Caledonia Fires.

Yep, they were full of rubbish! Maybe they left the fires going to burn the bottles & cans.

Surprisingly there were still plenty of camp sites around the King River on Friday but found the crowds in Butcher Country, Caledonia then later in Wonnangatta. Overall numbers didn't seem too high. Fair few down from NSW. Damm. The secrets out how good the high country is. Craig......................

I better stop taking those interstaters there on trips from LCOOL 8-)

Every break there seems to be tonnes of SA and NSW No plates in the high country, but at least they are towing campers, and sticking to the "well known" tracks, and not spending time to look around.....8-)

Reduction burns reduce the amount of fuel on the forest floor long term, meaning a true bushfire will pass quicker, with less heat, meaning faster recovery and re growth after a fire.

If you look at where the bush was most dense, some areas still havent seem regrowth yet, after the last fires, and other areas the fires skipped through are coming on well.

At least then, if fires dont burn as hot, some old growth forrests may be saved by the passing fire not being hot enough to kill everything as it burns through.

Reduction burning has been a natural thing for alot longer than we have been here.

Royce,

Your quote, "yet again we have "fuel reduction burns" ... I reckon most of them are just bushfires.", what does this mean, a fuel reduction burn is a burn planned over a long period of time. They are used by fire fighters as a tool to reduce the amount of available fuel on the ground, for the up-coming fire seasons. While a "bushfire" or wildfire is un-planned & un-wanted.
Your quote, "several got away from the authorities last week", in what state & where abouts did this happen, some details would be nice, because without details, what your saying shouldn't be believed.
Your quote "they polute the atmosphere", the amount of pollution a controlled hazard reduction puts into the atmosphere, in the over-all scheme of things would be tiny, & I think that if you are truly that concerned about the atmosphere then you should trade in the landcruiser & purchase a motor bike.
Your quote "do almost the same damage". Your kidding right, do you actually believe that the insurance bills for all the hazard reductions, & the insurance bill for all the bushfires would be any where near the same. No way.
Your quote "and allow massive regrowth in spring ready for the next bushfire" the regrowth that you refer to is not available to burn the next fire season. The athorities, when they are trying to work out how large a fire a certian piece of land will support, measure the amount of fuel on the ground, not the amount of green regrowth in the trees. While the "green regrowth" will burn it needs to be dried out first by a fire in the leaf litter on the forest floor. So a well planned, well carried out hazard reduction should render an area safe from fire until the fuels on the ground build up to an unsafe level.
Your quote "if the same effort was put into building access tracks and breaks" , access tracks for hazard reductions are great, but for wildfires they can be death traps, so they are not used to fight fires on unless it is very safe to do so.
Royce, sorry I'm dribbling on, but as you have proaberly realised I am a bush fire fighter, & as much as I tried to bight my tongue, there are just to many points in your post that I did not agree with, to leave un-challanged.
Any way I'll leave it there I have gotta go finish packing for Queensland & then Fraser.
All The Best, Just My Opinion,
OM&M

Reduction burns reduce the amount of fuel on the forest floor long term, meaning a true bushfire will pass quicker, with less heat, meaning faster recovery and re growth after a fire.
……… and more fuel for the next or following year.

If you look at where the bush was most dense, some areas still havent seem regrowth yet, after the last fires, and other areas the fires skipped through are coming on well.

……..yes a really big burn will damage the trees and ground seed resource for longer than a cool burn

At least then, if fires dont burn as hot, some old growth forrests may be saved by the passing fire not being hot enough to kill everything as it burns through.

…… few old growth forests are killed by bushfire. Some of the ‘cool’ burns can get very hot too.

Reduction burning has been a natural thing for alot longer than we have been here.

…. “reduction burning” by definition is not natural. It has only been here since we have been here. Oh.. yeah I suppose Aborigines are not us. There is a theory that aboriginals changed the natural structure of Oz with their burning. Up north, the burns are definitely designed to make grasslands out of bush

Your quote, "yet again we have "fuel reduction burns" ... I reckon most of them are just bushfires.", what does this mean, a fuel reduction burn is a burn planned over a long period of time.

…very few fuel reduction burns are planned over a ‘long period of time’. My experience is a few of the blokes at the local CFA decide on a good spot and have a go… perhaps 3 weeks planning time or more likely a local farmer asks them to burn off a bit of roadside for him.
The DSE on the other hand are choosing wherever they can to burn so that they don’t cop any more flack as the big fires hit. [yep… I’m active in my local CFA and have worked on many strike teams]

They are used by fire fighters as a tool to reduce the amount of available fuel on the ground, for the up-coming fire seasons. While a "bushfire" or wildfire is un-planned & un-wanted.

…… but my point is that it doesn’t work…… visit the site one or two years later. Check it out for yourself…… I [we] have locally.

Your quote, "several got away from the authorities last week", in what state & where abouts did this happen, some details would be nice, because without details, what your saying shouldn't be believed.

….. hmmm got me there… Victoria Near Lakes Entrance [can’t remember name] and behind Gembrook I think. Someone might set me straight…. Or maybe behind Erika…. I’ll make a note next time I stir up the possums.

Your quote "they polute the atmosphere", the amount of pollution a controlled hazard reduction puts into the atmosphere, in the over-all scheme of things would be tiny,

…. I LOL… go out this evening. My wife is unable to. She suffers from asthma. The air is full of particles. It AIN’T TINY!

& I think that if you are truly that concerned about the atmosphere then you should trade in the landcruiser & purchase a motor bike.

FollowUp 3 of 3 posted 13 Apr 2004 at 19:26
Member - Royce posted this followup

Reduction burns reduce the amount of fuel on the forest floor long term, meaning a true bushfire will pass quicker, with less heat, meaning faster recovery and re growth after a fire.
……… and more fuel for the next or following year.
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Not if its maintained properly.......
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Reduction burning has been a natural thing for alot longer than we have been here.

…. “reduction burning” by definition is not natural. It has only been here since we have been here. Oh.. yeah I suppose Aborigines are not us. There is a theory that aboriginals changed the natural structure of Oz with their burning. Up north, the burns are definitely designed to make grasslands out of bush

How did lightning strike fires put themselves out before we were here?