This email is forwarded from Jill Redwood who received it on behalf of Environment East Gippsland lead group, and as land owner and CFA (Country Fire Authority) volunteer and renowned environmentalist of Goongerah, East Gippsland unaffected by the Victorian bushfires. However we understand she has been involved in support work.

We have added bold to instructive bits about type of land use type with high speed fire storm which has proved so devastating. The message appears to be that the highly disturbed, logged areas of dried out forest has burnt the fastest and most dangerous.

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Hi various listers -

this was sent in by a friend. I thought it might be of interest. Jill
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I find it deeply disturbing that people think they shouldn't enter into the bushfire debate. These fires provide a great opportunity for conservation advancement.

If you look at the facts there are so many opportunities and every time, some dickheads like Boswell or Turkey or the Australian newspaper go unchallenged more people will believe them.

As a movement are we prepared to be kicked down with lies and then try to challenge an entrenched view in months or years.

After I watched 200 people loose their lives, I want you to read some very basic information.

The Kilmore fire started on the edge of a farmland, was not catchable, ripped through plantations and across huge firebreaks like the hume freeway and strategic breaks. It had burnt around the farmland trapping people trying to escape out of kinglake long before it burnt through the National Park and into Kinglake. It burnt quite slowly through the Wallaby Creek catchment compared to the Mt Dissapointment state forest. Eventhough it was still moving
at over 10kmh. A fire is pretty well much uncontrollable at around 2kmh.

Mt Dissapointment state forest is a mecca for 4wds and other recreationists that claim by allowing them into the bush, then fires will be stopped. Didn't do a thing to slow the fire down and it sped up to a speed that fire fighting agencies couldn't even get around to warn communities what was coming.

This fire has burnt through the urban interface, the most heavily fire managed areas around. The Kinglake National Park is on very poor quality soils. Hence it is mainly only low growing grasses.

The Murrundindi fire started in very close proximity to a timber mill. It burnt to Marysville 20 kms away in just over an hour. This is in currently the most heavily woodchipped area in Victoria and also a mecca for the 4wd and associated groups. It has spotted across the Acheron valley and raced up areas heavily woodchipped as a crown fire into the closed O'shannassy water catchment. We are
getting a picture that SOME areas of old growth ash forest remained
unburnt in the initial fire storm. But unfortuntately they are now burning because there are not enough resources to go and put them out and a little inaccessible. But they are burning at very low intensity and will hopefully survive. DSE are putting there emphasis onto stopping the fire from getting into the Upper Yarra catchment and this may include back burning the rubicon state forest and private land and other catchments.

The Old growth of Maroondah catchment has generally survived to date but again fires are just starting to enter them. hopefully they will stay at an intensity low enough for the eucs to survive.

Apart from Bunyip, I cannot think of any major fire this season that hasn't been in a plantation or other heavily managed forestry area. It is almost like they are being targetted.

Current lifestyle of making everything drier and hotter. We can expect fire events like this again.

Now is the time for the logging industry to be moved into the plantations.We've barely got any forest left. The burnt forests will eventually re-grow - Australian native forests can recover from fire. Moving into plantations is a better way for the industry to move forward.

In a way this event is wiping the slate clean of our past land management mistakes and giving the australian bush to continue to evolve as it has for thousands of years with fire.

Salvage logging - will strip everything there. At the moment the situation is that the forests have burnt, but that's happened for millions of years in Australia. Fire does provide opportunities for nature, native forests recover from fire.

The plantations need to be salvaged - these are private investments that farmers and other landowners have made - in the face of losing other assets, they need to be worked with to make the most of what's left and what they've invested in over years. Help stimulate the economy, protect communities and stop it from being a burden on tax payers.

How after 12 years of drought and recent mega fires and a policy of so much fuel reduction burning, do we get the claimed record levels of fuel. But how do you control a fire under the following circumstances.
Temperatures
where there hottest ever recorded at 47 degrees celcius. Relative humidity in single figures and winds constantly hitting 100kmh. A 12 year drought. 1ml of rain in 6 weeks. The previous week a run of 5 days each over 40 degrees. Previously unheard of.

Please respond with fact and dont create hatred at a time when Australian are bonding.

Paul.

Posted by editor at 8:05 PM EADT

Updated: Friday, 13 February 2009 8:54 PM EADT

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