Have not experienced it, no. When I visited Melbourne a few years ago, it was actually quite cold, so it's hard for me to understand the whole thing. But I've been reading articles for the last week or so that there was a big likelihood of a major fire in the region, so I stand by my point, to be honest - and Germaine Greer made the point better than I did, and she'd be more familiar with the region than I would.
Perhaps, in a few weeks or months, some examination can be conducted of what caused this and why the death toll was so high.
Ah, yes, Germaine Greer. I forgot to highlight this point. Are you familiar with her? Dude, save yourself the time. Read something credible.
Look, either way, your information is faulty in numerous areas. My opinion is by no means expert, however, I've lived with them each summer like many people on here. For starters, you're reading media reports. You might want to try to cfs website for vic or rfs for nsw. Reading there was a big likelihood of a major fire means nothing. They've got cycles. Around every 5-7 years, bush regions have huge fires which are out of control in a shockingly small amount of time. In a few years, the memories for those not directly affected by these fires will dim, and once more people will report, "oh, we're due for some big fires soon" and look toward the next lot, rather than behind to the last. The death toll for these is explained already by the sheer speed and ferocity of some of these. if you have a fire wall of 10, 20, 30, 50 metres, you've got a smoke cloud god knows how many metres taller than that. In that very angry ball of heat, hot enough to melt cars, you get embers. Lots of them. The heat pushes upward, wind gusts carry the smoke kilometres away. Embers travel so fast, you'd not believe it. Dry kindling ignites spot fires randomly over the place, firefronts join up in minutes. 6-10 small fires join into one, carry over a huge distance, jumping over the place, they meet another fire, a few km's away. Soon you have an out of control inferno that is racing toward populated areas. Someone forgot to clean the leaves out of their gutter. They're watching the smoke from the front yard thinking it is still a few km's away, but it's lit their back gutter. It's jumping over house to house, maybe missing a few. Suddenly, the fire is there - in their street. They jump in the car, scramble to gather kids, pets, a jumper or tee shirt, blankets. They hope the road isn't blocked by oncoming firetrucks and neighbours fleeing. They stop briefly at an elderly neighbour to see if he got out in time, but he doesn't answer so they speed on assuming he is safe. He isn't. He perishes. He is in an electric wheelchair. He had no chance. He's one of the 108 lost so far. Keep in mind that the smoke is so thick at this stage that visibility is at a low, real low. Its as dark as early evening. You've got no power, you've forgotten your mobile, in the chaos and confusion, there are other people you simply cannot account for. People without cars, people who got trapped in their houses, the young, the elderly, people are going to die in a huge one like this. Who starts them? Arsonists frequently. Sometimes idiot kids. Sometimes sexual deviants. Sometimes it is a careless cigarette butt out the car window. Sometimes it is spontaneous combustion. God knows, there's enough undergrowth in the surrounding thousands of hectares of bushland to ignite. Fire inspectors will determine the cause of them. Police will investigate. It will be the usual culprits. Some have already been arrested, at least in the nsw fires. I'm sure you read some arsonists were re-lighting some contained fires. It's not a stretch at all to say arson.