A controlled burn was carried out by DEWNR (dept of environment, water and natural resources) on approx. 7 hectares (18 acres) of our property on Nov 22nd, 2017.
They arrived around 12.30 pm and first ignition occurred around 4.30pm.
35 people, 6 trucks including 2 large tankers, and 6 four-wheel drive vehicles were involved.
They worked until around 9.00 pm with one truck and crew remaining overnight.
A follow-up crew kept an eye on things in the days following.
Click on the thumbnail below to see some snaps of the proceedings. I wasn't allowed to get too close for obvious reasons, but eventually, they came to us !
Thanks to DEWNR for their fire program and resources, and in particular to Tim Groves and his excellent team for a safe and successful operation.
**2020 UPDATE** :
In light of the recent and current bushfire disasters and ensuing public debate, its worth pointing out that the burn took the best part of 3 years from idea stage to execution. The ever narrowing window of opportunity due to hotter, drier conditions, juggling the huge work load of the staff involved, the changing localised weather on any given day, and even the reluctance of the regions wine-growers due to possible smoke contamination from unfavourable wind conditions, led to delay after delay.
Wouldn't it be great if those sections of the public and the media who continue to push blindly for more and bigger environmental burns and often blame "greenies" (ie: Us !) for supposedly opposing these programs, could take this sort of information on board !
I can also report that now, almost 3 years on from the burn, the understory vegetation and potential fuel load are back near to where they were before the event.
Would we do it again?.......
2022 update
After learning a little bit about indigenous cultural burning practices, largely from "Fire Country" by Victor Steffensen, I'd now be a bit wary of going through this process again !
From what I now understand, the DEW fire crew burn their fires way too hot, some of our stringy barks have blackened bark 10 metres up their trunks.
Its time our fire agencies listened to, and learned from the original inhabitants of this land.
They arrived around 12.30 pm and first ignition occurred around 4.30pm.
35 people, 6 trucks including 2 large tankers, and 6 four-wheel drive vehicles were involved.
They worked until around 9.00 pm with one truck and crew remaining overnight.
A follow-up crew kept an eye on things in the days following.
Click on the thumbnail below to see some snaps of the proceedings. I wasn't allowed to get too close for obvious reasons, but eventually, they came to us !
Thanks to DEWNR for their fire program and resources, and in particular to Tim Groves and his excellent team for a safe and successful operation.
**2020 UPDATE** :
In light of the recent and current bushfire disasters and ensuing public debate, its worth pointing out that the burn took the best part of 3 years from idea stage to execution. The ever narrowing window of opportunity due to hotter, drier conditions, juggling the huge work load of the staff involved, the changing localised weather on any given day, and even the reluctance of the regions wine-growers due to possible smoke contamination from unfavourable wind conditions, led to delay after delay.
Wouldn't it be great if those sections of the public and the media who continue to push blindly for more and bigger environmental burns and often blame "greenies" (ie: Us !) for supposedly opposing these programs, could take this sort of information on board !
I can also report that now, almost 3 years on from the burn, the understory vegetation and potential fuel load are back near to where they were before the event.
Would we do it again?.......
2022 update
After learning a little bit about indigenous cultural burning practices, largely from "Fire Country" by Victor Steffensen, I'd now be a bit wary of going through this process again !
From what I now understand, the DEW fire crew burn their fires way too hot, some of our stringy barks have blackened bark 10 metres up their trunks.
Its time our fire agencies listened to, and learned from the original inhabitants of this land.
© Neale Dyster Photography