Caption
Sunday March 12th 2006 was a hot, windy day - 35 degrees Celsius with a strong northerly wind. About 3:30pm a grass and bushfire started on Morchup Road, Snake Valley. Local fire brigades were on high alert with the extreme fire danger and tinder dry bush. Their quick response saved many houses , but still at least six houses, many outbuildings and millions of dollars worth of pine plantations were lost.
The total area burnt was 3300 hectares ( 8150 acres). It took nearly 24 hours to contain, and many days and hundreds of firefighters to make it safe.
This VR shows the edge of the bushfire - one side of the fire edge safety, the other side destruction. The bushfire came right up to the rear of a mudbrick house of friends, who were incredibly lucky. Others were not so fortunate and it was very sad to see the losses. The new bulldozer track you can see in the image was part of the containment line around the fire perimeter.
It has been a very dry year with a lot of bushfires over summer. Those of us who love our landscape and choose to live in the bush are all looking forward to some cooler weather, rain and relief.