BURNING ISSUES - fire in the Grose Valley

BURNING ISSUES fire in the Grose Valley
A statement funded and supported by concerned residents.
As long-time residents we are very familiar with the serious bush fire threat in the Blue Mountains. Many of us live on the edge of the
bush. Fire will always be a part of the local environment and residents’ lives.
We gratefully acknowledge the efforts of all the volunteers, professionals and agencies who worked together to control the recent
Grose Valley fire.
We also value the bushland in which we are so lucky to live. As a community we have accepted an obligation to protect this unique
World Heritage area and to manage it in a truly sustainable way for future generations.
There have been many improvements in fire management and overall the Grose Valley fire operation was successful in protecting the
community. Fire suppression will always be a complex and challenging task where judgments have to be made in difficult circumstances.
Any fire operation will encounter routine problems, but it’s important to look to bigger issues. The Grose Valley fire has
highlighted some major fire management concerns that extend well beyond this region.
Backburning
Difficult choices have to be made during fires and backburning is one of them.
We support well-planned backburning as a very useful tool. However we are
concerned that large-scale backburning in severe conditions can also be a
hazardous option; spreading the fire, placing more lives at risk, swelling costs
and risking wider damage to property and the environment.
Local expertise
Local knowledge and experience are vital to efficient and effective fire
strategies and operations. The expertise of local volunteers and others should
be fully utilised and supported.
More fire
Parts of the Grose Valley have now been burnt three times in 13 years and four
times in 24 years – mostly by fires of human origin. The ecosystems cannot
sustain such frequent fire without damage. This time the beautiful Blue Gum
Forest has felt the brunt of the crisis with much of the understorey and tree
canopy burnt.
Research and recent experience show that with climate change severe fires
are happening more often. If we don’t learn how to better manage fires in
this landscape there will be increased threat to local communities and dire
consequences for Blue Mountains ecosystems.
Economic costs
The vital tourism component of the local economy is particularly affected
by large-scale fire operations. Closures and dramatised media coverage
discourage visitors for long periods.
The cost of aircraft reportedly reached $500,000 a day during the Grose
Valley fire. The total fire cost could be $10 million - without including the
‘hidden’ costs of volunteers, impacts, repairs and restoration. The final
cost will be comparable to the annual funding of the whole million-hectare
World Heritage Area, and will exceed the budget for bush fire planning and
management across the Blue Mountains.
The community needs confidence that the expenditure and volunteer time is
being used to maximum benefit.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Lessons can be learned from the Grose Valley fire. We must grasp this opportunity to review what was done, so
improvements can continue for the Blue Mountains and elsewhere.
We call on the New South Wales government to:
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Undertake a thorough, independent review of the Grose Valley fire, involving all stakeholders, with particular attention to
the following questions:
• Were fire detection and initial suppression timely and adequate?
• Were resources adequate, appropriate and supported?
• Were the adopted strategies the best available under the circumstances?
• Could other strategies of closer containment have offered lower risk to the community, better firefighter safety, higher
probabilities of success, lower costs and less impact on the environment?
• Was existing knowledge and planning adequately utilised?
• Is fire management funded in the most effective way?
Ensure adequate funding is available for post-fire restoration, including the rehabilitation of environmental damage.
Pay for more research to improve understanding of fire in the Blue Mountains landscape and methods for fire mitigation
and suppression.
Improve training in strategies for controlling fires in large bushland areas.
Improve pre-fire planning to support decision-making during incidents.
Improve systems to ensure that local fire planning and expertise is fully utilised during incidents, and that the protection of
the natural and cultural values of World Heritage areas and other bushland are fully considered.
We could just breathe a sigh of relief and be grateful that it’s all over.
That would be a mistake - because there will be a next time, perhaps sooner than we all hope.
Contact: [email protected]
Kim Allen
Susan Ambler
Anne Arndt
Nick Ashby
Ian Baird
Margaret Baker
Joe Banffy
Kathy Bowrey
Susan Brock
Delia Broun
Ian Brown
Shirley Brown
Lulu Bull
Rob Cameron
Joseph Campbell
Martin Chadwick
John Clark
Gordon Clarke
Irini Clarke
Joey Clarke
Julie Clarke
Rolley Clarke
Frances Cole
Adam Darragh
Chris Darwin
Christine Davies
Russ Davis
Richard Delaney
Sarah Delaney
Peter Duggan
Heather Dutton
Tony Eardley
Naomi Estelle
Sashe Fischer
Torsten Fischer
Loraine Fordham
Sybbi Gieorgiou
Helen Gillam
Colin Gliddon
Rosalie Goldsmith
Margaret Gough
David Haines
Lincoln Hall
Kerri Hamblin
Myles Hamblin
Barbara Harley
Geoff Harris
Patrick Harte
Phillip Hay
Joyce Hinterding
David Horton-James
Lois Horton-James
Hilary Hughes
Heather Hull
Toni Imrie
Anna Ingham
Chris Jackson
Dianne Jacobus
Carl Jagusch
Sandra Jaroslav
Ivan Jeray
Norma Jones
Robyn Jones
Wyn Jones
Jenny Kee
Virginia King
Marilyn Kraus
Terry Land
Alan Lane
Andrew Langley
Ruth Ley
Andy Macqueen
Liz Macqueen
Ben Maddison
Graham Mann
Robert Mann
Leonard Marks
Ted Markstein
Bronwyn Maxwell
Keith Maxwell
Anne McDonald
Ian McDonald
Joy McDonald
Barry Mcquinn
Leonard Metcalf
Lyn Mitchell
Robin Mitchell
Peter Mobbs
Don Morison
Phillip Morrison
Sue Morrison
Rosemary Morrow
Richard Neville
Josh Newling
Sue Nicol
Monica Nugent
Ian Olsen
Sue Olsen
Hugh Paterson
Veronica Paul
Suzanne Reaney
T. Redmond
Jenny Rich
Parrish Robbins
Barry Ross
Lesley Sammon
Katrina Schlunke
Suzanne Schofield
Fill Scott
Philip Searle
Kerrie Sebbens
Tamara Sepetanc
Peter Shenstone
Judy Smith
Peter Smith
Peter Spring
Micheal Staszak
Sarah-Jane Staszak
Robert Stock
Gary Stowe
Alex Strachan
Veronica Subegi
Lyndall Sullivan
Terry Tan
Jan Thornley
Liz Trihey
Lucas Trihey
Marg Turton
Susan Tweedie
Catherine Vaubeu
Gerry Virtue
Pamela Virtue
Peter Vogel
Gary Werskey
Anita White
Carol Williams
Tom Williams