Hello Jen,
I attach a couple of pictures of an unplanned recent fire at Scott River, Western Australia.
I don't know the exact fuel ages before the fire, but obviously one area was much older (possibly 15 year old), and heavier littered, than the other (possibly 3 or 4 year old).
Scott River, 30th January 2007
Scott River, 30th January 2007
If you were a Noolbenger (Honey Possum, Tarsipes rostrata), which would you prefer?
Some claim that these animals would benefit from fire exclusion, from large areas, for twenty or thirty years.
I think Nyoongars (South West Aborigines) would have burnt many patches at about three years old, by lighting grasstrees.
Such fires would have trickled around, even in midsummer. They would have gone out in the late evening when the humidity rose, leaving many unburnt refuges.
Nyoongars would have had no trouble hopping, in bare feet, across burnt patches. They probably regarded Noolbengers as a tasty snack, flushed out by a mild fire - a perfect evening's entertainment.
In recent fires in Fitzgerald River National Park, Noolbengers were running up fire fighters' legs, and one was seen to swim fifty metres across an inlet.
Davey Gam Esq
aka Dave Ward
Western Australia
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Dave,
Thanks so much for the note with pictures. What a contrast. And I wonder what a honey possum looks like?
By-the-way, On Line Opinion has published an article by Mark Poynter this morning on forestry and fires.
Cheers, Jen
[...] Nyoongars, Noolbengers and No Fires https://climatelab.com.au/blog/2007/02/nyoongars-noolbengers-and-no-fires-a-note-from-david-ward/ [...]
I would say that most of us are fire bugs, fires are fascinating and winter is when we get to stare at the flames as the combustion of gases takes place, nothing better than a bed of glowing coals, lets have a BBQ who will light the fire, fires are living, they are life!
Did anyone else watch the final ABC bushfire program last night? Last week there was a radio interview with a young convicted arsonist in the build up. I would rather forget the issue but –
Dave continues to ask about the frequency and pattern of bushfire suppression via fuel burn off. Let me suggest. Dave we should be asking who do we “trust” rather than why, how and when.
In Mark Poynter’s OLO thread All year round commitment the key to managing fire, a commentator says “I have never served in a brigade that did not have a fire bug in it”, and I say this is why some authorities had to crack down on prescribed burning and in many cases back-burns too. It’s all about little people, private fixes and power.
Fire authorities early on refused to believe in firebugs and over zealous leaders in their midst. A great deal of damage to the bush came directly from bad hazard reduction programs and folly within bushfire control measures. In the end it became an industry.
The “rush” is still a huge factor in the way any volunteer service but we can’t admit it can we? Let’s be bold and say it’s as widespread in volunteer organizations as people on talkback radio and blogs.
Another fact, the clean up rate for individual arson attacks is particularly poor. I expect as volunteer services tighten up on attitudes there is likely to be even more private anti social fire lighting.
In case blog readers are wondering how I can try and undermine volunteers and community motives in general, my interest in the fire fighting process goes way back to some early days in industry where we were stuck with very bad industrial relations on one hand and some insurance issues on the other. Later I freelanced in commercial fire protection in rural areas to get a better slant on a range of other issues. That meant tip toeing between local authorities and interstate agencies for quite a while. I also refer to heavy industry combustion control experience too in relation to fuels in wild fires.
Increasing evidence through observing extreme drought of global warming has changed my ideas on bushfire dramatically including our asset protection. Every property owner must quickly learn to burn outwards again. Authorities must allow for unintentional fire spills. Communities need to participate every time there is a decent window of opportunity in milder weather conditions.
Similar cool burn programs should occur in the high country using only local knowledge.
Scientists, volunteers, brigades and clubs should compete in improving our general knowledge of appropriate fire practice for reserves in any given region. Burning outwards from quality habitat must be a priority. Every operation needs to remain entirely manual in season as the major form of quality control.
Our children should be the only important custodians. Their early introduction to less dangerous bushfire is essential. Kids playing with fire in the open should never be seen arson. It can be entirely natural again.
And thus I clothe my naked villainy with odd old ends stol'n forth of holy writ, and seem a saint when most I play the devil. But don't we all?
Davey,
There are some things you just don't put in your mouth!
Thanks for the Noolbenger photo Libby. Cute ain't they? Yummy too ... er ... so I would imagine.
Good comments ABC - you seem to have actually put the wet stuff on the red stuff at some time.
Pinxi,you mentioned huge convection columns. These are, as I am sure you know, due to heavy fuel. Regular prescribed burning solves that problem, plus the long distance spotting that goes with it. It does not, of course, prevent fires that race through light fuel, such as dry grass.
There is a fashionable view among some ecologists that irregular burning on the same spot will lead to greater biodiversity. I don't follow the logic.
Plants and animals have pretty regular life cycles - life span, age to reproduction etc. Irregular burning at any place could disadvantage them all. I think we need regular fire intervals, of different length, at different places, for different natural communities.
"Diversity" is a complex matter, and there is much glib and illogical talk. I may be as guilty as anyone. What do you think on't? And ABC?
Diverse fire intervals on any one spot? Or a diversity of regular fire intervals at different spots?