tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post505429044834215191..comments2024-02-10T18:50:01.193+10:00Comments on Gully Grove: Trouble in paradiseChris http://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-30962957418728889612014-04-14T10:55:12.668+10:002014-04-14T10:55:12.668+10:00Excellent point about the water table. They can ma...Excellent point about the water table. They can make all the difference between wet material and dry material, burning in a fire. Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-5249192980138582862014-04-13T21:27:12.315+10:002014-04-13T21:27:12.315+10:00Ah, I see. I didn't focus on the idea of permi...Ah, I see. I didn't focus on the idea of permits. In our area, permits are not necessary but no burn days announced on radio and t.v. Some even use the volunteer fire department trainees to oversea the burns. Most burning is of trash heaps which is objectionable to me but its permissible by the old guard who don't care about pollution. <br />Our land is degraded too but in another way-the overfilled pesticide mono crop fields are dry as a bone and crack in summer. But the corn and soy are green material. We have a good water table and that is the main key here. linda marthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201901762476827737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-37002956520005050772014-04-12T11:06:15.590+10:002014-04-12T11:06:15.590+10:00My theory as to why they don't charge people f...My theory as to why they don't charge people for lighting fires with a permit, that later get out of control (I can think of one incident last year) is because permits are issued by Fire Wardens. Ultimately, they are responsible for granting permission after they assess what is going to be burned and what facilities are available to put out the fire without incident. If weather conditions change, they are also responsible for ensuring fires burning under permits, are monitored by them so they don't get out of control. There is generally only one fire warden for a large region.<br /><br />If people ever got charged for bushfires caused while using a fire permit, ultimately the focus will fall on the Fire Wardens granting the permits. It's a dicey issue because having Fire Wardens monitoring how many permits are issued, is a sensible strategy. Should they also become legally responsible for 'acts of God' though, if the weather suddenly changed and couldn't get on the ground quick enough to get those fires under permit, under control?<br /><br />Even though I'd rather people not burn off, a system prepared to manage fire is better than none at all. There are less bushfires caused by legal fire permits, than those who throw cigarette butts out the window, or are deliberately caused by arsonists. <br /><br />Sorry to hear about the recent fire incident near you. The fact it was quickly contained, was probably due to favourable wind conditions, how quickly they were able to deploy resources to fight the fire, and the moisture still contained below the ground. 87 acres sounds like a lot of land to burn through, but the fact it was able to be brought under control is very good news. :)<br /><br />The reason we have a lot of wild fires in Australia is, we have a lot of intense heat during summer, ergo evaporation. We also have a lot of exposed and degraded land, which breeds fire prone plant species. Add a strong wind for a few days and you've got the ripe conditions for wild fire. These are not fires that can ever be brought under control because of the heat generated. They have to burn out or wait for the weather conditions to change.<br /><br />My heart goes out to anyone effected by fire - the animal and plant population too. It's a very scary time until the fire is brought under control.Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-18290404505233321892014-04-11T22:15:58.129+10:002014-04-11T22:15:58.129+10:00I hope you are right about how your land would rea...I hope you are right about how your land would react to a fire. I am really astounded that fire permits are not taken seriously enough to rescind them if conditions change and that there is not penalty for starting bush fires. I mean one persons stupidity can cause another to lose their life. In California (and I think it might be national) anybody who starts the fire will be charged. I am sure there is room for accidental fire starting but in general, its taken seriously. <br /><br />It was on the news last night that a farm area north of us had a fire which burned 87 acres. It started in a ditch and the speculation is that somebody tossed a cigarette out the window. The fire was quickly contained. Now think about that-we just had our winter thaw not two weeks ago but farm land means lots of corn stalks left in the fields and then there are wild grasses. Some trees probably but not a lot. linda marthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201901762476827737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-6518412477219457212014-04-11T08:59:54.545+10:002014-04-11T08:59:54.545+10:00It does seem to be global, doesn't it. There a...It does seem to be global, doesn't it. There are larger tracks of land in far worse shape than ours, and its because people keep doing what their fathers did, back when the world was cooler and rain more plentiful. When the elements change, we have to change our practices - be that the kind of foods we can grow or how much we give back to the land as nutrients. <br /><br />We have a strange fire ban system though. There are several "stages" which permit certain activities in the backyard utilising fire. If you've applied for a fire permit though, and the weather changes for the worse, on the day you're permitted to burn - you're still allowed to use your fire permit to burn. In fact, if you have a fire permit to burn and it gets out of control to start a bush fire, you're not charged for negligence.<br /><br />Of course its recommended people don't burn on a fire ban day, but permits given in advance don't really mean anything, if someone decides to ignore the recommendation. We're very fortunate to live in an area with a lot of volunteer rural fire brigade members. There is a lookout point which is manned regularly for bush fires. Having said that, I've also seen some people burning in backyards in windy weather. People obtain fire permits to burn, and then ignore the conditions when they change. <br /><br />Considering the terrain we live on though, I have to give credit to people for using their common sense most of the time. On the bad fire days though, I do worry. I consider my best defense the vegetation we manage. I know some in the rural fire brigade would look at our vegetation and consider it a fire risk so close to the house. If we don't increase the vegetation to cool the land during summer however, we just make the wood more prone to burning quicker, with more intense heat. That's wild-fire fuel, a fire fighters worst challenge to bring under control.<br /><br />At least if fire does hit our property, of course it will burn too, but it won't be contributing to the intense fuel to feed wild-fire. Because it will burn slower, it may even act as a wind break to slow its spread. I've never doubted our place would burn in a bushfire, my thoughts have always been "how" will it burn though? We're designing green buffers that will succumb to an intense enough bushfire, but it will act like a brake to its intensity too. Perhaps long enough for others to get out of its path?Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-66090996518952086702014-04-11T01:23:58.672+10:002014-04-11T01:23:58.672+10:00A lecture but a wonderful one Chris:)
I think that...A lecture but a wonderful one Chris:)<br />I think that the attitude towards the environment is a much more global problem. We have even had hostile reactions to what we are trying to do when we refused advise from more conventionally minded people around us. <br />I no longer engage them as they do not want to change so its up to people like us to just keep on keeping on.<br />I would think that burning would be restricted or banned in your area when its dry. It is here and we don't get nearly as dry as you. That type of ban could force people to do something other than take the easy route. linda marthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201901762476827737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-2661990599914169422014-04-10T11:53:52.301+10:002014-04-10T11:53:52.301+10:00I can imagine the frustration, Leigh. Actually I d...I can imagine the frustration, Leigh. Actually I don't have to imagine too hard, as we've had to wrestle with ex-urbanites too. Some of them neighbours, but we also were ex-hurbanites, with blickers on too. That was until we realised it was physically impossible to manage acreage with two people and difficult terrain.<br /><br />Unfortunately, we have neighbours who like to spray substantial amounts of poison, and they've killed trees on our side of the fence. All because its easier to spray poison on grass growing in the fenceline, than managing it with machinery. The poison didn't discriminate between the grass and the trees roots. I've managed to propagate one tree on that same fenceline, because I know if they poison every year, its roots will eventually cross the boundary too.<br /><br />It sounds like I don't like my neighbours very much - but they're decent enough people. I don't think they mean to cause anyone harm. I just notice the difference between their management style to ours. They take a lot of drastic measures to keep things in check, because they are short on time. I get that, We have to fight the time clock as well. It's not easy and we often fall short. <br /><br />Still, we've got to think of the long term goal of what we're leaving behind. Nature has been taking care of living things longer than we have, so I'm prepared to let it reside in its natural state. I do change things to our benefit around the yard, but I see nature as my partner not my nemesis. I don't want to eradicate it, when its actually better at looking after things than me, lol. ;)Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-31656066390382448982014-04-09T18:54:07.312+10:002014-04-09T18:54:07.312+10:00Another great post. Well put! Or maybe I have so m...Another great post. Well put! Or maybe I have so much natural messiness around that I love to hear someone agree that it's not only okay, it's healthy! Our biggest problem is that we have several neighbors right across the street who only know the domestic suburban way of doing things. They keep their yards in lawns and landscape plants, poison weeds, and mow, mow, mow. Out of respect for them, Dan wants to keep at least our front yard and road frontage tidy looking. We both agree that our biggest waste of time is mowing our "lawn" to make it look "respectable." It's a very frustrating situation actually. Leighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02435811789823712254noreply@blogger.com