 Lightening strikes across the
mountains from Mt.Cobbler to Mt.Howitt on the afternoon of Friday
December 1st started a line of fires to the north and east of
Mt.Stirling. During the ensuing week the fire grew in intensity
and burnt down into the upper King River basin. Smoke haze limited
visibility to 100 meters or less right through until Christmas and
it was difficult to establish the progress of the fire front and
the areas which had been burned.
Fire
progress up onto Mt.Stirling was relatively
slow, however three fire fronts finally converged on the mountain
during the week of December 17th. Hot fires fanned by high winds
rushed up Monument Saddle and Stanley Bowl from the Howqua in the
South. It also came up out of the King Basin and through the gully under GGS Hut
from the North and across Mt.No 3, over the Pinnacle and
Mt.Winstanley into Telephone Box Junction from the West.
Amazingly most of the huts, shelters
and the Nordic Centre at TBJ survived the inferno. The Resort
Management and Mt.Buller CFA sprayed fire retardant around a
number of the buildings and there is no doubt that this measure
saved them from almost certain destruction. Two huts were
destroyed, Craig's Hut and the Mt.No 3 Refuge Hut.
On Saturday December 23rd following
overnight rains, we entered the Resort with and advance fire crew cutting a track through
many burnt and fallen trees between Mirimbah and TBJ. While the
fire has burned the mountain on the high side of the Stirling Road for
the majority of its  length the lower side extending down into the Delatite is
mostly untouched. Within the Resort itself about fifty precent of
the vegetation has been subject to fire, however in most of the burnt
area only the understorey has suffered. It is expected that
this will recover reasonably quickly and is already showing signs
of new life.
The fire rose into the
forest canopy in remarkably few areas and it expected that the
majority of Alpine Ash and Snow Gum within the resort ski field
area will recover. Currently the resort is a mosaic of green and
black. It is quite fascinating to walk through the trails one
minute seeing absolutely no evidence of fire, the next finding
blackened undergrowth with green leafed trees while rounding the
next corner you find everything black.
The following picture series tells
the story. (Clicking on the small photo will provide a lager
printable display). We shall endeavour to update it every month or
so to show the recovery. It is anticipated that Stirling Experience
will open for business again on the Australia Day weekend. We are
currently working with the Resort Management preparing fire
ecology 4WD tours, bush walking guide notes and mountain bike
touring notes.
We are scorched but we survived and
we look forward to showing you
around.
Craig Jones
Director, Stirling Experience.
North East Alpine Fires 2006-7
- A Pictorial Account
|
