I’ve been 4Wding the high country for 30 years and enjoying bush camping with my wife and kids. as I travel around today there are a number of points of difference to those early years…

1. Today, most of the remote camping areas we used to visit are heavily overgrown with weeds and waist long grass.

2. Today there aren’t as many tracks available to 4WDers.

3. Today in most areas there is an absence of logging.

4. Today in most areas, collecting of firewood is banned or severely limited.

…these 4 points are critical in the reason our fires are getting bigger and more devastating. If you look at each of these points in turn you will see why…

1. Thirty years ago cattle were grazing the high country. These cattle kept the grass short and weeds at bay by eating and trampling. The head of the inquiry after the 1939 fires stated it was the fuel load on the forest floor that was a major contributing factor to the intensity of the fires. As a non-academic it is quite easy to see how the cattle grazing can help to limit the ferocity of fire.

2. Since most of the high country has been declared a national park, there have been wholesale track closures and in some instances a complete banning of everything in certain areas (wilderness). Just as Stretton (head of 1939 inquiry) stated that fuel load on the forest floor was a factor, he also stated the lack of tracks as being another reason fires were so fierce. Firefighters just couldn’t get to the fires.

3. Thirty years ago there was logging throughout the high country. Loggers only make money by logging good timber, so it was in their interests if a fire started in their area to make sure it was dealt with quickly. In most cases loggers could have heavy equipment at the scene of a fire in a matter of hours and have the fire out quickly. Since getting rid of the loggers it can now take 4,5 or 6 days for authorities to get heavy equipment to a fire area and by this time the fire has really taken hold.

4. So many areas of bush now have bans on people collecting firewood from the forest floor. In 1984 I lived in Cockatoo and regularly went out the back of Gembrook collecting firewood. it was a long hard job as there wasn’t much wood lying around because this is what most people in the area did. Today I travel around those same areas and am amazed at the rubbish lying around on the forest floor. As Stretton said in his 1939 inquiry, fuel load on the forest floor was a major cause for the fires intensity.

It seems the authorities have forgotten everything that has been learnt from earlier devastating fires. How much more bush, how many more properties are going to have to be destroyed and how many more lives are going to be put at risk before these people start acting responsibly. we will never stop fires in the bush but we can certainly help to minimise the devastation by acting on past recommendations and avoid bowing to minority groups.

Remember, a 4x4 cannot be treated like a normal car when cornering. The 4WD will roll over much easier than a car while cornering, due to the higher center of gravity. This applies to gravel and paved roads equally. Although a four wheel drive vehicle generally has better traction on gravel than a car, when safe cornering speeds are exceeded the four wheel drive will tend to roll earlier than a car.