Click the following links for more reports 24  -  31  December  2001   ( First Page ) 01  -  10  January  2002       ( Previous Page ) 11  -  21  January  2002       ( This Page )

24  -  31  December  2001   ( First Page ) 01  -  10  January  2002   ( Previous Page ) 11  -  21  January  2002   ( This Page )

MEMBER BRIGADE NSW RURAL FIRE SERVICE

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BEWARE OF THE WOMBATS

Volunteer Rural Fire Brigade THE BEAUMONT WOMBATS Reliable   Relentless   Resolute

NSW RURAL FIRE SERVICE

© 2002 Beaumont Rural Fire Brigade

CHRISTMAS 2001 NEW YEAR 2001/2002 FIRES IN THE SHOALHAVEN 24 December to 21 January (Continued)

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24  -  31  December  2001   ( First Page ) 01  -  10  January  2002   ( Previous Page ) 11  -  21  January  2002   ( This Page )

11 & 12 January   No change from the above strategy, (10 January). 13 January   Weather conditions seemed quite favourable and it was intended that the fire would be contained in the west by backburning along the Ettrema Trail. The machinery was still working on the trail construction. During the afternoon there was a wind shift from the north east which accelerated the main fire up towards the trail.  The crews that had been working on the trail upgrade decided to withdraw but in so doing were subjected to a fire overrun situation.  Some of the NPWS staff involved in this situation had extensive fire experience and showed great initiative in making safe.  At the height of the incident these personnel involved became concerned that they could not contact a helicopter that was directly above them, despite the fact that both the vehicles and the aircraft were being monitored from Fire Control.  As a learning outcome for crews working with air support it is worth noting that, due to the wave propagation characteristics of the radios, problems should be anticipated when the aircraft is directly overhead.  In this situation communications would have been more effective working through an 'Air Attack Supervisor' who would be monitoring the situation without being directly overhead. As a result of the overrun situation the fire continued towards the west and initially it seemed that it may travel through to the Tolwong Road. Subsequently this proved to not be the case.

14 January   Aerial observation indicated the fire that crossed Ettrema Trail the previous day, had not travelled very far before slowing and in some areas self extinguishing.  This was largely due to thepresence of rocky outcrops etc.  The strategy was set for Service personnel and NPWS staff to pursue the fire and extinguish the edge.  This was achieved inconjunction with air support and the strategy proved to be very effective over the next two days. 15 January   Work continued during the day around the perimeter of the fire.  Numerous vehicles were deployed along the Ettrema Trail consolidating the work that they had undertaken on the western side resulting from the burnover situation. On the eastern edge, the main fire was being extinguished in some areas, while tactical backburning was involved in tidying up the edge in other areas. Early that evening a severe storm occurred in the Sassafras area, so intense that it extinguished most of the fire edge north and south of the Braidwood Road.  The rain extended right throughout the fire area.  In the Ettrema Trail area it became difficult to extract the vehicles and in fact the plant items were stranded for some days as a result of the downpour.

16  -  21 January   The resourcing on the fireground was reduced after the storm and remained that way through until the Section 44 Declaration was lifted in late afternoon of 21 January. In between times aircraft were used in conjunction with the limited personnel to move people around to extinguish hotspots and in particular tall trees that had the potential to continue to burn and perhaps fall across the control line. Shortly after lunch on the 21 January another severe storm developed in the south west.  It was decided to withdraw all resources from the fireground in anticipation of heavy rain.

CONCLUSION The 2001 Christmas/New Year Shoalhaven Bushfires lasted 29 days, the longest wildfire in Shoalhaven's recorded history.  With an estimated fire edge of 238 kilometres in length, the fire destroyed homes, property and almost 100,000 hectares of bushland.  At it's peak, the fire was fought by professional and volunteer firefighters from all Australian States and Territories, New Zealand and the USA.

Click the following links for more reports 24  -  31  December  2001   ( First Page ) 01  -  10  January  2002       ( Previous Page ) 11  -  21  January  2002       ( This Page )

11  -  21 January

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Adam Hollingworth

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