The Aftermath !

There is the expectation that long awaited rain which is likely at the end of this week will help the firefighters gain control of the fires that have created havoc for many weeks this summer, but we have two months of hot weather still to come and rain on the fire grounds will deliver a new threat in many areas.

The fire intensity left nothing but bare earth and that life preserving rain is likely to contribute to landslides.  That will be particularly prevalent in the Blue Mountains where bare land now faces both the road and railway system.  Soil washed down from steep slopes will have a tendency to block natural creeks and this fire season a very new fire retardant has been dropped over vast areas of the countryside.

Those giant water bombers were critical in saving many homes from destruction and the pink fire retardant they dropped is not harmful for humans but when it washes into waterways there is the possibility that it will encouraged algae blooms - and that can kill fish and other aquatic life.  On the south coast oyster farming has been put on hold because both ash and fire retardant have affected the waterways where they are farmed.

The fires were destructive to native fauna and in particular our Koalas are now hovering on the brink of being declared a " threatened " species.  Rescuers have swung into action to locate and treat injured animals but it is feared that their numbers have been decimated, The survivors face an uncertain future.  Their natural habitat is now bare and it will be many months before the trees recover and produce the Eucalypt leaf that they eat.  Moving them to a new location risks setting off a turf battle with the other residents who resist the newcomers.

The intensity of the fires caused heavy casualties in many animal species and the aftermath is a total lack of food.  Emergency measures have been instituted and caches of carrots and other vegetables have been air dropped to ward off starvation.  Sadly, many animals that have been reintroduced in the bush may have been wiped out in the fires and we will not know how the numbers stack up until surveys are taken in the future.

The one thing absolutely certain is that we have entered a new era of infrequent rain and added fire risk.  We can expect longer and hotter summers and consequent increased fire intensity.  Risk reduction by way of burn offs will need to be increased and this will increase the number of days that cities and towns will be affected by smoke.  That is simply the price we have to pay if we are going to successfully tame the fire demon.

Perhaps one of the things we need to learn is one of the basic laws of science.  " To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction ".  Fire retardant is a brilliant new way of fighting fires, but it does deposit something new on the fire ground and how that reacts with nature is something that takes time to be discovered.

Fire fighting foam has been used for years to quell oil fires, and only recently has its harmful effects become clear to humans.   The outcome and effect of this fire season will be with us for many years to come !