Fires around Bright

For those doing the Alpine Classic in January (I'm one), there are fires
in Mt Beauty and Tawonga. I've always liked that descent into Mt
Beauty, with the vines and the valley...it'll be scary to see it in
January.

http://tinyurl.com/y2e6p8


--
Walrus

Walrus Wrote:
For those doing the Alpine Classic in January (I'm one), there are fires
in Mt Beauty and Tawonga. I've always liked that descent into Mt
Beauty, with the vines and the valley...it'll be scary to see it in
January.

http://tinyurl.com/y2e6p8

It will regenerate, though probably not fully in our lifetimes. Not
forgetting Mt Buffalo is still rather barren after almost three years,
all that exposed granite is by accounts, generating a lot of radiant
heat in the arvo, in time for the 200km riders.


--
cfsmtb

Walrus wrote:
For those doing the Alpine Classic in January (I'm one), there are fires
in Mt Beauty and Tawonga. I've always liked that descent into Mt
Beauty, with the vines and the valley...it'll be scary to see it in
January.

I rode up and down Hotham 10 days after the huge fires ripped through
there in '03 I think? Surreal....

Here hoping that all the fires are under control come Classic time. It
would be a shame if they had to call it off again because of fire.


--
neon

neon Wrote:
Here hoping that all the fires are under control come Classic time. It
would be a shame if they had to call it off again because of fire.
Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but I reckon we'd need some good solid
rain across the Alps before mid January for the fires to be controlled
to the point where the AAC can run. The 2003 fires started on Buffalo
on New Years Day and burned out of control for at least 5-6 weeks. The
current fires have only been going 2 weeks and there is still a heap of
fuel for them to chew through.


--
Unregistered

Unregistered Wrote:
Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but I reckon we'd need some good solid rain
across the Alps before mid January for the fires to be controlled to the
point where the AAC can run. The 2003 fires started on Buffalo on New
Years Day and burned out of control for at least 5-6 weeks. The current
fires have only been going 2 weeks and there is still a heap of fuel for
them to chew through.I hope they do regain control...not just for my sake in wanting to ride
the AAC, but obviously for the area itself.


--
Walrus

Walrus Wrote:
I hope they do regain control...not just for my sake in wanting to ride
the AAC, but obviously for the area itself.

My 2c...

- Let it burn, its only nature taking its course.
- Protect life and property*

*only where necessary. I saw a news snippet of CFA vuln's clearing
breaks around someone's shed the other day, crazy! If the owner is
foolish enough not to take responsibility of this themselves too f'n
bad! These people live in the bush they should know better... (says me
now living in cottonwool-ville that is the inner city)..

ok, 3c...

I've grown up with my old man being a life long member of the CFA back
home and have been around 'fireies' quite a lot. These guys define
hardcore when they are out there doing their thing for $0. Tough as
nails.

The ride from Zumies to Halls Gap was indeed eerie after most of that
was burnt down. Not from a 'awww its all dead' perspective, it'll grow
back, but from a 'where are the pretty trees to look at, and where is my
damn shade!?' perspective..


lama


--
gplama

gplama Wrote:
My 2c...

- Let it burn, its only nature taking its course.
- Protect life and property*

My brother & his family lived out in Dandenong Ranges for a while, then
got sick & tired of being scared ****less every summer. Hence they've
moved back to southern "Tierra del Fuego". Problem is, there's fires
also ripping through the east coast at the mo.

I probably saw what was a crown fire in '83, from about 5km's away. The
radiant heat was indescribable as it was equally terrifying.


--
cfsmtb

gplama wrote:

My 2c...

- Let it burn, its only nature taking its course.
- Protect life and property*

Depends on the ferocity of the fire. If the Greenies have had their way and
the fuel load is above 30 tonnes per hectare because it hasn't been burnt
for 20 years, then, on a hot day with a decent wind, the fire will destroy
some species of trees. You'd be amazed what a gum tree is capable of though.
Blackened stumps which sprout new green branches from the trunk in a few
months. They have dormant buds under the bark for just such a scenario.
Tough trees that can survive amazing fires. As well as that, the fire wakes
up all the gumnuts that are buried under the debris and new growth comes up
everywhere. A pine forest however..... dies.

*only where necessary. I saw a news snippet of CFA vuln's clearing
breaks around someone's shed the other day, crazy! If the owner is
foolish enough not to take responsibility of this themselves too f'n
bad! These people live in the bush they should know better... (says
me now living in cottonwool-ville that is the inner city)..

Yeah, we do that. Never pass judgement on the resident (well, not out loud).

ok, 3c...

I've grown up with my old man being a life long member of the CFA back
home and have been around 'fireies' quite a lot. These guys define
hardcore when they are out there doing their thing for $0. Tough as
nails.

I've been a member of my local Firies for seven years, now president of the
local brigade and recently made a lieutenant, (a yelllow hat person). When
someone asks "Who's in charge here" they all point to the yellow hat. :-( I
spent two weeks in Singleton, NSW in 2003 as relief for the local Firies
during their "problems", working 14 hour days and drinking 12 litres of
water a day without needing to pee. If you don't need to pee, you're not
drinking enough, but Geez, you can drown in that water stuff, and you can
top up on beer at the end of the day. :-)

Theo
Haven't been to a fire since... uh, yesterday avo, but that was under
control before we arrived.

"Theo Bekkers" wrote:
gplama wrote:

My 2c...

- Let it burn, its only nature taking its course.
- Protect life and property*

Depends on the ferocity of the fire. If the Greenies have had their way
and the fuel load is above 30 tonnes per hectare because it hasn't been
burnt for 20 years, then, on a hot day with a decent wind, the fire will
destroy some species of trees. You'd be amazed what a gum tree is capable
of though. Blackened stumps which sprout new green branches from the trunk
in a few months. They have dormant buds under the bark for just such a
scenario. Tough trees that can survive amazing fires. As well as that, the
fire wakes up all the gumnuts that are buried under the debris and new
growth comes up everywhere.

Just a point of clarification regarding the Victorian forests. Around
Melbourne's mountains the dominant forest tree is the Mountain Ash. They
depend on fire. It kills them, but they drop a huge seed load that quickly
regrows in the ash bed. But if another fire burns through the area in less
than 30 years the new forest won't have matured to set seed, and they don't
have those epicormic buds under the bark to resprout, they just die. Thus
the forest dies out. So less frequent, severe fires are essential to the
survival of our magnificent tall mountain ash forests (the tallest flowering
plants in the world).

Think of the Dandenongs, Donna Buang, Marysville area, all of Melbournes
water catchments. To preserve those forests they need fires on a cycle of
greater than once every 30 years.

Just my 2c

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)