JANUARY 13, 2015 \ MACEDONRANGES.STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
An RJ85 fire bomber drops retardent near homes on Blackhill Road. (Glenn Daniels/Bendigo Bendigo Advertiser Advertiser)
Black day for nature Almost half a century of bush stewardship went up in flames last week when the Black Hill nature reserve north of Kyneton was engulfed by fire. Lightning strikes set off three fires in a semi-circle north of the granite outcrop, well known for its massive rocks and spectacular views. Friends of Black Hill Reserve president Daryl Kellett described the outcome as “tragic”. “Black Hill has been virtually burnt out,” he said. “It’s going to take 20 to 30 years to recover.” The friends group had been looking forward to a successful breeding season for tuans and
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sugar gliders, which had taken up residence in about 50 new nesting boxes installed in the reserve. About 3000 new trees planted in the reserve’s north-east corner were lost to the flames, as were plantings along a wildlife corridor from Black Hill to the nearby Campaspe River that had taken five years to establish. Black Hill had finally come into its own after being used by the former Kyneton shire council as a gravel pit until it was taken over by the local car club for hill-climbing. It was the club’s members who started revegetation of the degraded rocky outcrop, which until last week was a popular wildlife walk for nature enthusiasts. “We’ve had to close the reserve,” Mr Kellett
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said. “Some of the big old trees will smoulder for weeks … there are branches and trees down everywhere. “Once it stops burning, we’ll have to get experts in to assess what can be saved and what’s gone.” About 250 hectares of bush and farm land were destroyed, along with hundreds of kilometres of fencing and several outbuildings, including a large hay shed. Aircraft, including a sky crane and two large air tankers, made continuous drops over the blazes as 350 firefighters using 70 Country Fire Authority tankers battled them on the ground. Macedon Ranges council set up an emergency relief centre at the Kyneton mechanics hall after
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emergency warnings were issued to residents of Bald Hill, Edgecombe, Langley and Greenhill areas. CFA incident controller Steve Smith said firefighters had battled difficult conditions well into last Wednesday night. “The damage potentially could have been much worse,” Mr Smith said Fire Ready Victoria meetings will be held on January 13 from 7pm at Woodend fire station and January 14 from 7.30pm at Newham Hall. From 7.30pm on Wednesday, there will be a street corner meeting on the corner of Cutevan Crescent and Gyro Close at Riddells Creek. On January 21, a meeting will be held from 7.30pm at Riddells Creek fire station.
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