Rufous Whistler: victim of Bribie Island fire: Leisl Born |
Before last month's fires, extensive areas were scorched when control burns being conducted by Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service and other state government personnel in late-August broke containment lines. It was the end of a particularly warm and dry winter and strong winds were blowing: not the most auspicious time, it's fair to say, for control burns to be lit. All the more so considering that's when the nesting season for many birds gets under way.
Kangaroo fire victims on Bribie Island |
On northern Bribie Island, 2,400ha burned. The Department of Environment and Science says the cause of this fire is under investigation but aerial images clearly show neat lines of fire across the island, indicating control burns. The aftermath of the fire gives a rare insight into the direct impact of an intense bushfire on wildlife.
About 40 Eastern Grey Kangaroos were found dead along the beach during and after the fire. It appears some attempted to flee into the ocean and drowned; others may have died of shock. During a stroll along Currimundi Beach, a few kilometres north of Bribie Island on the Sunshine Coast, local resident Leisl Born found the bodies of 43 small birds killed in the fire along 200m of beach. They included Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Rufous Whistler and White-cheeked Honeyeater.
White-cheeked Honeyeater and other Bribie Island fire victims: Leisl Born |
The control burn lines were so extensive it is likely that wildlife was unable to head south to escape the flames, leaving the sea as the only potential escape route. In that respect, a control burn could conceivably have more damaging consequences for wildlife in some circumstances than a single out-of-control bushfire.
Control burn lines on Bribie Island |
Further north at the same time, 150ha burned in Noosa and Tewantin national parks, again evidently as a result of uncontained control burns. Fires came close to homes, causing alarm to residents. The area was a refuge for a remnant population of the endangered Eastern Ground Parrot and other scarce species such as Eastern Grass Owl and King Quail. Again, the authorities might have considered that the start of the Ground Parrot nesting season was not a good time for control burns.
Eastern Ground Parrot |
Fire at Peregian Beach |
The Department of Environment and Science says 900ha of the 53,161ha national park burned, though how much of this was rainforest is evidently unknown. A departmental spokesperson says: “The rainforest within the park was severely impacted by cyclone activity and as such there is a significant amount of debris that has now carried the fire through rainforest.”
Cyclone-damaged rainforest at Iron Range |
As with Bribie Island, Queensland Government control burns at Iron Range before the September fires were controversial. The research station's founder, Keith Cook, told The Cairns Post that control burns in July penetrated the cyclone-damaged rainforest: “It's a ticking time bomb up there. And then (Parks and Wildlife Service) dropped incendiaries all around and it just burned… The problem was it went straight into the rainforest.”
Burned rainforest at Iron Range: ABC |
Most of the burned rainforest was dry vine scrub, not the ancient Gondwana rainforest that was claimed to have been lost when the historic Binna Burra Lodge was reduced to cinders. Moreover, according to Patrick, the extent to which the vine scrub was damaged is not clear from the satellite images. The 7.30 Report footage of the aftermath showed low level burns on the forest floor; the Rural Fire Service describes that kind of fire as “walking through” this type of rainforest and says it has occurred in past bushfires.
The damage to tree crowns appears to be limited. The ABC found a moderately sized rainforest tree that was evidently felled by the fire, but there was no visual evidence on the program demonstrating widespread destruction of the vine scrub.
Fire damage to Lamington National Park vine scrub: Patrick Norman |