SteeleRedux, "Now-a-days it seems none of them do it [plow a run as a fire break]. Either too bloody tight to spend the diesel or wanting to crop every last inch"

See this earlier post,
"..What irritates farmers are the lunatic bans preventing farmers from slashing and so on to reduce the fuel along fences bordered by roads"
(Posted by onthebeach, Monday, 4 January 2016 11:22:29 PM)

Where the fuel break is within the property fence (and not on the road side) the fences are lost in any fire, likely caused by an idiotic act by a member of the travelling public.

You couldn't have done much volunteering for the rural fire service, which largely relies on the farming community for its volunteers and equipment, it you were not aware that up until the interfering urban keyboard greens of recent years, firebreaks were immediately external to the boundary fence surrounding the property. Done by farmers. Main Roads or Shire Councils also ran a tractor slasher or a sprayer early in the season to reduce the fuel that was immediately adjoining the road.

Contrary to what you say though, it would be the rare farmer who doesn't do the firebreak within his fences, while knowing that he will still lose his fencing and stock.

Maybe you could get off that backside to volunteer for Blazeaid, to see first hand the damage and do something to help,

http://blazeaid.com/

Dear Yuyutsu,

You do not have to live in fear of fire. Where building a house is in a fire-hazard area where you must make great modifications in the area to live there you just don't build. It's that simple.

I live on acreage. We have eucalypts, poincianas, grevilleas, cycads and other good stuff growing. We have parrots, butcher birds, kookaburras, noisy miners, goannas, pythons, koalas and other creatures. I enjoy what we have very much. I am 90 years old. When I die the land will remain. I want to leave it in a condition so that the next person who lives here can enjoy it as I do. The others are not only people but the other living beings with whom I share this land.

All of us will die, but the land will still be here along with the life on it. Let's not mess it up.

We differ as we do in so many things.

Is Mise,
I am aware of your military experience but was not aware that included time in the fire squad as well.

I take your point about tree species that have fire retardant properties and you are right about the need to promote them and to use them as a screen to catch burning embers. That helps to protect houses.

However I believe that the current fashion of mass evacuation is the cause of the loss of many homes. Certainly send the kids and the infirm away to a safe location as one only needs able bodied people to remain to protect the home. Many homes can be made a lot safer with some work and a little cost. One should think of the home as the refuge for when the smoke gets too thick to remain outside.

Before moving to an urban area in Qld, I had built a rural home that had a roof and under verandah sprinkler system, plus sprinklers on the perimeter fence to water the lawn and fire prevention. It can be done with some thought.

Education of rural and outer urban residents is essential and I would like to see an end to this fashion of mass evacuation and road closures.

This affects all of us because when houses are lost the cost of insurance goes up. Not to even mention the heartbreak and having to start over again for the victims.

The dense vegetation might look pretty when it's lush and it's raining, but during fire season it's deadly.

Councils must allow people to clear a safe space around their houses or should be liable.

Australia has always had bushfires. Many species need fire to propagate. They've evolved that way in response to the aboriginal practice of burning to promote new growth.

The issue is why do we have so many more raging, uncontrollable fires as compared to the pre-1950 periods.

Reason - the bush is now considered sacred and controlled burn of the undergrowth is now sacrilegious.

The best summary of this is here:

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/doomed-planet/2015/12/green-burnt-red/

mhaze says 'Many species need fire to propagate. They've evolved that way in response to the aboriginal practice of burning to promote new growth.' I find this almost impossible to believe.

Dear mhaze could you please give us a brief description of this evolutionary process?

Are there any scientists out there who can support mhaze's statement?