IN the winter of 2018, a bushfire trickled down the Tilligerry Peninsula.

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It looked quite dramatic at the time but no lives or homes were lost and the koalas were safe in the treetops.

According to Life Member of Tilligerry RFS Richard Osborne OAM it was a blessing in disguise.

“Just a few months later in summer, another fire started up at Salt Ash and came our way pushed along by winds gusting to 90 kph,” he said.

“When it reached the burnt out scrub it went out. No fuel meant no bushfire. It was as simple as that.”

“Without the earlier cool bushfire,it would have been unfightable,” he said.

“During the last horrific bushfire season of 2019 – 2020, we were in a far better position than most of NSW as there was just one year’s fuel build-up on the peninsular whereas those huge national parks bushfires had decades of unburnt ground fuel to feed on,” Mr Osborne said.

“But what about The Hill?” This is the question many Lemon Tree Passage residents ask as the scrub between Mallabula and Lemon Tree Passage escaped the earlier bushfire and is overladen with fire fuel.

The good news is that Tilligerry RFS has targeted this hazard; the paperwork has been done and they are ready to burn it off according to Captain George Brandendurg.

“The only problem we have at this time is that it is too moist to burn effectively,” he said. “Once it dries out, it’s our number one priority,” he said.

“The area targeted is roughly between the water tower, along the ridgeline fire trail and down to the the industrial estate,” Captain Brandendurg said

Cr Steve Tucker, a long time burnoff advocate, praised the local brigade’s strategic burnoff plans. “No other volunteer community group has higher status than our unpaid firies,” he said.

“I’ll assist them in any way possible in keeping our community safe.” he added.