Mount Tomah and the Goblet of Fire: a summer I’ll never forget Greg Bourke, Curator Manager, Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah
The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah is unique in many ways. Not only is it one of the few botanic gardens within a world heritage area, but it is also surrounded by large areas of national park, much of which is prone to bushfire. The garden is considered remote by many, yet it’s just two hours’ drive from the Sydney CBD. There is only one road that passes by the garden (Bells Line of Road) and it winds through the foothills of the Blue Mountains, through the small town of Bilpin, up to the 1000-metre peak of Mount Tomah, then on to the town of Lithgow. Bells Line of Road is both scenic and treacherous. It is regularly closed in both directions due to car and motorbike accidents as motorists speed along its picturesque but winding way, and occasionally by snow, black ice and, of course, fire. During my first week as Curator Manager at the garden in October 2013, I was confronted with the challenge of managing operations as a fire approached from the west. The State Mine Fire travelled 25 kilometres in just a few hours, burning over 55,000 hectares of bush to the north of the garden. We were fortunate that winds slowed after the second day and that the wind’s direction didn’t push the blaze into the garden’s land. It was an incredibly valuable experience for me though, as it gave me the opportunity to build critical relationships with emergency services, local residents (of which I was one), and members of my own team, which would help us prepare for future events. At least, that’s what I thought at the time… In August 2019 I had my first meeting with the Mount Tomah Rural Fire Service (RFS) regarding the season ahead of us. We knew it was going to be a bad one — our annual average rainfall is over 1400 mm but 2018 saw just 976 mm and 2019 was predicted to be much dryer. Working with the RFS, we cleared fire trails to the west of the garden and cut backburn lines. The garden’s team cleared around assets, prepared and tested fire suppression systems and performed evacuation drills. By October, I was satisfied that we were well placed to evacuate, should the need arise.
THE BOTANIC GARDENer | ISS 55 SUMMER 2020/21
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