyed during the fire-storm.

The Timor Cottages (and the owner's residence) were also destroyed in the fires.  The OzSky Star Safari used the Timor Cottages when it was originally founded.

The NSW Rural Fire Service's Building Impact Assessment Teams have so far confirmed 51 properties in the Timor Road area have been destroyed, although this number is likely to change as crews continue to work through the damage. More than 113 sheds have also been destroyed, as well as a large number of livestock and farm machinery.

The local reservoir has also been affected by the fires and is currently covered with a layer of black ash which has affected pumps at the reservoir and which may potentially affect water quality in the region, especially after the next rainfall which will wash yet more ash into the reservoir.

A number of Appeals have been set up to assist those affected.  Some of these include:

• Warrumbungle Shire Mayor’s Bushfire Appeal
  http://www.warrumbungle.nsw.gov.au/News/Articles/Warrumbungle-Shire-Mayor-s-Bushfire-Appeal

• Australian National University (ANU) Staff Emergency Relief Fund to enable members of the university community to provide support for staff and their families who have been affected by the Siding Spring Observatory fire 
  http://philanthropy.anu.edu.au/philanthropy/donate-online/search/?cause=anu-siding-spring-observatory-fire-staff-emergency-relief-fund

Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by these catastrophic fires.

Further information and various shared links can be found at the OzSky Star Safari's facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/OzSkyStarSafari or at the Rural Fire Service's website: http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au

I will endeavour to keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Kinds Regards,

Lachlan MacDonald

The OzSky Star Safari

http://www.OzSky.org