Living With the Bush

 The research also has implications for bushfire-prone areas in Victoria, where there have been calls to clear large areas of bushland after this year’s Black Saturday bushfires.

‘The “bulldozer solution” of clearing large tracts of bush to reduce the risk of bushfires will only compound the problem – by clearing the land, you get a hotter land surface, so bushfires will be more severe,’ said Dr McAlpine.

‘Rather, we need to restore and actively manage native forests and woodlands for the multiple ecosystem services they can provide.’

"I have lived in the Gippsland forests for 30 years, been a volunteer fire fighter for 20 years. I have noticed the same type of fire behaviour. The old growth enclosed canopy forests that have not been subjected to manipulation, tracks, burning, logging – and are more fire-proof. The dense understory creates a damp micro climate and slows down the ferocity of the winds."

I fought the Quarry rd fire. It *started* in Quarry rd, and regardless of how properties are cleared, it would not have been stopped without the Heli [helicopter]. 

Volunteer of CFA Posted at 5:30 PM Today on Herald Sun Website

Some paddocks that burnt had no grass, the sheep manure carried the fire through.