Next round of Hazard Reduction burns finds window in Tea Gardens Myall Coast Myall Coast by News Of The Area - Modern Media - July 18, 2023 Map of the 6.14ha area, between Myall Way and the Waste Management Centre (left). A SMOKY horizon greeted the coast on Friday 14 July, with planned hazard reduction burns reducing fuel loads in the surrounding bush. Tea Gardens/Pindimar Rural Fire Service, joined by significant elements from Nabiac and Limeburners Creek stations, performed critical, controlled burning on 6.14 hectares at the top of the hill, along Myall Way and adjacent to the turnoff to Viney Creek Rd and the Lions Lookout. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au “This area has not been burned since the 1990s at least,” said RFS Captain David Bright, who acted under supervision as the burn incident controller. “The main aim is to reduce the fuel load that would otherwise feed a wildfire coming from the west, which could easily overrun the waste management centre, then the rest of town.” The combined crew of twenty volunteers also discovered an illegal tyre dump, meaning extra precautions had to be employed. The team reckoned conditions were near perfect for a couple of days during their hazard reduction burning, and was followed by rain. The fire’s perimeter was blacked out first, with ongoing fire allowed to burn inwards, the whole burn lasting about 24 hours. A similar action at Booti Booti National Park added to the pall of smoke, which hung over the hinterland and drifted out to sea as the contained fire quietly burned away under supervision. “We are coming close to our scheduled aim of 75 per cent reduction of fuel, and minimised the smoke intrusion across the road, leading to a ‘textbook’ burn,” Captain Bright said. “It is a job made a lot easier by a good crew.” There are burns planned across the state, with one planned for Hawks Nest later in the year. By Thomas O’KEEFE Vehicles and volunteers from three stations mobilised for the Hazard Reduction. Careful supervision of the burning along the town’s arterial road. The skies were smoky, but it could have been a lot, lot worse without trained experts at the helm. Almost surgical in its application, the Hazard Reduction has cut down almost three quarters of fuel that could have fed an inferno.
