Dom Uljanic, Emily Kirton and Claire Mackay from DEECA attended and provided 16 members and non-members with an overview of the recent Grampians fires (2024-2025) and plans for future fire management.
The recent fires were unprecedented burning 136,647 hectares, 2/3 of the National Park, and one of 7 major landscape fires in the Grampians in the last 19 years.
Multiple dry lightning strikes, a period of extended dry conditions, wind and weather conditions led to the Yarram Gap fire rapidly getting out of control and reaching a size of 100 hectares in a matter of minutes. This was despite the early deployment of 4 bombers. Due to the location, it was not possible to get a ground crew in, and firefighting efforts relied on aerial control.
This was sobering. It was clear to me from the talk that fire management is a juggling act of resources, local knowledge, tactics and the weather. Many of these factors are beyond our control.
The firefighting response to the Grampians bushfires was over 100 days of fire management and the cost of this could be upwards of $450 million.
Currently the Joint Fuel Management Programs state budget is $19 million.
This talk highlighted the need for increased resources aimed at prevention, early detection and increased early air capacity to contain the fire before it reaches that critical size.
There was discussion around using indigenous cultural burning practices and what this would look like.
Next seasons Joint Fuel Management Program will target protection of Dunkeld township, Wartook, Mt Difficult area, and further strengthening control lines to the north and southeast of Halls Gap.
Some of these will be ecological or landscape management zone fires of low intensity.
Conservation concerns were raised particularly around knowledge of where endangered flora and fauna is, the right time to burn, the intensity level and how not to favour invasive species.
Major concern is that if flora and fauna are not recorded on the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas then FFA, DEECA do not know that it is there.
For example, the “too hot” planned burn near Plantation Campground burnt out one population of endemic and endangered Grevillea gariwerdensis.
This points to the fact that the biodiversity team within DEECA is underfunded, and their knowledge is limited by time and money.
The recent Little Desert fire matched the area burnt in 8 hours to what the Yarram Gap burnt in 3 weeks.
Unprecedented. We can expect more fires. Next summer. A sobering thought.