Sunday 9 October to present Aftermath of the Bushfire Pt.2

Other than the helicopters carrying buckets of water to the south - the RFS Chinook was a sight to behold - all was quiet. We decided to drive out the track to view the damage.

Wow, what an eye opener. Less that a kilometre away the fire had crowned as it roared through parts of the forest. The rain forest gully to our south had been hammered in its western end.

We drove up the road to where the 2019/2020 fire had reached.  We could see that this fire had burnt through the area again. As the road beyond this point looked dicey we decided not to proceed further in our quest to find the western edge of the Coolagolite fire. Suffice to know that some of the area burnt 3 years and 8 months ago, during Black Summer,  which was still recovering was burnt again.  So, the question is, does a forest have to burnt less than every three years for a fuel reduction burn to be effective in providing protection? If this is so, what are the implications for the wildlife and the forest itself? How long before the fabric of the forest has been changed forever and how many species would be driven to extinction?  There must be a better way.

I will endeavour to take a few pics of different parts of the forest floor every few months to see how long it takes for the litter level to build up again.

We've heard that the Cuttagee Sea Eagles nesting tree has succumbed to the fire. If their offspring are about the same age of those in the Sydney Sea Eagle live cam, they too will have perished. As have the offspring of countless birds and animals who are in the middle of raising young. No doubt many of the birds and animals that are left will try again - but what are they going to feed their babies, let alone themselves?

A generation lost thanks to humanities selfish unwillingness to tackle climate change.

Depressed, we returned home and did some more work on getting documentation together for the Assessor.

Needing a break we walked down to our eastern neighbours to check some of our aged sheeps for signs of oozing and cracked hooves.  No signs so far.

A happy moment to see this beauty has survived.

Apologies for the jerks. This was my 4th go. The three proceeding goes, so tall it is, I never made it to the top  before video stopped.

Walking home, these lovely specimens should survive.

And then there was this, just of the track and because of the undergrowth, never seen before.  What is going on? It looks like a case of 'get off me'. I wonder if the rock is called Harvey?

Except for the call of Currawongs, it was a silent walk home. However, later that afternoon two Yellow Robins, a Lewin's Honey Eater and a lone thornbill visited the bird bath and I noticed a few Jacky Winters flitting from fence post to fence post.

Monday morning saw us busy with paper work. One of the blokes from the Local Land Services Dept rang for an update on the sheep  - how good is that! 

We were delighted to receive a call from our very dear friends from Mallacoota. They were in Bega and would like to come out for a quick visit before returning home.  They had survived the Black Summer fires, having with one neighbour, fought the fire for 6 hours and saved not only theirs and the neighbours house but two others as well. 

They arrived with lunch, bless them, and we sat down for a good natter and debrief. Lunch was delayed when the insurance assessor arrived early. L took him for a drive around the property to look at fences, the burnt sheds and dam pump and our meeting with was not the painful process we thought it would be.

Lunch resumed after the assessor departed. P&G's visit lifted our spirits and we were reluctant to let them depart.

Late that afternoon our spirits plunged again as the second last of our est. 150yo plus habitat trees came crashing down. :( :( 

On the 13th, the fire was declared under control.  Some 7,380ha (18236acres) were burnt. This was final RFS map issued.

Today we had an unexpected return visit from the RFS 'live' tree specialists who had put out the fire in the big Spotted gum at the bottom of the garden. They had come to check the tree had not reignited and to reassess its health.

I pointed out the stump still burning across the gully (see pic below). They assured me it was safe to let it burn itself out. :(

Interestingly, some of the trees and shrubs in the garden that had looked unaffected by the fire now seem to be turning up their toes. I guess it must of been the heat. We will have to wait to see if they cark it or sprout new leaves. 

Tomorrow our neighbours who lost everything are receiving a visit from our local State MP, Dr Michael Holland.  As there has still been no offer of help from the Bega Valley Shire or the State Gov't (e.g. waiving tip fees for the dumping of burnt fencing and sheds etc would be an enormous help to everyone affected by the fires) it will be interesting to hear what he has to say.

To end on a more encouraging note. This evening I found worms alive in the melted compost bin (isn't there some saying like its the small things in life that make one happy) and as I was guddling about in said compost bin I saw a male and female Superb Blue Wren hopping about the lawn. :)

And as of the 14th still no sign of burnt feet in the sheep flock :) :)