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Click on the following links for more reports 24 - 31 December 2001 ( Previous Page ) 01 - 10 January 2002 ( This Page ) 11 - 21 January 2002 ( Next 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) |
1 January - 10 January |
1 January 2002 Crews worked through the night on mop up and patrol principally in the areas of Braidwood Road, Wandean Road and the 12 Mile Road. During the day weather conditions developed with strong north/westerly winds firstly causing short distance spotting and then, later, going to long distance spotting to the west of Wandandian. Resources had to be concentrated at Wandandian and Jerrawanggala for property protection as the spotfires spread. During the afternoon the fire impacted upon the rural residential properties in the Wandandian area and by 1747 hrs the Wandandian Staging Area was under siege from fire with all Services having to concentrate on protecting assets in that area. At the same time the fire crossed the Princes Highway to the north of Sussex Inlet Road and all available resources then had to be deployed for property protection on a house to house basis. The pace continued through the scheduled 1900 hr changeover and this had to be placed on hold until conditions finally moderated. The night-time strategy was then set for continuing to maintain property protection around properties along Sussex Inlet Road and for the properties in Wandandian. Heavy plant was also moved to the area and began work along the rear of the structural assets in Sussex Inlet Road. |
2 January Traffic throughout the fire area was at a standstill other than for emergency service vehicles and the whole area was once again left without power. The nightime operation of consolidation along the northern side of Sussex Inlet Road was successful and continued into the day. Once again weather conditions were poor necessitating residents along the Bendalong (Red Head) Road being warned that they should consider whether they would wish to stay with their properties or not should the fire develop and impact upon that area. Much of the activity during the morning centred upon this consolidation and in particular the use of heavy plant to assist in securing assets. A new fire was reported west of Inyada Drive between the villages of Bendalong and Manyana and this was regarded as suspicious. The fire quickly developed and required additional assistance for local units from that area. During the afternoon the fire west of Jerrawangala made a run, jumped the Princes Highway and continued through on the southern side of Sussex Inlet Road. This fire impacted directly on the village of Sussex Inlet. There was significant loss of property both in the village and along Sussex Inlet Road.Eventually the fire joined with a flareup on the northern side of Sussex Inlet Road so that crews had fire on either side of them as they tried to protect all the residential properties. Police carried out extensive evacuations along Sussex Inlet Road and from the villages of Sussex Inlet, Badgee, Cudmirrah and Berrara. As night fell the fire spotted across Sussex Inlet into the Jervis Bay Territory to the north of Badgee and to the east of the southern edge of Sussex Inlet village. Shortly after this occurred a southerly change turned this fire in a northerly direction. The night-time strategy focused entirely on property protection and extinguishment of various structural assets. |
3 January At 0700 hrs briefing strategies were determined in conjunction with Booderee National Park personnel to restrict the spread of the fire within the Jervis Bay Territory. This required the provision of additional resources through the deployment of firefighting units and aircraft to work in conjunction with the onsite resources of Booderee National Park and Wreck Bay Brigade. With the road still closed to the "Leases" on the northern side of Sussex Inlet, additional resources were taken by boat from Sussex Inlet to Christians Minde to secure the structural assets in the area. The properties in the Swanhaven, Sussex Inlet and Badgee areas were secured as well as the properties along the Sussex Inlet Road. The fire to the west of the Princes Highway south of Sussex Inlet Road intersection continued to be a problem throughout the day. The fire crossed 12 Mile Road and continued to travel to the south west on either side of the Braidwood Road. The fire entered the Tianjara Firing Range and on the advice of the Department of Defence no action was taken to pursue the fire in that area due to unexploded ordnance. The warning regarding aircraft flying over the area was strictly enforced. The north western extremity of the fire continued to be a problem. Given the extremeburning conditions that were being experienced there was concern that the northern run of the fire must be stopped by the use of aircraft to ensure that the fire, under adverse weather conditions, would not cross the Shoalhaven River creating major problems in the northern end of the City. The use of aircraft for this purpose was extremely invaluable. It was not seen as a permanent solution for suppressing the fire but it certainly held until a storm brought significant rain. 4 January Throughout the day resources were fully occupied with structural protection, mostly in the area of Luncheon Creek, Hilltop and the Bendalong Manyana area. |
5 January The fire in the Yarramunmun area made a major run down to Boolijah Creek in the Stoney Hill area. The fire progressed under the influence of the southwesterly wind to within 2.5km of Sassafras Village having travelled across the Tianjara Firing Range, causing the detonation of various munitions. As the day progressed the need for property protection in the Sassafras area increased and backburning began with the support of heavy plant on both the southern and northern extremities of the development. By nightfall approximately 50% of the Tianjara Range area which totals 36 square kilometers waswell alight and had the potential to carry the fire unhindered into the head of the Clyde River Gorge. While no action could be taken directly to counter this because of the unexploded ordnance, plans were introduced for the implementation of various options that might be available, subject to certain weather conditions, as the fire left the range. 6 January The day was spent trying to consolidate the containment lines including the safety of structural assets within the containment area. Forecast conditions for the 7 January necessitated heavy concentration on this work. A major concern continued for the uncontained western perimeter with many kilometres still inaccessible to ground crews. All aircraft resources wereassigned to the strengthening of the containment lines. |
7 January Forecast weather conditions did not fully develop until late in the afternoon though difficulties were being experienced early in the day in holding on the containment lines. During the afternoon the fire made a major run from the vicinity of the 12 Mile Road and the Princes Highway causing problems along the Bendalong Road and in the Fisherman's Paradise area. Additionally, the main fire made a run from the Mondayong area towards Cudmirrah and Berrara. Once again the residents were evacuated from those villages. The erratic fire behaviour also caused the containment lines to be broken long the Bendalong Road west of the village and for a period of time the villages of Bendalong, Manyana and Cunjurong were isolated from assistance by other resources. Thisfire behaviour was witnessed by the attendance in that area of the NSW RFS Commissioner. 8 January Weather conditions moderated and the entire day was spent consolidating the containment lines that had been established overnight after the previous day's activity. Firstly around the developed areas east of the Highway and then later in the day concentrating on the southern edge of the fire from the Highway through to the portion of the 12 Mile Road that runs through the Tianjara Firing Range. The first of the heavy helicopters was deployed to the Shoalhaven and this proved effective in being used in conjunction with the other aircraft resources available at the time. |
9 January Three 'Air Cranes' were deployed within the Shoalhaven fire this day in addition to other rotary wing aircraft. With most of the containment lines established to the east of the Highway it was mainly the medium helicopters used to consolidate these lines by close work in conjunction with ground crews. The heavy aircraft were used very effectively to virtually extinguish the northern fire edge west of Danjera Dam. Close proximity of the fire to stored water enabled the aircraft to work to their full capability. Heavy plant was also used to prepare the Ettrema Trail for use as a containment line in conjunction with deployment of firefighting units. 10 January Conditions were favourable for the consolidation and reinforcement of containment lines. Aircraft were used extensively for supporting ground resources in ensuring complete extinguishment around the perimeter to a depth that virtually guaranteed that there could be no spotting under adverse weather conditions. Quite often this meant mopping up for up to 200 metres. All containment lines to the east of the highway held. Breakouts continued to occur west of the village of Conjola even under mild conditions. A huge amount of work was put into containing the spotfires utilizing both heavy plant and air support. To the west, the fire continued to spread south of the village of Sassafras and to a lesser extent on the northern side of Braidwood Road. The fire within the Tianjara Firing Range impacted the area over a period of days. It had travelled south and fallen over the edge of the escarpment into the Clyde River Gorge. Since the next fallback line to the south was 5km away, the spread of the fire was limited by use of waterbombing from aircraft. This strategy proved successful over a number of days. |
Click on the following links for more reports 24 - 31 December 2001 ( Previous Page ) 01 - 10 January 2002 ( This Page ) 11 - 21 January 2002 ( Next Page ) |
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24 - 31 December 2001 ( Previous Page ) 01 - 10 January 2002 ( This Page ) 11 - 21 January 2002 ( Next Page ) |
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Photo: Adam Holloingworth |
