An almost unnoticed fire at Vinegar Hill

Fire in Lilydale Creek Vinegar Hill, less than an hour after it started and half an hour after we saw it

It is almost spooky reading back over my last post on the origins of smoke in the Hills - and in particular my comments about the fire conditions on the morning of Friday 16th when I was writing.

Less than an hour after I finished that post I was helping one of our neighbours deal with what was probably the worst bushfire I've experienced.  Temperatures were in the high 30s, humidity was in the low 20s, the wind gusts were strong enough to drive a 4m high flame completely horizontal along the ground, and there was a lot of dry vegetation in areas that had not burned for years.

I won't go into the details here - there's a post on it on our blog - but it was also remarkable for the fact that it almost certainly started from a burned log or dead tree that had been quietly smouldering for around three weeks since the late October fire that burned out 5,000 ha of the southern Hills, and had survived more than 60mm of rain in that time.  This is very similar to the fire a couple of months ago in the section of Lockyer National Park west of Seventeen Mile Road that re-ignited after a period of weeks (and after a similar amount of rain had fallen).

Two days later, after more than 100mm of rain, areas of this fire were still smoking.

Only one of the Smokespotters reported this smoke, probably because the strong wind was holding the smoke down in the gullies and dispersing it before it could rise, but also because the location is on the southern side of the Hills (overlooking Gatton) and is hidden from many Smokespotters by the major ridge along which Seventeen Mile Road runs.

Where's all the smoke coming from?

I'm sure that a lot of people have been asking over the last few days where all the smoke is coming from.

A few days ago, with no sign of any smoke columns to our north, we were getting very fresh smelling smoke on the strong northerly winds.  Today there is a general smoke haze, but it is clearly thicker to the north.

Here's the answer.

Firewatch website at 11.14am this morning

Bear in mind that these are fires that are/were large enough to be registered by the satellite (usually of the order of 1 sq km) and were there when a satellite passed overhead.  The Firewatch web site is an excellent place for checking on large, relatively long-burning fires in your vicinity.  There's a link to it on this site under the Rural Fire Locations tab at the top of the page.

The northerly wind today is blowing a lot of smoke into our area from fires much further north.  There aren't many fires visible anywhere near the Helidon Hills on the Firewatch site.

Firewatch view of areas to our north

The screen shot above has the same legend as above, and was captured at about the same time.  It uses a combination background of Google Earth and map features - harder to look at than the plain background in the first shot, but much easier to locate fires in relation to local features.

The orange spots well to the east of Crows Nest National Park are either in the eastern edge of the Deongwar State Forest, or just outside the State Forest.

Remember that sites like Firewatch and Sentinel do not pick up smaller fires, or fires that may have started recently.

In particular, please do not be lulled into a false sense of security because much of the Hills south of Seventeen Mile Road burned in late October.  There is still something like 30,000 ha of bush in the Hills that did not burn in that fire.

REPORT ANY SMOKE IN THE HILLS TO ONE OF THE SMOKESPOTTER COORDINATORS.

At our place in Vinegar Hill it feels like at least a very high Fire Danger day, but the Forest Fire Danger Rating on the RFS site for today has not been updated from what was posted last night, and the rating still shows as High.  I checked on the WeatherZone site for current conditions in Gatton at 11.50am, and that also shows a current High rating.

However it has climbed from a 20 rating half an hour ago, and is nearing 25, which is the upper limit of the High rating.  Bear in mind thought that these WeatherZone ratings are indicative and are calculated using a formula that assumes a worst case drought factor.

Well done Smokespotters

Below are some of the expressions of appreciation for the work of the Smokespotters group during the recent fire in the southern part of the Helidon Hills.

It is important to remember that the Smokespotters group is far more than the two Coordinators.  There are Smokespotters ready to take bearings on smoke at 20 locations in and around the Hills (soon to be 21, we recruited a new Smokespotter  as a result of the fire), and some who regularly travel on roads with a good view of the Hills.  Without people watching for smoke and reporting bearings the group could not function.

In the interests of transparency and full disclosure I have to tell you that some of these come from Smokespotters who live in the Hills - not surprising, since the motivation to become a Smokespotter sometimes comes partly from wanting to know when there is a fire that may threaten ones own property.

Here are the messages, some of them edited for brevity or because they were part of more personal communications:

Just a brief note to say thanks to the Smokespotters group. This group has quickly become an important element in the life of people living in the forests of the Helidon Hills region.  They provide a focal point for enquiries about fire matters, early warning of outbreaks, a co-ordination of activities and of course training of their members.

The  members live in the region, and know the local conditions.... The Smokespotters Group ... need the support and backing of all concerned with fire protection in this area, particularly local and regional authorities.

A wonderful effort by the group during the recent late October fires was an admirable demonstration of their capacities, and validation of the need for such an organisation.

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Very much appreciate your efforts with all your concise information sharing.

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Very big congratulations to you all you smokespotters for your response, great teamwork and communication.  It was a huge help to know what was happening under that horrific cloud of smoke in the Helidon Hills

The reports kept us up to date with and meant we could be ready to support without blindly trying to find out what was happening nor wandering around trying to help.

The maps, details of burns and firefighters and the sectioning off to reports for the different areas was terrific -

Awesome organisation and community over there

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We co-own a property in the Helidon Hills off Seventeen Mile Road not far from Wallers Road, with a hut and a large shed on a cleared high section of land, but we do not reside there. The purpose of the land is to it return to the wildlife and have flora and fauna restored and protected. Adjoining the Lockyer National Park, our property known as Gattonview Nature Refuge provides a corridor for wild life, some of which are  vulnerable species including Koala, Glossy Black- Cockatoo, and Koala Fern.

As a result, we in Gatton, are always very concerned when we see smoke appearing

on the skyline above Helidon Hills.

We recently found out about Helidon Smokespotters Group ... who kept us well informed on the progress of the fire during this present distressing event. Although there was nothing we could do to save the bushland, we knew the Firefighters  were back burning around the buildings and that was reassuring.

We totally support the work.

   

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Thanks to you and all of your smoke-spotting colleagues for providing such a marvellous and potentially life saving service.

In speaking to RFB/QPWS members during the current Helidon Hills fires, they are extremely impressed at being provided with accurate location and timely information about fire outbreaks.

The additional benefit of emails about Fire Authority strategies and outcomes, almost as they occur, is of great assistance to those of us who are landholders/residents of the Helidon Hills.

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We would like to express our support and gratification to the coordinators and participants of the organization known throughout the community as “The Helidon Hills Smokespotters Group”.

Just recently, we (at our home and property) were made aware of a fire, undetected by us, close to our boundary.  The Smokespotter Coordinator was able to notify us of the situation and it was readily attended to by the Rural Fire Service volunteers and QPWS.

... we would request / recommend that this organization be supported in whatever means possible. Its continued and effective operation will be of immense benefit to the community as a whole.

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Thanks for your comprehensive fire reports, they couldn’t be better ....

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Thanks for the info .... it has been good to be able to answer people when they ask why all the smoke down here, and to put their minds at ease, as some of the days its been as bad as standing on the fire line.