Fires in the Barkly
With the fire edge stretching hundreds of kilometres, and smoke overhead, the firies worked to protect property and people. During the summer just past unusually heavy rains fell and there is excess fuel lying across the landscape waiting to be ignited. It is well and truly fire season.
.jpg) |
| The fading Northern Territory sunset (Photo credit: Max Christian) |
Life in the outback brings both fire and flood in different cycles. As yet, we are in the early days of spring, with the full force of summer yet to come. Whatever burns now cannot burn in a few weeks' time when temperatures are set to sore. However, over the past few weeks, controlled burns near Alice Springs in some instances have run away from those managing them, posing significant threat.
The Barkly Highway has been closing and reopening frequently depending on conditions. The ABC reported door-to-door knocking in Tennant Creek early in the week to warn residents of the impending danger of a separate fire burning at Rusty Camp on the outskirts of the township. This was later dwarfed by the larger approaching bushfire four times the size of the ACT. The effort to defeat this inferno prompted the declaration of a State of Emergency and the establishment of containment lines to keep Tennant Creek safe. The fire rating has since been downgraded, but the advice is to stay alert as conditions could change.
As smoke hangs over the desert and the fire of
the fading day burns the horizon, spare a thought for those battling beneath it to
stay alive. This summer will scorch the Central Desert; be prepared and survive.