Balingup residents saw firsthand how property preparation helped save a house and, quite possibly the town, from a fire sparked by a fatal road crash last month.
Balingup Volunteer Bushfire Brigade invited local residents to an excursion to see for themselves the aftermath of the bushfire that threatened Balingup just five weeks before.
Seventeen people attended the excursion to Alistair Faulkner’s property in De Lisle Street, which adjoined the fire ground. The event was part of a program to encourage residents to learn more about preparing for bushfires.
Brigade member Peta Townsing said the group stood directly up the hill about 200m from where the fire started, as the brigade’s Fire Control Officer John Bailey described how the fire had started at the base of the hillside on the southern end of town as a result of a car crash.
The fire had raced up the hill, fuelled by weeds, especially blackberries and dry grass, and was heading straight for Alistair’s home.
Fortunately, Alistair had set up his property so it was accessible to fire trucks and had little flammable vegetation. Much of the fire fighting was based from there.
As a result, the brigade managed to contain the fire that evening without it reaching nearby houses and it was “a close call” for Balingup.
Mr Bailey said tidying up grounds and pruning low branches from eucalypts and other flammable trees were simple ways to make properties safer in the event of a bushfire.
He said if residents remained at their properties it was essential they were prepared, and he told of the possibility of embers starting fires that could burn down a house or shed, even after a fire has gone through, as nearly happened at the recent Argyle fire.
Mr Bailey stressed the importance of ensuring easy access to properties via a high and wide enough entry for a fire truck to get through, without having to tackle padlocked gates.
Mr Faulkner dsif his neighbours had told him a fire was approaching but having a survival plan helped him feel less stressed.
He evacuated but was confident because of his tidying up and the firefighters’ presence.
In the week before, he had noticed dry eucalyptus leaves building up so to keep fuel levels down he took five trailer-loads of leaves to the green waste disposal site.
Participants discuss questions about clearing verges, staying or going in a bushfire and the costs of taking overgrown trees out, such as weedy wattles and eastern states gums including the Tasmanian Blue Gum.
For more information about the Balingup bushfire mitigation program call Peta Townsing on 0497 555 120.