Ambers Gully - Prescribed Burn

This weekend I was on a prescribed burn at Ambers Gully in Blackhill Conservation Park.   This burn was on a steep ridge, and was required to reduce the fuel load in the case of a bushfire. The area we were burning is the whole of the ridge on the right of the photo below.

We met at the head of the gully, and shortly after, the burn commenced from the highest point moving downwards in both directions.

The burn was progressing well, and we soon we had smoke in front and behind our appliance.

I was crewed on "Mount George QRV" a Toyota Land Cruiser equipped with a 400 litre tank,with a pump and hose reel.  This is a "Quick Response Vehicle" and is used to quickly establish a response in the event of a bush fire.  We had to ensure that the fire did not cross the track that marked the eastern edge of the burn.

This edge was to provide a 30 metre burnt buffer zone to prevent the main fire from spreading to unplanned areas.   There was soon plenty of smoke, and the 30 metre buffer was soon completed.

This was the signal for the helicopter, a Eurocopter Ecureuil, to begin dropping incendiaries into the heart of the target area, which was soon well alight.

Firefighting - First Burn

This week I attended my first controlled burn as a volunteer firefighter. The burn was planned to take place in Bullock Hill Conservation Park near Ashbourne on the Fleurieu Peninsular, South of Adelaide. These burns are performed to reduce the fuel load, and therefore the likelyhood of a damaging bushfire in the summer. While waiting in the staging area, 11 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos flew over and some briefly perched close enough to take a pic with my point and shoot. Our first job was to head off to nearby Scott Conservation Park to assist in mopping up after a burn the previous day. We were in a Quick Response Vehicle (QRV) which is a 4WD ute with a 400 litre tank, pump and hose reel onboard. This burn was very successful as can be seen from the photo. This bracket fungus was covered in ash but otherwise undamaged. Early afternoon saw us back at Buffalo Hill, where the larger appliances, (this one is "Cleland 34" carrying 3000 litres of water on a 4WD truck chassis), were waiting along with a Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel helicopter. The helicopter was used to ignite the fire as two previous attempts had been unsuccessful. Our attempt fared little better and the fire was all but out within a hour.