Fire is a part of life in the Blue Mountains. Just about every summer there will be fire outbreaks of varying size and intensity.

As a volunteer firefighter, my main priority is to get out there and fight them. But occasionally, due to other circumstances I must observe from afar, camera in hand.

Grose Valley Fire

On the 13th of November, a fire was spotted to the north of Blackheath, on the Burrkorain Head. The fire’s ignition is believed to be due to lightning in the area a few days prior. With slightly calmer weather during the day of the 13th, this fire did not spread as quickly as first thought.

The next day, a Tuesday, a fire started to the west of the Darling Causeway, Mt Victoria. At this point in time ignition is still unknown, but it seems it was either lightning or a campfire. This fire proved problematic for crews from Lithgow who were unable to contain it. The fire, under strong SW winds reached the Darling Causeway, where backburning had been commenced, and despite the best efforts of the crews - I was on one - jumped the road and spread into the upper Grose Valley.

The next week provided tricky conditions, to the point of snow falling on the higher parts of the fire on the 16th, but due to inaccessible terrain and such dry conditions, it was not possible to fully contain the blaze. Massive backburning operations were undertaken to provide protection for the towns to the north and south of the fire and although there has been considerable criticism of this tactic, it proved to be the right thing to do.

Then on Wednesday the 22nd, the weather deteriorated dramatically. Temperatures climbed into the low 30’s and winds increased in speed from the west. The result was incredibly intense and erratic fire behaviour that has, by all accounts, caused considerable damage to the forests of the Grose, including the Blue Gum.

However after this horror day, the weather improved and smiled upon the efforts of the firefighters. With intense aerial support, Remote Area Firefighting Teams (RAFT) were able to create and consolidate containement lines. As a result of this incredible effort, this fire was the first fire to ever be stopped so far up the Grose Valley.

Click here for the one of the final fire maps (1.4Mb)

Satellite image of this fire, the Wollemi Complex and the Burragorang fire (600Kb)

For more information on this fire and fire fighting, the NSW Rural Fire Service and how to join, have a look at the Blue Mountains RFS site and the NSW RFS site.

Kings Tablelands Fire