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Victorian Bushfire Update 10/2/2009

To: <>, "'Birding Aus'" <>
Subject: Victorian Bushfire Update 10/2/2009
From: "Paul Dodd" <>
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:46:22 +1100
Hi Bob and other interested birding-aussers,

Ruth, through contacts at DSE, has confirmed Bob's understanding - the
Helmeted Honeyeaters at Tonimbuk are unaffected - all known birds have been
accounted for. I have been told that the fire did come to within 200m of the
Helmeted Honeyeater habitat, but I haven't been able to confirm exactly
where that was.

Likewise, Buttongrass Track is unaffected.

Areas to the north of Gembrook-Tonimbuk Road are burnt to one degree or
another. Which means that it is likely that Dyers Picnic Ground and the area
around the helipad (made famous in Dools' first book) are severely damaged.

I hope to have another first-hand report of the fire-affected area after I
visit the site of my sister's home on the weekend.


Paul Dodd
Docklands, Victoria



-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Cook  
Sent: Wednesday, 11 February 2009 1:49 PM
To: 'Paul Dodd'; 'Birding Aus'
Subject: Victorian Bushfire Update 10/2/2009

Paul

I believe all the destruction in the Bunyip State Park has been North of
Diamond Creek and the Gembrook-Tonimbuk Rd, so I would hope that Buttongrass
Track was not directly affected, even by smoke.

We have seen Beautiful Firetails at Dyers Creek Picnic Ground, which is
further North in the Park on the Black Snake Creek road and I suspect that
is much more likely to have been affected.

We have close friends at Tonimbuk who fortunately were not directly impacted
by the fire. They have been long-time volunteers on the Helmeted Honeyeater
release program at Tonimbuk and told me on Monday that the fire was possibly
threatening that release area but had not destroyed it at that stage.

We lived at Tonimbuk in the 80's and were evacuated from there in the '83
fires.  Fortunately we now are in an area that has not been hit this time.

Thank you for your very moving story.

Bob Cook
Axedale Vic.



-----Original Message-----
From: 
 On Behalf Of Paul Dodd
Sent: Tuesday, 10 February 2009 11:45 PM
To: 'Birding Aus'
Subject: Victorian Bushfire Update 10/2/2009

A different sort of report today.

 

The Bunyip fire was threatening Gembrook earlier today, but is apparently
not posing a threat to population centres at the moment. I also believe that
Tonimbuk is no longer under threat. Unfortunately however a vast amount of
Bunyip State Park has been destroyed. I have no concrete information on
Buttongrass Track (the most reliable spot for Southern Emu-wren and
Beautiful Firetail) - but given the area of destruction I am almost certain
that it has been burned.

 

I spoke to a friend today who lives at Crystal Creek, just south of
Yackandandah and north-east of Beechworth. The fire has moved north wiping
out the settlement of Stanley and was 12km south of Crystal Creek. The
Myrtleford-Yackandandah Road had been cut. Alerts are still in effect for
this area, but the fire is moving quite slowly. The thoughts are that this
fire is behaving more like a "conventional" bushfire than the firestorm that
hit Kinglake on the weekend.

 

Paul Dodd

Docklands, Victoria

 

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