Fire Protection on the Surf Coast By Moreen Dainty
There's been a lot of slashing, mulching and burning going on of late. After a relatively wet summer, planned burns started early with the occasional billowing smoke cloud hovering over our townships and hinterland up until late April. Most visible has been the clearance of vegetation along entire stretches of the Great Ocean Road and around our towns with the creation of new Strategic Fuel Breaks. According to local Aireys Inlet CFA Captain, Adam Gilliver, the new fuel breaks are a very welcome development and “well overdue”. The CFA has been assisting Parks Victoria and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) with the planned burns taking place around Fairhaven, Aireys Inlet and Anglesea. He is convinced all this work will help slow the spread of fire and make our community safer. Bill Bubb, a former Captain of Anglesea CFA for 26 years, said recently, “The last time Anglesea was this well protected from fire was 1984 (after Ash Wednesday)”. I’ve heard others express similar feelings of enthusiasm and relief at these big changes to our local landscape – but some have been angered and dismayed. I wanted to find out more about the underlying rationale behind all this fuel reduction work, so in late April I met with a couple of representatives from
In an effort to make the community safer, the CFA has assisted DELWP with planned burns around Aireys Inlet and Fairhaven as part of a bigger fuel reduction program.
DELWP and Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV). Dave Roberts is Manager of the Otway District, and acknowledges this fuel reduction work has been confronting for some. For example, the cutting back of vegetation along the “mad mile” has created a very different feel to the drive into Anglesea.
Mechanical mulching machines have worked their way through vegetation on both sides of the Great Ocean Road leaving behind areas of deep mulch and a few sugar gum trees. Similar work has been completed from Torquay all the way through to Lorne, with the removal and trimming back of nearly 200,000 trees. One of the objectives was to prevent trees and The 40-metre strategic fuel breaks not only reduce fuel loads but overhanging are important to support firefighters when they are back burning.
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branches blocking the road during and after a major fire event. The experience of Mallacoota residents in 2020 clearly plays on firefighters minds. The army took three weeks to open up the main road into town. Says Dave, “No preparatory work had been done, so they ended up having to take a lot more vegetation away”. He explains that another objective has been to give motorists some protection from radiant heat.
“By cutting back the vegetation 20-40 metres from the road, we know we are giving people a fighting chance of surviving.” The key messaging from the CFA is to leave early when the fire ratings are high. “We really don't want people on the roads at all – but at the same time, we need a back-up plan in case they are,” says Birgitte Hutchens, DELWP’s community-based bushfire management facilitator. Like Mallacoota, many Surf Coast communities have only one route in and
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