Fire

Emergency services were in high demand over the weekend with multiple fire brigades attending to two grass fires in the Baringhup/Tarrengower area, and a car accident in Maldon. The first was a grass fire in Greenhill Bridge Road on Saturday 11 March where fire burned through grass and bullrushes.

In a recent fire emergency in Baringhup, CFA volunteers were confronted with a situation made difficult due to the rocky and hilly terrain. However, equally confronting were the many large mature wheel cactus plants on one of the properties they were working from.

Lindsay "Linz" Johanssen. Buffel grass (Cenchrus Ciliaris) is not just invasive. Environment-wise, it is  utterly transformative ... Buffel thrives on being burned. Vigorous new growth follows subsequent showers of rain, so recreating (and episodically contributing-to), a new fuel load ... Buffel’s burn / rapid-growth rebuild / ready to burn again fire cycle will, over time, simply kill or destroy everything that is not protected or cannot evacuate ...

A Charles Sturt University academic has led multiple research projects that have produced new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that will save lives, homes and livelihoods by reducing bushfires. The research was conducted between 2018 and 2022 and can assist in fire management and reduction, including disaster management for a range of natural disasters and events related to climate change.

New research is exploring the vital role that bushfire maps play in informing how people respond to fire threats, with input from residents of southern Canberra, the southern ACT and the Snowy Monaro region of New South Wales impacted by any bushfire over the last four years needed ... The study by Natural Hazards Research Australia and RMIT University will help improve the design of maps used by fire agencies including the ACT Rural Fire Service and the NSW Rural Fire Service, that show a bushfire’s location and potential spread.

After years of careful planning, interrupted by bushfire, floods and a global pandemic, the Bago State Forest Nature-Based Tourism Enhancement program was launched with reveal of its long-awaited Masterplan ... the Masterplan aims to deliver growth in the local and regional tourism economy through improved forest-based visitor experiences incorporating art, health and wellness, and environmental projects.

A savage bushfire season is imminent after huge La Niña rains, but "arrangements for the mitigation, management and suppression of bushfires" are inadequate. "There is a loss of fire management knowledge, networks and depth of experience which underpin the success of fire programs," says the NT Government’s Alice Springs Regional Bushfire Management Plan 2022/23.

Land dwellers may have asked what the hovering helicopters were doing flying above Maldon ... Powercor has been conducting inspections for its vegetation and tree-cutting program ... The work is necessary in order to prevent power outages and fires.

Community water and sewer systems across north-east Victoria are now more resilient to the growing impacts of climate change and natural disasters ... John Day, General Manager Environment, Systems and Operations, said ‘behind the meter’ power systems will help keep water and sewer infrastructure operating in emergency situations.

The loss of power in the Upper Murray region during and after the 2019/2020 bushfires placed an additional strain on communities and emergency services but the shortfall has now been addressed by boosting systems on critical sites. Under the Upper Murray Place Based Power Plan - Energy Resilience and Reliability Project, a combination of solar, battery and generator systems have been supplied and installed across 23 sites in the region.

NSW Farmers Energy Transition Working Group chair Reg Kidd said the Government had to explain why it was allowing Transgrid to build more overhead power lines when there was compelling evidence they increased the risk of bushfires.

Australia Rural & Regional News asks some questions about AWC's koala conservation projects and koala monitoring, and land and fire management of Andrew Howe, Australian Wildlife Conservancy Senior Field Ecologist and Peter Stanton, Australian Wildlife Conservancy Senior Ecologist.

Under the direction of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, native forestry throughout the state of Victoria is set to be banned by 2030. The move has alarmed rural communities right across Victoria as the regenerative, carbon sequestering resource is not only a sustainable natural product, but provides significant employment, bushfire prevention and a boost to the economy.  

Science is shaping how Australia can better prepare for devastating bushfire seasons. In January, Natural Hazards Research Australia published its report on the 2019-20 bushfire season,  Understanding the Black Summer bushfires through research.

Hiding behind climate change is not a strategy to address the increasing number and intensity of fires and floods across Australia, according to the Howitt Society. The society's president, Rick Cooper, said even if all burning of fossil fuels was stopped across the world tomorrow, climate change was not going to shift into reverse.

Located at Nymboida Camping and Canoeing, the big shed offered many residents a safe place to stay following the catastrophic bushfires which devastated the region in 2019 ... “We housed locals in the cabins, and very importantly, Nymboida Camping and Canoeing provided a space for people to come and share their experiences and stories with others who understood": Laena Stephenson.

The release of the Primary Industries Scorecard 2021-22 illustrates the resilience of the sector in overcoming Covid 19, extreme weather, floods and bushfire events, the Russian invasion of Ukraine along with Chinese trade tensions to generate a revenue of $17.3 billion in 2021-22, an increase of 12% and accounting for 51% of the South Australia’s merchandise exports: Claire Scriven.

Firefighting volunteers are monitoring a sprinkler system set up due to the February 4 bushfire getting into peat, which means it will produce smoke for some time ... “Peat has a high carbon content and is naturally porous": Department of Health.

John O'Donnell finds that the Treasurer's recent essay opens up an opportunity to discuss whether Australia has in fact learnt and implemented lessons from the Black Saturday bushfires and ways to improve economic and management outcomes for Australia in relation to bushfires.

It must never happen again. February 16, marks 40 years since Ash Wednesday when 120,000ha in the heart of the SE was destroyed by fire. The inferno was fanned by 110km winds in 44C temperatures and killed 14 South Easterners, including Lucindale’s Brian Nosworthy, Peter O’Leary and Andrew Lemke.