THE GREAT MILLENNIUM FIRE
On December 28th 2000
a fire started a few kilometres north of Jinnunger on Hunton Road at around
11.00AM. Unusually for Albany the temperature was 41ºC with a strong hot
northerly wind. The fire moved rapidly along the road burning a house as it went.
It crossed Nanarup Road and streaked up the hillside through our bush, burning
a holiday cottage and damaging neighbouring properties. When everything appeared
to be under control the wind changed to the west and the fire moved across
our paddocks and through the bush of Mt Mason, to get to properties further east.
Our bush was impossible to protect. The last fire was more than 40 years before,
and there was a big build up of dead wood.
The source of the fire can be seen at centre top of the picture,
taken from the top of the hill at Jinnunger. It appeared that nothing living was
left.
As the fire moved eastwards across Jinnunger it burned trees around the vineyard, but we were able to stop it reaching the vines. A few vines were lost as a result of smoke and heat damage.
.
The first signs of recovery appeared
in a few weeks when
the black stumps
of grass trees (Kingia australis) sprouted to produce seed
heads.
This was followed by shoots from the base
of the
Ti-tree Agonis marginata ...
... and a few seedlings like this
very prickly Hakea prostrata
After 6 months the marri (Corumbia calophilla)and Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata)
were regrowing from their strong root systems.
In the spring the bush was a carpet of the beautiful red flowering creeper (Kennedia coccinea).
Over many years seeds had accumulated in the soil.
Their germination was triggered by chemicals produced by the
burning wood, and in the absence of competing plants grew rampantly and flowered profusely.
Many other wild flowers were competing for space and
attention. This is the exquisite but very prickly blue
Hovea in amongst the Kennedia.
September 2002 sees the understory
largely recovered,
but it will be decades
before the larger trees are replaced.