FOREST FIRE

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 4, 6 January 1926, Page 5

FOREST FIRE

VICTORIAN DAMAGE

ESTIMATED AT £400,000,

(From Our Own Corraspondtnt.)

SYDNEY, 30th December.

bummer iv Australia is loved by the greater-portion of the inhabitants, but its loveliness is'marred every year by the fires that spring up and spread in this season. An example of the damage that pan be. caused by a summer bush fire occured last week in the valley of.the Rubicon River in Victoria, where nearly 4000 acres of State forests were engulfed in flames, carelessly started, it is alleged, by employees of the Electriicty Commission. It is stated that these men were burning off in order to prepare for the building of the dam across the river, despite notices prohibiting burning-off and warnings by forestry officers.

The Eubicon State forest is situate 100 miles from Melbourne. The fire, fanned by a 50-mile-an-hour wind, der Bcended on a tiny settlement at No. 2 mill, owned'by Messrs. Clarke and Pearson, and in 50 minutes had traversed a space of 300 yards and consumed every bit of the mill, four | houses, nine huts, and a stable. Nine men, three women, and nine children, including a baby in arms, barely escaped with their lives. They lost everything. But the colossal burden of losses rested mainly on the Forestry Commission. The latter estimated the value of the land with timber at £200 an acre, and more than half of this value would never be recovered. Gazing on the havoc created by the fire, a forestry inspector said: "This is just another illustration of the disheartening attitude towards forestry. The area covered by the fire is six square miles, or 3840 acres. It would produce about £200 worth of timber an acre. Most of the forest was composed of mountain ash, which generally dies completely when burnt. Everything points to the fact that the devastation started where work was being done by the Electricity Commission, whicli did as it liked— showed us no courtesy whatever and made no arrangements to work with the Forestry Department's officers." The manager of the mill brought inoro direct evidence that the lire was started by the Commission's employ^ ces who were burning off and who persisted in doing so in face of the warnings of experienced men and on a day dangerous for forest fires. A few ho^urs later flames from the burn-ing-off operations had leapt the narrow Eubicon Biver and set alight to the forest. COMMISSION'S APPEAL. The fire in all lasted five days, and threatened much more country than was actually affected. A fall of rain alone saved much of the nearby country, including the township of Marysville. The Forests Commission estimates its loss at £400,000. Signed statements as to the cause of the fire have been taken, and the owners of the destroyed mill have claimed compensation from the Electricity Commission. Meanwhile the Forests Commission is emphasising its appeal to tourists and picnickers to assist in the prevention of forest fires and the preservation of beauty spots. Stickers, postcards, and leaflets pointing out the danger that exists with billy fires, lighted matches, cigars, cigarettes, and pipe ash are being distributed. A special folder containing an appeal to motorists sets forth a number of simple rules, which, if observed, will greatly minimise the danger of fire. Thus the way of forestry experts in Australia is made harder by our beautiful summer weather. Not only have they to awaken a sense of the importance of forestry in the Australian public, but they must also educate it as to the waste of causing fives.