Bushfire Aftermath

After the rain, the bush around us leapt into life.
Ground cover began to emerge from the ash covered ground and burnt trees produced numerous new shoots.
The region is slowly turning from a desert of tall burnt sticks into a patchwork of green and black although in parts, where the fires were particularly intense, there is so far little change.
Stirls and I continued our fence repairs and got the critical highway boundary section done with new strainers and posts plus an extra fourth (barbed) wire. It was good to finally remove the protective electric fence that we had put in place as a backup to our initial temporary fix.

Our insurance claim has been paid in full and we await demolition and removal of our fire damaged structures. The government has agreed to foot the bill for this process and appointed a contractor. Destroyed businesses and houses are getting priority so we don’t except any action until the middle of the year.
We have a builder who had agreed to replace our farm shed when the site is clear. With so much damage in the area, securing a builder is not such an easy task. Luckily ours is a neighbour.

Recovery from this disaster will be slow. Community rebuilding will take time as government red tape is already raising its ugly head. Businesses are still under pressure from the lack of tourism. Personal trauma is turning out to be a large problem with counselling services stretched to the limit.
Unfortunately reports from the weather scientists seem to indicate a hotter and bushfire prone Australia in the future seems to be the new normal.

The Big Wet

An intense East Coast Low worked its way down the coast over the weekend, dumping hundreds of millimeters of rain on fire grounds on the coast and on parched drought stricken country inland.
In many areas there was flash flooding and strong winds brought down trees and power lines. Huge surf caused damaging beach erosion.

Thankfully for us the rain wasn't too torrential and the fire ravaged ground was able to soak up the 200mm+ with minimal erosion.
Our creek, after 9 months being dry, began to flow again, dams and tanks filled and brown pasture and lawns seem to turn green overnight.

Now a tropical cyclone (hurricane) is gathering strength in the Coral Sea is moving towards Australia.
Cyclone Uesi is currently a category 3 storm located just to the north of New Caledonia.
It could enter Australian waters as early as tomorrow.
But cyclones usually don’t drift as far south as New South Wales as their fuel is warm water and  the further south they go the cooler the water gets, reducing the storm’s strength.

However, the path of cyclones is notoriously hard to predict. They tend to have a mind of their own.
The most likely scenario, according to the experts, is the system will stay just far enough offshore so heavy rain and gales remain off the coast.
But if the system was to be just a little closer it could bring further flooding as the coastal land is now pretty much saturated.
Update:13th February.
The category 2 tropical storm is heading for beautiful Lord Howe Island which is around 500km off the coast of NSW.
The are bunkering down for winds of 95-135km/hr.

But the island is well used to foul weather and is fully prepared.
This island is a tourist mecca which limits the number of visitors to 400, the same number as the permanent population. It is serviced by QANTAS with small aircraft eg.Dash 8 as the runway is a very short 886m. Getting to and leaving the island is always fraught with potential weather delays.

The Currowan Fire / Final Update

As of yesterday, after causing havoc for 74 days and burning through half a million hectares, the Currowan fire is officially out and has been removed from the Fires Near Me app.
This is thanks to an intense East Coast Low weather system that has dumped hundreds of millimeters of rain over the fire ground in the last few days.
Hopefully the fires that it spawned to its south and west will meet a similar fate.

The fire took a number of lives, destroyed 312 and damaged 173 homes and destroyed innumerable out buildings and infrastructure.
On the upside 1,889 homes, including ours, were saved by the tireless work of the Rural Fire Service volunteers.
And we shouldn't forget those who came from overseas to help fight the fires, the state's Fire and Rescue, Police, Ambulance, SES, state and federal government emergency workers at the evacuation centers who all did their part. Also a special shout out to the local communities and businesses who rose to the occasion with numerous acts of kindness and charity.

Now as our creek, previously dry for 9 months, breaks its banks and floods across our lower paddock filling our dams after 200mm of rain in 48 hours, we look forward to putting the trauma behind us, getting the fire damage cleaned up and our farm shed rebuilt, receiving the insurance payout and completing the repair of the final length of fencing.

Australian Vintage 2020 / Smoke Taint

The major wine producing areas of Australia lie on the south eastern part of the continent.

Many vineyards in these regions have been affected by the recent bush fires directly and indirectly.

Although a winery may have suffered no fire damage, the blanket of smoke that was its legacy has caused nightmares for many in the wine industry, thanks to what is known as “smoke taint”.

Vignerons watched the smoke linger over their ripening fruit for many days and even weeks.

The entire 2020 crop has been lost in some parts of Hunter Valley and Adelaide Hills wine regions, while many growers are picking only a fraction of their fruit.
Bush fire smoke can taint wine as a result of the chemicals released into the atmosphere when woody material like trees burn. These chemicals that can damage wine grapes are known as volatile phenols. They are released in a gaseous form and travel with the smoke.
These volatile phenols can be absorbed by the grape berries.
When fresh, heavy smoke lands on the outside of the grape, the phenol compounds get into the skin but not the flesh.
However it’s a one-season thing. Next season the vines are fine.

Samples of wine grapes as well as the resultant wine (bench ferment) made from them can be tested for taint.
The berries are put through a 12-stage process during testing. Early on they are blended to be "homogenised" before they are subject to complex scientific testing.
The taint compounds are extracted out of the samples and subjected the two separate chemical analyses.
One analysis measures volatile phenols and the other measures sugar-bound compounds in the samples. All up, 13 compounds are quantified, some of which occur naturally in grapes, and these measurements are then compared to normal background levels of the compounds in grapes.
The results of these tests provide a guide to the grower and the winery whether to harvest or not.
What with the drought and the bush fire in our area this season it appears that I made a good decision to cease my wine growing activities.

Tributes Wanted

Australian Community Media & Printing (ACM) is a trading name of Rural Press Limited, a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include The Canberra Times, The Newcastle Herald, The Examiner, The Border Mail, The Courier and the Illawarra Mercury along with more than one hundred community-based websites across Australia and numerous agricultural publications including The Land and Queensland Country Life.
They published the story below which says it all about the recent tragic events in Australia better than I ever could.
It has been a summer lost forever. 
A summer in which the traditions we cherish, of beach holidays, of camping trips, of watching fireworks on a grassy hill, have been stolen by the terrifying forces of nature.
Drought, hail, floods and, worst of all, fire have ravaged all parts of the nation. 
Homes have been razed, lives lost, millions of hectares of bushland burnt and unimaginable numbers of wildlife have perished. Businesses have shut down starved of their summer trade. Smoke has choked cities. Waves of dust have enveloped whole towns. 

It has been the summer that has tested us in ways that have defied experience, if not prediction.
The world has looked on with grave concern and responded with generosity. Tears have been shed on our behalf by people who have never been on our shores.
We have seen the best of our human qualities on display. In every village, town and city, every day. But through this extraordinary and this terrible time, it has been our strong community bonds that have helped us into the aftermath.

Volunteerism, that spirit of giving that is a pride of Australian life, has rarely looked more 
magnificent than in the brigades of firefighters putting themselves between life and property and the monstrous approaching fire fronts. Their bravery and dedication has moved us all. 
In the aftermath of the summer's fast-hitting disasters, or through the enduring grip of drought, we have seen the best of our human qualities on display. In every village, town and city, every day. 
Neighbours opening their homes to a displaced neighbour. Community groups of all types setting up kitchens to feed evacuees. People rushing to help rebuild burnt fences. Vets with the unspeakably sad task of euthanizing injured stock and wildlife. 
Fridges stocked with cold drinks for passing emergency crews. Wildlife carers converting their homes to animal sanctuaries. Truck drivers bringing load after load of stock feed or urgent supplies to drought-stricken or smouldering villages and farms.
Some people owe their lives to a stranger, whether that stranger was wearing a uniform or the summer dress of a holidaymaker. Selfless action in moments of utter terror.
For all of these kinds of stories that have already been told, there are countless more that deserve to be heard. And so at Australian Community Media we want to give voice to them and give thanks to the heroes of the home front.

Stories of efforts that have helped your community in its darkest times. Of the smallest acts of kindness and generosity that have reminded you how good people really are. 
Acts motivated by love for community and care for one another.
Please join us in sharing your stories of gratitude. It doesn't matter how, it doesn't matter where. 
We will publish as many responses as we can online and in special print editions in coming weeks.
We were treated with empathy and kindness by friends, neighbours, acquaintances, government workers and complete strangers during our week of evacuation and those that followed. The entire community came together during a time of crises which somewhat restored our faith in human nature which had started to wane over the last decade or so.
I look forward to reading the results of this ACM request.
When they do start rolling in I will put a link on this page.

Tribute1: click here

Australia Day 2020

January 26th marks the anniversary of the First Fleet's arrival in Port Jackson, New South Wales in 1788 and the first European settlement on the continent.
In previous times, this day was celebrated quietly by family get togethers, bbqs, council sausage sizzle breakfasts in parks, a concert of Australian music here and there, or a day at the beach and fireworks in the evening.
Then, gradually the day became a conduit for the ‘love it or leave it’ bogan (redneck) crowd to promote a nationalism that bordered on jingoism which became quite disappointing.
Also a ground swell of indigenous Australian protest of the day they saw as the beginning of colonial oppression also surfaced. For them it was Invasion Day.

Invasion Day is not only understood by growing numbers of non indigenous Australians, it  is now the dominant narrative on 26th January.
This year, tens of thousands of people gathered for Invasion Day rallies in the nation's capital cities and regional centres.
Personally I have thought for quite a while it’s time to ‘change the date’ to celebrate our nation to one that is totally inclusive. But the traditionalists in power are holding firm as conservatives tend to do.
However it’s like the ongoing Republic debate........it will happen one day.
On a more positive note, 454 citizenship ceremonies were performed across the country yesterday conferring citizenship on a record 27,419 new Australians.

A Currowan Fire Update / 24th January 2020

It’s been about seven weeks now since fire activity began in our area.
After a short few days respite, yesterday conditions worsened with a 40°C day and strong dry winds.
The fire fronts across the region sprang into action and there was more property loss and injury.
Sadly the USA crew of a contracted Coulson C-130 large air tanker was killed when the plane crashed while dumping fire retardant on a major blaze in the high country.

We were enveloped in a dust storm for most of the day and then late afternoon were warned that a fire just to the north of us in the National Park had reignited. We had been confident that there was nothing left to burn around us but in the horrific conditions of the day this was not the case. Once again our RFS was on the job and had the fire under control. Thankfully the winds dropped a few hours later and a cool southerly changed arrived just before midnight.

The Currowan Fire and those that it spawned now covers an area of half a million ha.
It has now joined up with a major fire to the south so in total the fire ground on the south coast of New South Wales is 850 million ha (2100 million acres), stretching 220km (140 miles) from Bega to Nowra along the coast and west into and over the Great Dividing Range.

As said before, this environmental, wildlife and human disaster will not be over until we get at least 200mm of rain.
That does not look likely in the near future.
To say we have all had enough of this is an understatement.

A Currowan Fire Update / 12th January 2020

Fire conditions have eased across the fire grounds in our area over the last few days.
There was even a very small amount of rain.
This has given the RFS crews a chance to mop up active fire areas, back burn protective breaks and clear roads of fallen trees.
We are still warned to stay alert in case conditions turn again.
The Currowan Fire has spawned four adjacent fires which now total an area of just under half a million hectares ie. 1.2 million acres.
A time line of the fire’s life has been documented here with the accompanying map below.

Meanwhile at home we have assessed the fencing damage in detail and started to bring in repair materials.
Work will commence next week when Stirls comes down for a few days. Our boundary fences are a first priority.
We are still waiting for word from our insurance company on structural replacements.
A continuing supply of hay for the cows has been established as the remaining pasture is limited.
Water is still a concern. Our dams are looking very sad and we are on very strict restrictions in the house in case we need to start to use our tank water for the cows. Granted we still have 30,000L in storage but our cattle could consume up to 200L /day.

It can be a bit depressing living in the burnt landscape but today, on a boundary walk, I noticed that some of the eucalyptus trees have sprung into renewal mode.
Epicormic buds on the tree’s branches and trunk sprout when triggered by stress, such as wildfire, which can severely damage the crown. These buds, in the outer sapwood, are protected from fire damage by the tree’s bark. They quickly sprout if a eucalypt looses its crown. The new shoots, epicormic shoots, produce green foliage which enables the tree to survive.

Many other native Australian plants use fire to initiate seeds which have fallen onto the nutrient rich ash bed. We can expect a brand new under storey to also appear with time.
Even small shoots of grass are now beginning to grow through the ash.
When/if the rain comes, we can expect a real burst of life.

The Numbers Are In / Australia’s Hottest Driest Year on Record

2019 was Australia's driest year, exceeding 1902, Australian Bureau of Meteorology data shows.

Rainfall

Last year was also Australia's hottest for maximum and mean temperatures, eclipsing previous highs set in 2013 by large margins. 

Temperature 

Daytime temperatures were 2.09 degrees above the bureau's 1961-90 benchmark, topping the 2013 record by half a degree.
More details in BoM’s Annual Climate Statement 2019.

Australian Bushfire Situation / 7th January 2020

State by state update:

NEW SOUTH WALES
20 people dead, two missing.
130 bush fires burning on the South Coast, Snowy Mountains, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Mid North Coast.
Almost 5 million hectares burnt which is equal to the metro areas of the five mainland state capitals.
1,588 homes confirmed destroyed but number expected to rise.

ACT
One small bush fire burning in Namadgi National Park.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
No bush fires burning.
Five homes confirmed destroyed

QUEENSLAND
30 bush fires burning in the far north, central, southeast and Central Highlands.
2.5 million hectares burnt.
48 homes confirmed destroyed.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
32 bush fires burning, in the Goldfield-Esperance region, Wheatbelt, Pilbara, Perth region and southeast.
1.7 million hectares burnt.
Three home confirmed destroyed.

TASMANIA
14 bush fires burning across the state’s north, east and south.
More than 32,000 hectares burnt.
Two homes confirmed destroyed.

VICTORIA
Two people dead.
14 bush fires burning in Gippsland, northeast and alpine regions.
More than 1.2million hectares burnt.
More than 200 homes confirmed destroyed but number expected to rise.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Three people dead.
Five bush fires burning (four on the mainland, one on Kangaroo Island).
About 270,000 hectares burnt.
161 homes confirmed destroyed.

A Currowan Fire Update / January 5th 2020

As predicted, Saturday 4th January was a very difficult day for all those in and around the fire grounds across the state and over the border in Victoria.
Temperatures were in the high 30s, early 40s and dry winds were gusting from the west.
In fact, western Sydney recorded their highest temperature ever, a staggering 48.9℃ (120℉).
We thought we were fairly safe but at 2pm the power went out and we noticed a significant smoke plume just over the hills to the north of us.
An unburnt area between Lake Burrill and Lake Tabourie had caught fire and was heading once again for the latter village.
Being surrounded by a now large fire break caused by the previous fires we were not in immediate impact danger but any wind change could bring an ember attack.

No power meant no pump so we didn’t have access to any high pressure water.
We spent a few hours watering down the roof and gutters of the house using my battery operated vine sprayer unit and listening to our national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, for fire updates on the car radio and enjoying a little aircon. The ABC covers much of Australia with city and regional stations and during emergencies dedicates those to providing updates and warnings. Despite all the modern methods of communication these days, old fashioned radio still comes through when the chips are really down. And a good battery operated transistor radio (remember them?) seems to still be essential equipment.

It became apparent from reports we were cut off both to the north and south but still had safe places to go in case the need be.
We were aware a southerly wind change was heading up the coast and arrive it did with a vengeance around 6pm. It howled through the area with gusts up to 90km/hr for around 20 minutes covering us in dead leaves, small branches, dust and ash. While driving the Tabourie fire away from us we knew this would cause problems for a whole lot of people on the northern edges of fires which from reports on Sunday morning it did.

Firefighter’s boots with soles melted off

So there we were again. No power, no mobile phone coverage, no internet. So it was another romantic candle lit dinner of a hard boiled egg and salad wrap, warm beer then early to bed.

I awoke around 3am and had a walk around the house in now very cool conditions to check for spot fires. There were ominous red glows on the distant horizons both north and south and the ash was falling on us like snow.
Today we are still cut off by road in both directions from our two major towns and await advice as to when power and mobile phone (although we do still have a landline) service will be restored*
* restored around 3pm today.

A Currowan Fire Update / January 3rd 2020

As predicted, New Years Eve produced horrific conditions over the fire ground.
High temperatures over 40°C and strong dry westerly winds drove fire into new territory.
The tourist town of Mogo just to the south of us was first to suffer with many buildings lost.
This part of the fire then got into the suburban and out lying areas of Batemans Bay with numerous house losses. It burnt to the beaches there.
North of us the community of Lake Conjola was devastated. People were forced onto the beach and into the water to avoid the inferno. A huge number of homes were lost.
Further south, the town of Cobargo was decimated. In Victoria, just over the border, huge fires consumed east Gippsland. Thousands of holiday makers were forced into the water at Mallacoota and are being evacuated, as I write, by the Australian Navy.
In east Gippsland, a very large rural area, there has been loss of life, loss of property and homes and huge livestock losses.

Despite being warned to stay away from the south coast, huge numbers of tourists flocked to the area for their summer holidays. The fire situation has caught them all with nowhere much to go. Power has been cut, communications are, at best, patchy. Major roads have been cut and as a result there is a lack of food and fuel supplies in all the major centres.
Today the government declared a state of emergency and ordered all non residents out of the area.
Obviously with so much fire around, the major road to the south and north had been opened and closed numerous times. The traffic jams trying to get out of the area are horrendous. We cannot get into town for supplies at all. Our highway between Batemans Bay and Ulladulla is a 55km parking lot. People were sleeping in their cars last night on the road. A normal journey from our area to Sydney is four hours. For many it is taking 24 hours!

This brings us to this weekend.
Conditions are predicted to be worse than New Year’s Eve so we are girding our loins once more.
Theoretically we are safe due to our area being burnt out a few weeks ago. But we have been warned once again to be alert for secondary fires caused by flying embers from the distant fire fronts. Lots of dead fallen leaves are now on the ground and many trees are still smouldering.
So that’s the situation to date.
Obviously there will be more to come.

Goodbye 2019, Hello 2020

A Currowan Fire Update / December 29th 2019

The Currowan Fire has merged with another to the north and spawned another to the west.
Total area to date over 250,000ha or 620,000 acres.
The forecast for the coming days is not good.
Temperatures are set to rise above 40 degrees in western Sydney and other parts of the state and north westerly winds are to pick up in coming days.
The Rural Fire Service has forecast "severe and extreme fire danger coming into Tuesday".
There was concern about the progress of fires in southern NSW on Sunday and our Shoalhaven area on Monday and Tuesday.

Emergency services have issued a strong message to tourists planning to visit the Shoalhaven in the lead up to New Year, urging them to reconsider all travel plans due to "deteriorating" bushfire conditions.
Our council said the significantly increased population due to visitors was already "adding to the burden on emergency services and responders".
The major highway from Sydney is being cut continually by fire activity.
The major highway from Canberra has been cut for 3 weeks and due to fire damage is unlikely to be open in less than a month.
This is turning into a disaster for tourism in our area. Many businesses rely on the income generated during the long Christmas/New Year holidays to sustain them during the rest of the year.
There were more than 80 blazes across the state on Saturday evening as a "very high" fire danger warning was in place for much of the east coast. Unfortunately some fires have been deliberately lit and arrests are being made.
There is no rain forecast for the next 10 days.
We are seemingly safe. Nothing much left to burn around here but we have been warned that secondary fires are a possibility and to be alert.

Christmas 2019

Christmas Eve dinner was a big bowl of Moules mariniere with crusty bread to mop up the broth followed by fresh tiger prawns with wasabi. Then a scoop of Ben and Jerry’s Triple Caramel Chunks.
Wine: Rapaura Pinot Gris 2019 from New Zealand.
Christmas Day calls to family and friends before opening a bottle of champagne late morning to have with a Christmas lunch entree (starter) of oysters and prawns.

Then as a main, a little later, barramundi on the BBQ with fried potatoes washed  down with Pikes ‘The Merle’ Clare Valley Riesling.

And then, much later, dessert; plum pudding and vanilla bean custard.

Finally a shout out to the over 2000 volunteer men and women fire fighters who are out there today still protecting us and who could not be with their families today. You are all heroes.

Australian Bush Fire Situation / 23rd December 2019

State-by-state breakdown of the bushfire crisis:
Australia:
5 million hectares burnt.

New South Wales
The total area burned in NSW has reached 3.41m hectares, according to the RFS.
110 fires, of which almost 60 are uncontained, are still burning.
Six lives lost.
829 buildings destroyed with another 100 possible over last weekend.
Major Fires: Gospers Mountain blaze (areas hardest hit include Lithgow and along the Bells Line of Road in the upper Blue Mountains); Green Wattle Creek fire (devastating Wollondilly Shire villages of Buxton and Bargo, and wiping out small town of Balmoral);  *Currowan blaze (has hit communities near Nerriga, north of Batemans Bay).
* ‘Our’ fire.

Victoria
Two blazes still burning uncontrolled in Tambo Crossing in East Gippsland and Hotspur, Digby, in the western district.
Bushfires in East Gippsland burning since Thursday

South Australia
Huge fire burning in Adelaide Hills.
One life lost.
25,000 hectares burned within a 127km perimeter.
72 homes confirmed lost along with 404 other buildings and 227 vehicles over the weekend.
Significant losses to crops, including vineyards and hundreds of sheep killed.

Australia’s Christmas Wish

Queensland
About 60 fires burning within containment lines across the state.

Western Australia
Lives and homes threatened by bushfires in Perth’s Hills region around Roleystone, in the city’s south-east and a massive blaze at Yanchep, north of Perth, last week before being downgraded.
Firefighters battled heatwave conditions for much of the six-day fire, saving thousands of properties.
One house and a Yanchep petrol station were destroyed; about 13,000 hectares were burned.

Tasmania
Two bushfires north of Launceston were brought under control at the end of November.

Northern Territory 
NT last saw major fires in September when there were nine active fire grounds.

Source: AAP.

New South Wales Rural Fire Service

Following posts on ‘our’ fire, I had a number of inquires about the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS).
The NSW RFS is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales.
It is responsible for fire protection in 95% of the land area of New South Wales.
Urban areas are the separate responsibility of the paid Fire and Rescue NSW.
The NSW RFS is the primary agency for responding to bush fires in the state. In addition, they respond to structural fires, vehicle fires, motor vehicle accidents and wide range of other emergencies.
It is the largest volunteer fire service in the world, with over 72,000 volunteer members who are organized into 2,002 brigades.

The service also employs around 900 paid staff who fulfill senior operational management and administrative roles.
The agency attends to approximately 27,000 incidents a year.
It reports to the New South Wales Minister for Police and Emergency.
Equipment:
Engines
• 3,783 tankers
• 62 pumpers
• 59 bulk water carriers
 and 30 Fire boats.
The NSW Rural Fire Service also operates an Aviation Unit and owns and contracts a number of aircraft for firefighting water bombing, reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and transportation.
Other states in Australia have similar organizations.

More detailed information here.

Check out their web site https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/

Images of the Currowan Fire