Hay season’s early start
An earlier hay season has Victorian farmers and CFA talking about the dangers of high moisture content in hay as they begin cutting, baling and storing it in warmer conditions. Just this week we saw the repercussions of hot northerly winds, when seven hay sheds, each with 800 bales of hay, caught on fire in Kerang following a damaging ember attack.
Climate change drives huge rise in fire risk
Patricia Gill. Climate change has driven the occurrence of extreme ï¬re risk days in Denmark from two in 1930 to 150 expected by 2030. The occurrence of days has risen incrementally in more recent years from 50 extreme risk days in 2019 driven by the warming climate and earlier summer conditions. Also indications are that Denmark is two months ahead of ‘normal’ weather conditions with silage and hay being cut in paddocks in October and the beginning of November rather than in December.
Closure marred by vast contradictions
The Victorian government’s regulation of timber harvesting, which has led to the impending closure of Gippsland’s native forest industry in January, directly contradicts the joint national-state approach to ensure biodiversity alongside a timber industry over the previous 30 years, analysis shows ... When setting up the National Forest Policy Statement in the 1990s, the JANIS working group – conservation scientists and planners from all states and the CSIRO – drew up the criteria to form a CAR (comprehensive, adequate and representative) reserve system.
Katters call out Queensland on bushfire culpability: Katter
“At the same time we have seen these shocking declines in volunteer numbers, without any genuine attempt to stem the flow, Labor governments have embarked on a land lock-up spree that has seen National Park size in Queensland increase from around 6.6 million ha in 2002 to more than 7 million ha in 2022 ... Then we have the Prime Minister running around the country saying he will protect 30 per cent of lands, meanwhile what is currently under lock and key are poorly-managed, ecological wastelands that raise the nation’s bushfire risk": Traeger MP Robbie Katter.
Emergency fodder for producers affected by Queensland bushfires: Furner
Primary producers significantly affected by bushfires in Queensland will soon be able to access emergency fodder. The recently established Bushfire Fodder Taskforce has contracted Rural Aid to provide five road trains of fodder to affected areas.
Current conditions driving demand for hay
Australian farmers are requesting donated hay at a phenomenal rate as drought and bushfire conditions bite ... Queensland cattle producer Betty Johnson, of Biggenden, this month received hay from Rural Aid ... “We’ve had no rain at all since about January which means that I’ve been feeding stock for ages. If you’re feeding stock, it costs money.”
Goomburra fires
As at Tuesday 31 October the Goomburra Fires are under control after many days of fire fighting and back burning. Each day about half a dozen units are attending the fires which are still burning in the hills.
Calls for council slashing at Nymboida
A Nymboida resident who was in the middle of the Glen’s Creek Road firestorm last Wednesday says calls for council to slash about 80 acres of land adjoining his and two other properties have resulted in a limited response that placed lives in jeopardy … “Council would be having a go at anyone else whose property is putting people at risk, but council can get away with it because they’re council…it’s not good enough.”
Tasmanian Farmers reject new fire levy options as totally unfair and unacceptable: TFGA
Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) says it cannot support the government's proposed Tasmanian Fire and Emergency Services fire levy funding models in their present form ... TFGA President, Ian Sauer said, “While we support the move toward a fairer, more efficient funding system with a single source of funding, in some instances we’re seeing farmers' contributions increase under one proposed model by a staggering 1000 per cent, and under the other model by at least 230 per cent in contributions, which is unacceptable and certainly not equitable.”
How long is your hose?
The Naked Farmer (18-year CFA volunteer). Have you ever been a volunteer? It feels great, doesn’t it? Imagine if you were responsible for putting those volunteers’ life at added risk? For an organisation like the CFA which relies predominantly on volunteers, why wouldn’t it stop and ask the question, "Why are we allowing the added risk of Transmission Lines to our volunteers and those we serve to protect?"
The Buloke Times editorial: A message from the Chief Fire Officer
Despite the fire activity we have already seen in spring, our bushfire risk management program will continue where conditions are suitable and it is safe to do so. Planned burning, mechanical treatments and planned burn preparation are our highest priority into late spring and early summer because if a bushfire starts, these activities will help us suppress fires.
Barkly landowners urged to prepare for catastrophic fire conditions
Emergency services are urging Barkly landowners to prepare for catastrophic fire conditions and ensure they have a bushfire survival plan ready ... "The Barkly is experiencing really dangerous fire conditions, so there is a fire ban in place for the Barkly North and the Barkly South": Acting Chief Fire Officer Joshua Fischer.
Obituary: Lynn James ‘Sam’ Harrison – Quiet man cared for family and friends and his beloved fire brigade
Lynn James Harrison, known to one and all as Sam, was born September 22nd, 1939 in the Corryong Hospital ... Sam Harrison officially joined the Bringenbrong Rural Fire Brigade in 1958 ... well respected as a Captain as he remained very calm under pressure.
Make a submission to Planning System inquiry
A NSW Parliamentary inquiry into the Planning System and the Impacts of Climate Change on the Environment and Communities is calling for public submissions and the Yamba Community Action Network Yamba CAN Inc is encouraging locals to show their concerns about what is happening on the Yamba floodplain.
Quick recovery response for communities impacted by October bushfires
The government has acted quickly to offer assistance to communities who experienced bushfires this month. The LGAs eligible for disaster assistance include Kyogle and Tenterfield. Bushfire impacted communities, landowners, farmers, and primary producers will be supported in the clean-up and recovery.
Free app measures your home’s bushfire resilience
A free Bushfire Resilience Rating app has been released for residents to assess and prepare their homes for bushfire risk. Households can measure the bushfire resilience of their own home through a star-rating system and then get a customised action plan to make practical, safety improvements to their homes.
Are you bushfire ready?
To say that a bushfire can turn a normally rational person into someone on the verge of becoming unhinged is an understatement. Experts say that panic is a normal response and that you never know how you’ll react until a bushfire threatens your community, your property, your loved ones or your life. But the experts also say that being prepared can greatly reduce panic so here are some valuable tips and points of advice.
Expo strikes a chord
A record number of 25 exhibitors showcased the resources that are available to communities before, during and after an emergency at the North East Emergency Expo in Corryong on Saturday.
Regrowing the state’s legacy in timber: Forestry Corporation of NSW
A ground-breaking replanting program has seen more than 40-million seedlings planted in New South Wales pine forests since the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires. Almost three years on from the state’s bushfire emergency and the recovery effort in Forestry Corporation’s softwood plantations continues.
New research confirms value of fuel reduction burning in karri forest: Bushfire Front
Peer-reviewed research published in the Australian Forestry journal has confirmed something that forest firefighters have long known: if forests are left unburned for many years, they still carry heavy bushfire fuels, making firefighting difficult and dangerous. The new research demolishes the theory that if forests are left unburnt, they become non-flammable ... the scientists measured and analysed fuels in karri forests that ranged from 1 to 92 years since last being burned.
John Holmes died at the fire front after serving the RFS for 50 years
The smell of smoke from the Bean Creek fire sat heavy in the morning air at Mallanganee as the local RFS unit mourned the loss of one of its members. The NSW Rural Fire Service said the RFS “suffered a great loss with the tragic passing of senior deputy captain John Holmes”. John was battling the Bean Creek Fire, about 15km north of Bonalbo, when he had a heart attack...
Review finds Indigenous groups want more involvement
Timber harvesting was not a concern of Gippsland Indigenous groups, who overwhelmingly want to be involved in direct management of forests before, during and after bushfires, the RFA Major Event Review of the 2019-20 bushfires found ... “Traditional Owners seek to be managing fire directly, with their own crews and equipment. They see themselves as fire givers, not firefighters.”
