Fire in Gondwana

Prior to the year 2000 dry lightning strikes were virtually unheard of in western Tasmania. Lightning storms were common but were typically accompanied by rain, often torrential, and lightning caused less than 1% of wildfire ignitions in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

Since the year 2000 dry lightning ignitions, and also the total area burnt by lightning strikes, have increased exponentially. This, combined with increasingly dry and hot summers, has caused a massive increase in the frequency, extent and impacts of wildfire in the World Heritage Area. This summer there have been thousands of lightning strikes and scores of wildfires have ravaged western Tasmania.

These are not ‘natural’ fires. We are witnessing the outcome of 30 years of global failure to take action on climate change. The devastating wildfires in western Tasmania are as much a consequence of climate change as is bleached coral, retreating glaciers, disappearing ice-caps and continuing record high temperatures. We caused these fires as much as if we had all gone out with matches and lit them.

Along with human life and private property, at risk are wild places and native wildlife. The most vulnerable landscapes are those that support Gondwanan flora - King Billy pines, pencil pines, Huon pines, creeping pines, deciduous beech, leatherwood and the myrtle and celery-top pine rainforests. These unique floral communities are a large part of the reason why Western Tasmania is listed as World Heritage – many have been growing since the end of the last ice age and include individual trees thousands of years old. They are overwhelmingly intolerant of fire and are killed by all but the most insignificant fire. Fire is also inimical to evolving Gondwanan elements within mixed forests. Fires that are too frequent and too hot set the ecological composition back to early succession forms, removing the stock of future climax vegetation communities.

There is a vexed argument to be had around potential reduction of vegetation fuel levels through low intensity cool season burning. There is, however, consenus that raging, climate change driven wildfires at the height of summer are not the way to reduce fuel loads!

Four decades of industrial forestry in Tasmania have created incendiary landscapes of densely packed and highly flammable plantations and even-aged regrowth forests. A disproportionate number of the fires this summer gained traction in eucalypt forest coupes where concentrations of fine fuels also acted to intensify and accelerate fires. An ongoing legacy of forestry is a potentially explosive strip of pyrogenic landscapes that stretches in a band 10 to 20 kilometres wide from Catamaran in the south through to Bronte Park, and also in northwest and northeast Tasmania.

Climate change is shifting the wildfire goalposts in Tasmania and an unprecedented climate calls for unprecedented responses. The strategically directed technology and procedures outlined below would have had a very good chance of stopping, most if not all of the lightning strikes this summer, from producing damaging fires, if they had been deployed immediately and with force. There will be different views about this but we must have an independent post fire season review through which any potential improvements can be considered.

1. Aerial digital thermal imaging technology is used on fixed wing aircraft flying at altitude to assist with fire detection and hot-spot suppression. The sensors can provide real-time data to great precision and can detect fire in peat. The technology can be effective at night and through smoke. Cloud and rain are the only limitations. Most technologies have limits including their ability to detect fires in peat when burning deep below the surface. The Gell River fire was left after a couple of days of fire-fighting because it was thought to be extinguished. It wasn’t, and escaped later that day to burn the Denison Range and into the Mt Field National Park, the Upper Florentine, and towards Maydena. 

2. Dedicated amphibious water bombers - the Canadair Bombardier CL-215 and CL-415 https://winair.ca/blog/everything-need-know- canadair-cl-415/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5LKF8G5huw...

These custom-designed fire fighting craft will deliver up to 100,000 liters/hour and would be ideally suited to Tasmania because of our abundant freshwater. All of the recent fires were close to water - Gordon and Pedder Impoundments, (Gell River, Anne, Schnells Ridge and Upper Huon fires), Great Lake, (Miena fire), Huon River, (Tahune, Geeveston) Lower Gordon River (Wanderer fires), Pieman impoundment (Lynch Hill, Heemskirk fires), New River Lagoon (Federation Peak). Used in the early hours of most Tasmanian mornings, when wind and temperatures are low, humidity is high, and smoke has substantially pooled in valleys and low ground, and guided by precise thermal mapping, several of these planes would have had a real chance to contain most if not all of the currently burning fires. While many of our lakes may not be big enough they should be considered for use in the largest lakes.

The fires of this summer will run to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of calculable asset loss, not including the incalculable loss of priceless natural assets such as Gondwanan flora. A refurbished C-215 can be bought for M$40 and could be leased in winter to northern hemisphere locations. A pair of these (even taking into account high running costs) would pay for themselves in a couple of seasons.

 3. As well as providing more funding for professional remote area fire-fighting teams, consideration should be given to involving appropriate volunteers. There is no shortage of highly motivated Tasmanian bushwalkers and others who, with appropriate training, could provide remote on-ground support to water bombing. Experienced and accredited bushwalkers have helped the police and Parks and Wildlife Service for many years with search and rescue efforts in wilderness areas.

4. Dual fire fighting units, one for human life and private property and one for remote and wilderness fires, are required. Both wings of the statewide fire suppression response should be separately resourced and funded. Private property is important and World Heritage value Gondwanan flora is also important. It is not acceptable to sacrifice one to save the other.

Fire is the greatest threat to the Gondwanan values of the Tasmanian World Heritage Area. Tasmania and Australia have responsibilities as caretakers of the Australian World Heritage properties, and these responsibilities are currently not being upheld.

  

Rob Blakers

Wilderness Photographer