OZ ATV :: The Australian ATV Forum

[yogie]

this article is taken from Business Spectator:

Commentary
10:37 AM, 10 Feb 2009
Robert Gottliebsen
A fire policy disaster:

Victoria and Australia are going to be deeply shocked at what will be revealed at the fire Royal Commission, if the Royal Commissioner does the job properly. A number of fire protection officials have not been prepared to speak in public about what has been happening because they knew they would be ridiculed and it would cost them their jobs. In winters gone by, fire protection people warned friends a disaster was possible (although they would try hard to avoid it) and vowed that in the inquiry that would inevitably follow a disaster, they would speak out. No one conceived the scale of the looming disaster.

Below are some of what will be revealed on the causes of the Victorian disaster, although the usual legal smoke screens will be raised to try and prevent the truth coming out. But many of the Victorian errors are being repeated elsewhere. If the truth is revealed, then Victorians will be warned that the disaster could be repeated next fire season in those areas that escaped the 2009 disaster unless the current high fire risk strategies are reversed very quickly.

The Victorian disaster had its origins about a decade or so ago when so-called 'environmentalism', 'sustainability' and fire protection became mixed. Enormous areas were set aside as national parks, but the necessary yearly fuel reduction programs (reductions of undergrowth etc) in these and other forests were not undertaken because some 'environmentalists' wanted to preserve the beauty and no one liked the smoke. Gradually, year on year, the amount of undergrowth and fuel built up to the point in some areas that it was like a bomb waiting to go off.

In the high country, enormous fires took place which should have been a warning about what could happen in populated areas. Thankfully in the last two or three years vast improvements have been made in government coordination, and environmentalists and fire protection people have begun to work together – so the process of reducing the fuel time-bomb that had been built up has begun in some areas.

But the pace at which that reduction was authorised and the distribution of funding necessary to perform such a task was too slow. It will currently take about ten years to clear the backlog in some areas. Legend has it that one of the authorised fuel reduction burns got out of control and the superiors winked and let it burn because there was no danger and areas being burned desperately needed fuel reduction but were not scheduled until later years. It was known that in the catch-up period between 2007 and 2017, the disaster risk would be enormous if we had a repeat of the 1939 or 1983 weather conditions. Yet that was what the long range weather people were predicting.

But there are a series of other actions that are required to go with fuel reduction which are still being opposed by some who say they are environmentalists.

– Even after fuel reduction, we need better access roads to the national park and other potential forest fire bombs. The best way to do that is to restore the timber industry (not clear felling). And if we use more timber in houses we can cut down the use of concrete, which is one of the worst carbon pollutants and lessens our dependence on harvesting timber from tropical rain forests in Asia.

– Major fire breaks are needed around our towns. They would not have prevented the current disaster, but with proper fuel reduction they will work in future years. Yet often when fire protection people want to bulldoze proper fire breaks they are opposed by the 'environmentalists' in the government and local councils.

– Many local councils have been captured by extremists who stop residents removing and lopping trees to protect their homes. If the work is not being done in the forests then home protection will not help in the big fire disasters, but it will help in more conventional fires.

– Insurance companies will suffer well-deserved losses. Instead if looking at their computer generated ratios they should have gone out on the road and classified towns where fire reduction programs (fuel reduction, fire breaks, clearing) had not been carried out. Residents in those areas would either not be insured or be levied huge premiums. If the insurance companies had done their job it would have alerted the communities about the fuel build up, the lack of proper fire beaks and the policies of the more extreme local council members.

– In conventional fires, residents who stay with their homes will protect them. In the type of fires seen in 2009 staying is of limited use and causes enormous loss of life. What I learned from 2009 is that if you stay you must be ready long before smoke appears. You need fire fighting overalls helmets, gloves, and masks plus a tank and a diesel pump. But even with all that I don’t think it would have been enough for houses deep in the bush and even those in vulnerable towns.

There needs to be dramatic fuel reduction programs conducted during the 2009 off-season in those areas of Victoria and Australia that have not burned. In every forest, proper access roads are required plus big fire breaks around all towns.

John Brumby should be praised for calling the Royal Commission because it breaks the political rule – never call an inquiry unless you know the results.


http://www.dirtbikeworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=54293
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[shagger]

I had this argument with a mate. He was trying to argue that the build up of fuel was not a major contributor. I just laughed at him.

[priesty]

I propose a new bumper sticker for the greenies:

" I hugged a tree while someone burned to death"

I know a coupla cars I would slap one on while they weren't lookin.


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The term "Foolproof" seriously underestimates the ingenuity of Fools.


08 700xx

[PeteW]

yes it would seem that the Dept of Scorched Earth (or the Dept of Sparks and Embers as they are also known) has a lot to answer for, the policy of no fuel reduction burning is a major contributor to the ferocity of these fires as is thier fire watch/patroling system in the fire season. The same thing was brought up in NSW about NSWPW after the big fires up there (which were 5 or 6 years ago) and also again after the High Country fires here a few years ago, which burned so hot that some areas were unable to regenerate afterwards which is quite unsusuall in our eucalyptus forrest.

Hopfully the Roysal Comission will show up all of these bad policies and that the whole country will learn from the results of the worst fires our state has ever seen.
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[Big Jb TRX450]

this might b a good time 2 push 4 your rec reg...getting ppl in 2 those areas & help monitor the growth levels, i reckon lots of riding not only in VIC but other states would put there hand up 4 that
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04 TRX 450r
with a bit of this & a bit of that

[feralkid]

Let the cattle back in the high country. That helps a bit. The mountain cattlemen are part of Aussie history now so keep it going.
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