The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Fire completed its management burn at Kalimna Park on April 23. The treatment area is shown on the map below.
Representatives of FOBIF and the Friends of Kalimna Park have examined the site on several occasions since, and FOKP members walked the area with fire managers last Thursday. Managers Simon Brown and Paul Bates declared themselves satisfied that the Department’s fuel reduction objectives had been achieved.
Though locally severe, the burn was patchy, apparently inhibited by overcast, cool, still conditions. In any case, most of the area seems to carry a very low fuel load. Residents who have examined the area have expressed the view that the most serious damage done in the course of the operation was the crude preparatory track work. FOBIF has written to David Major, the responsible manager, about this [see our post], but has received no reply. In addition, in their laudable efforts to exclude an Eltham Copper Butterfly population from the burn, the managers have created a rough bare earth zone which could quickly become a damaging bike track unless quickly rehabilitated. We’re hoping this will be done within weeks.
Kalimna, late April 2015: a combination of low fuel loads and cool conditions created a patchy management burn.
As to the medium to long term effects of this fire, we’ll be visiting the area regularly in the coming months and reporting on what we see.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General for Emergency Management has finished his review of performance targets for fuel reduction on public land, and has submitted it to the State Government. We’ll report on details when they become available.
Click on image for info/order page
Click on image for info/order page
Click on image for info/order page
As of today May 4th, the burn is still smouldering and is causing a great deal of ‘collateral damage’ to large trees, due to lack of care in ‘blacking out’, and not helped by our lack of any significant rainfall.
Trees with hollows at the base, or deep burns to bark and exposed roots, are crashing to the ground. In some until recently picturesque little gullies, many of which harboured plants rarely seen elsewhere, are now actively alight.
By contrast, areas of blackberry infestation below the northernmost bend of Lawson Parade are untouched. Several tracks have been irreparably widened and levelled enough to encourage – even invite – off-roaders, 4WD enthusiasts and firewood harvesters. Given the last FOBIF post, on weeds spread by machinery, one wonders what we’ll see emerge along the verges of these tracks!
Thanks for that info James. We did report to DELWP in Bendigo yesterday that there had been a flare up, and it seems that they did go back and deal with it pretty promptly.
On the blackberries, we were intrigued by a large infestation which had apparently been protected from the fire: we subsequently found that it conceals a heritage ruin! We’ll report on that in more detail in the next few days.