By Alan Hill

I was recently walking on a property in Lenah Valley completing a conservation assessment. It was in a beautiful location. Mountains to the back of the block and a flowing creek at the front. About two thirds of the property was covered in bushland and smaller areas were starting to regenerate. The other third was used for horse grazing.

On the north side of the creek was a tall cliff. You could tell by the staining high up near the ledges that wedge-tailed eagles had been there. Scats on the ground with small bone deposits suggested the presence of Tasmanian devils, and small diggings pointed to busy bandicoots.

I walked with the landowner, Ian Creswell, to the larger area of forest on the slopes of the hills that wend their way to kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

I was surprised to find that an area previously mapped as dry forest was actually a magnificent area of wet forest with the occasional gum tree. Gnarly, twisted trunks of small trees were covered in mosses and lichens. The ground was wet and slippery, the rocks were painted in green growth. The birds were busy, the smell was beautiful, and the rain was steadily falling.

The forest looked quite undisturbed, but the size of the trees suggested otherwise. It turns out that large areas of this forest had been cleared in the past for agricultural land, but farming became unviable, and the area reverted to forest.

The conversation turned to the 1967 bushfire, which came through this area. Ian did not know the extent of the fire’s impacts, but knows it burnt through the property, as did a subsequent fire in the early 1990s.

There is now little evidence of these fires on the property. It is possible that being on a southern slope and home to wet forest the fire did not burn hard and hot through the area. In contrast, you can look to the northerly slopes nearby and still see many large dead trees that were most likely killed by either the 1967 bushfire, or subsequent fires.

The conversation then moved to managing a large block of land like this for fire.

The grazed area can be managed by keeping grass low and well maintained. The area between the cliff and the creek would need to be managed by hand, which Ian is already doing. Weeds should be removed to encourage the return of more wet forest species.

As for the majority of the land, which is now covered in wet forest, what do you do? There is no simple answer and many land managers, including councils, are grappling with the same conundrum.

When a bushfire is as ferocious as Hobart’s tragic ‘67 fires, wet forests will burn. And sadly, a fire of this scale and devastation will likely happen again one day.

So, what can be done to reduce this risk for someone living on a bush property with extensive forest?

Ian is maintaining tracks around and within the forest. He is also maintaining several dams on the property.

These efforts are important for battling less intense fires, but on a day when the fire danger rating is ‘Extreme’ or ‘Catastrophic’ the advice is clear – for your survival, leave bushfire risk areas.

At the end of the day, owners of small forest blocks must put the safety of themselves and their family first.

Like all home owners, they should be preparing around their house to reduce the risk of it being destroyed by embers or direct flames in the event of a bushfire. This includes actions like removing leaves from roofs and gutters, keeping shrubs and organic mulch well back from the house, and avoiding having plants or shrubs under large trees near the house.

Around the larger property, maintain fire extinguishers at sheds and near machinery. Be aware that grass fires can start by sparks from tools and machinery or hot exhaust pipes.

Above all, be prepared for bushfire. Have a plan for you and your family and practice that plan at least once each year. Know where to look for the fire danger rating forecast and where to find information in case of an emergency.

Have an evacuation plan. What will trigger your actions? When to prepare, when to leave and which way do you travel? Have a couple of options for travel, if possible, in case one route gets cut off.

The most important thing to remember is that on very high fire danger days you should be prepared to leave, and leave early.

To check the fire danger rating in your area on any given day visit the Tasmania Fire Service website.

Alan Hill is a fire ecologist who has worked in bushfire management at the City of Hobart as well as National Parks in New South Wales and on fires in Victoria and along the Queensland border. He is currently working with a number of landowners in New South Wales to develop their own bushfire property plans.