Mountain Views
Tuesday, 2 April, 2024
Warburton Urban Design Framework approved
MP calls for a wild dog drop in session
Local business wins bronze in national award
See Real Estate liftout inside
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A Star News Group Publication
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Burning debate Bunny ears were out in force for the Hillcrest CFA’s Good Friday Appeal efforts. Picture: SUPPLIED
Record-breaking appeal Hillcrest CFA was among the number of community groups and people showing support for the 2024 Good Friday Appeal. Brigade members pulled out their tins and bunny ears and hit the streets of Don Valley, Launching Place and Woori Yallock to raise funds on the morning of Friday
29 March. Despite having to call off their efforts early due to being called out for a fire, the Hillcrest CFA raised a total of $4237.80 of the record-breaking $23,368,724 raised for the Royal Children’s Hospital. Turn to page 8 for more
Community members are worried about the impact of planned burns in Kinglake. Kinglake Friends of the Forest (KFF) has intensively surveyed four patches of forest in Kinglake, covered the 60-hectare areas of the 500 hectares, originally scheduled to be burnt on Saturday 23 March, which is now postponed. The survey found 343 hollow bearing trees, 133 trees with basal scars and patches of threatened plant species, Goodia pubescens, along with 21 detections of Greater Gliders, 13 on one night alone, in the area. KFF president Sue McKinnon said she is concerned about the impact of the planned burns on the local environment. “We’ve had 21 detections of Greater Gliders. They are endangered species and are totally dependent on hollows,” she said. “When a planned burn comes through, hollow bearing trees are 20 times more likely to collapse, so we’re going to lose Greater Gliders either from the direct impact of the fire or loss of their hollow bearing trees. “It’ll also create a smoke problem for the community and smoke is very dangerous. A lot of people don’t realise how dangerous wood smoke is.” KFF members walked around the planned burns scheduled area to detect the animals and plants. “We went walking at night and we had a GPS device on us and when we found Greater Gliders, we took a video of the animal plus the GPS device to prove that the animal was in that location,” Ms McKinnon said.
“We have sent a full report of all of this to Forest Fire Management Victoria and have told them all the gliders, hollow bearing trees and threatened plant species are in the area and also all our concerns related to the burns.” This year, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) has prepared 33 planned burns totalling 4,597 hectares for ignition across Greater Melbourne. FFMVIC deputy chief fire officer Aaron Kennedy said planned burning is an important part of our year-round bushfire risk management work to protect life, property and the environment. “Without planned burning and other bushfire risk management works, bushfires will be larger and more difficult for our firefighters to control,” he said. “Wildlife and the environment are an important consideration in our planned burning program. Specialist staff assess each potential burn site for biodiversity values and develop plans to protect them.” FFMVic is made up of skilled and experienced staff from Victorian fire and land management agencies and works with emergency sector partners including the Country Fire Authority, Fire Rescue Victoria and Emergency Management Victoria to manage bushfire risk, prepare communities and respond to bushfires and other emergencies. It also works with the Bureau of Meteorology to assess weather conditions, such as humidity, temperature and wind speed, and will only carry out burns when the conditions are suitable, and it is safe to do so. Continued page 3
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