The endless mopping up, the patrols, the assessment and the salvage are underway in the hills around Tumut following a fire that affected around 11 000 hectares of plantation pine.

The Billo Road fire started on the 10th December 2006 within a picnic area in Buccleuch State Forest, north east of Tumut.

Unpredictable winds, coupled with high temperatures and very dry fuel, resulted in a rapid rate of spread.

Forests NSW acting director Planted Forests, Bob Orman, said that although the fire was a blow to the regional timber industry and the local community, it should not impact on Forests NSW meeting its contracted supply obligations or the long-term viability of industry.

“The fire burnt areas of Billapaloola, Buccleuch and Bondo State Forests, which represent about eight per cent of the state-owned pines in the area,” he said.

The fire damaged 8500 hectares planted with trees, while the remaining area included roads/easements, environmental exclusion zones and areas already clearfelled in preparation for another crop.

Approximately 500 hectares of private property was also affected.

Bob said Forests NSW had been talking with customers including Visy, Weyerhaeuser, Ausply, Norske Skog and Hyne, seeking their opinions and offering advice in order to minimise any immediate disruption to their wood supplies.

“This community is dependent upon the timber industry, and we need to reassure everyone that through careful planning there is a way forward, and the industry will remain vibrant,” he said.

Bob said the extent of damage to the standing pine trees varied significantly across the areas burnt, depending on the age of the stands and the intensity of the fire.

“A full assessment of the extent of the resource lost and capacity to salvage timber is underway, but the full extent of the impact on the industry and the flow-on effect to the local community will take some time to assess,” he said.

“While the window of opportunity to salvage the higher grade pine sawlogs is normally around six months, some of the lower grade products can be salvaged over a longer period.”

Forests NSW Forest Health unit is working to combat the Ips beetle, capable of destroying unburnt trees if conditions suit their build up in the heavy fire burnt slash.

Bob said it was likely that most, if not all of the area affected by the fire, would be returned to plantation.

“Together with the State Government, timber industry and local communities, we will work to make sure that the forest industry remains the lifeblood of this region,” he said.

Firefighting resources

Up to 400 people including firefighters from Forests NSW, Rural Fire Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service, NSW Fire Brigades and ACT Fire Service, plus the NSW Police, SES, and a huge team of volunteers were involved in fighting the Billo Road fire.

Incident controller Brian Royal praised the skills of firefighters, who did a remarkable job in limiting the fire to the final boundaries.

“The rapidly spreading fire during the first three days, and the extreme weather on Thursday 14th December 2006 between 6pm and 8pm, made firefighting particularly challenging,” he said.

Firefighting equipment included 80 fire tankers, six fixed-wing aircraft, 11 helicopters, 19 bulldozers, six graders and 40 slip-on units.

‘Delilah’, sister of the air crane ‘Elvis’, also played an important role with its 9000-litre capacity.

This article appears in the Autumn 2007 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.