Bloody thing really wanted to get inside my shirt. Wasn’t much I could do once it got except stop it getting to... more important areas
My take is uncomplicated by any knowledge whatsoever, but if a fire is close enough to ignite Sisalation it is going to ignite an unwrapped wooden structure. But if embers bounce off Sisalation instead of lodging in interstices of a wooden we are in a better (although not perfect) position.
They have always been referred to as 'places of last resort' or 'neighbourhood safer places', and shouldn't be in anyone's fire plan except if they will die otherwise. The problem these days is ambulance-chasing lawyers and arse-covering. In Vic, they won't consider any place if it's not council or government owned. Some towns have an oval as their designated fire shelter or no fire shelter at all, when the locals wouldn't go near it but would choose a privately-owned structure that would give them a much better chance of survival. The whole fire shelter thing is a load of crap designed to comply with RC recommendations and prevent any hypothetical law suits. There was much debate over the name 'Neighbourhood Safer Place' so that no one could sue because it wasn't safe, only 'safer'.
Cascades Hut and Tin Mines Hut (NSW) wrapped in anti bush fire defensive measures with flame retardant around perimeter. Source: Victorian High Country Huts Association
The sisalation prevents the radiant heat igniting stuff inside the structure...many buildings burn down from soft furnishings catching alight
Cesjacks is all good apparently. From the Bushwalk forum. Cesjacks is fine. The local BFB (Rocky Plains I think) partly wrapped it (doors & windows) and then ran a light control burn around the grassland to Doubtful Ck and then N to the Grey Mare FT. At first glance it looks awful, but we know that next spring all the grass will regrow like mad. So what Fires Near Me shows includes all the control burns.
I’m also concerned about the many footpads etc that have been destroyed, if you consider the paths lost in the 03 fires like pretty plain, the Jagungal walk and arsenic ridge. I am planning to create a virtual track with gps points to try and assist the development of the footpads before the regrowth takes over.
At this stage The following huts are safe gudgenby Redicut at Gudgenby Believed safe frank and jacks Forestry Westermans unconfirmed Brayshaw Demandering Waterhole hospital creek Brandy flat Believed lost Horse Gully
Hope the lone toilet bowl survived! (Sadly, I doubt it). Lutons would have been in line today as well. Any news on it?
Some of the Huts in the Mt. Pinnibar/Davies Plain/Mt. Gibbo area have been destroyed by fire. This has been reported on the Facebook by relevant Vic. high country huts mob.
conflicting reports coming out of National Parks, earlier reports had Horse Gully lost but now it is being suggested only Demandering hut was lost. If this is the case it’s a pretty good outcome.
Seeing all these pictures is rather sad, but building a hut, that hut burning in a bushfire and rebuilding on the same site has happened for almost two centuries in our mountains. Here's three photos taken from the same spot of a ski hut on Mt Donna Buang in Victoria in 1930, 1939, and 1941. Built in 1930 Burnt in 1939 Rebuilt in 1941 Photos lifted from an online article called Donna Buang: the forgotten ski resort.
So ACT parks have officially confirmed the loss of Demandering and Max and Berts huts. neither likely to be rebuilt. All in all not a bad outcome given how close some of the huts were to intense fires. Parks are now using heat sensing technology to fly crews in to deal with tree’s that have internal fires, then they will start the clean up.
Some marvellous now long gone huts or houses in this collection. Keeping alive the history of Hobart's art nouveau mountain huts http://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-...of-hobarts-art-nouveau-mountain-huts/12335222
@Ubiquitous Steve was telling me about this hut from back in the days when he was ski touring and bushwalking in the KNP. https://khuts.org/index.php/the-huts/kosciuszko-national-park/711-diane-hut
There is a long list of huts that are now long gone sadly. Its in the 100’s and they are the ones we know about. Some are nothing more than a pile of chimney stones under scrub. I get a real kick of hunting down old hut sites. Here are the remains of Glennies hut at Four Mile diggings. And Pugilistic hut on Pretty Plain Some like Diane are in the recent memories of people but others have disappeared completely.
And people grumble about builders today not building buildings to last. We are just keeping up a time honoured tradition.
I only just found this thread.. reading thru re-lived the fires of Jan.. now so far away on the other sided of the virus.... below is a pic of the Happys before and after. I expect discussions with KNP on possible rebuild to start late June.
Here are some pics of the huts that were destroyed over summer. 1. Round Mountain 2. Brooks 3. Four Mile 4. Happys
Diane was a funny hut, it was kind of in no mans land, a very long ski from Munyang and a few km’s past Schlink.
Boobee still there ?They lost Brooke’s and Happy from the Happy Jacks Corridoor ...I think Boltens(drillers hut)was lost previously .
Not sure how Boobee and Mackays survived to be honest, they were in the thick of things. It is worth noting that this section of the park is still closed, they are really waiting for a few more winter storms to bring some of the dead timber down. Not having a dig just saying be careful out there and especially don’t pitch tents under trees. Not long back in Namadgi they found a tree still slowly burning inside out.
Ps I love the fire in Boobee, had an awesome meal of tacos in there and used the fire to bake the shells.
Yeah, when speaking to Steve C in Tumut last week he mentioned that they were going to let the winter weather do some natural arboriculture work in the burn areas. Let’s hope that the snow and wind does it’s job and we can explore freely again in October. I understand their stance in this age of litigation.
Hey @zac150, can you speak to that some more? I was trying to figure that out last week–I can't see anything on the NPWS 'closed areas' page saying that the burnt northern areas were closed any longer. I emailed NPWS and got no response, naturally. I'm genuinely confused! Sounds like you speak with some knowledge?
The confusion is confusing. NPWS have basically told me that if it was burnt then it’s closed. This doesn’t line up with their own signage but I’m sympathetic to their workload. This map was put up on the NPWS website on Monday - https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.a...pdf/maps/kosciuszko-back-country-closures.pdf
On the NPWS Alerts page, there is a link to this map, which indicates OKeefes is open, but Mackeys is closed. https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.a...pdf/maps/kosciuszko-back-country-closures.pdf Edit, @zapruda types faster than me...
@zapruda is pretty well 100% on the money! +1 does a lot of work with NPWS through the Alps Committee so I guess I hear things as she chats with people, normally because she listens to my crazy plans then puts the cybosh on them. It was always the plan to let winter take a Darwinian assessment of the trees and clean up those that are dangerous and likely to come down. It would be near impossible to clean things up otherwise.
Small comfort... Happys' fireplace is still looking good. The extra lime in the mix seems to have handled the heat. Nice to see Parks has cleaned up all the loose tin etc. As Zapruda says of Steve C... "natural arboriculture work".... yes, first trip in after winter is always a chainsaw feast.. next one will be especially so...
Im confused, Happy’s had an iron flu but stone hearth, given lime would make the mortar softer I reckon it’s hard to tell from photos if successful or not. If your referencing the pictures above Brookes is the complete fireplace. hopefully if Brooks is rebuilt they raise the chimney, it didn’t draw well. I know M will consider these sorts of changes and I’m hoping with equipment and people in the area Broken Dam can be fixed up as well.
When we rebuilt the Happys fireplace and chimney, Boral advised to use extra lime to make the concrete, (holding the hearth rocks together) as it would be more resistant to the heat of the fires on it... So that's what we did. The old water tank stayed in the fireplace (to keep it small inside) but we rebuilt the tin to the original larger size outside. Happys still had a wood (external chimney) frame, Brooks has a steel one. (on top of the stone) M & E have always been very reasonable about hut work. Don't get me going on chimneys and smoke... the height to width ratio of the opening is one of the critical issues. Is the Brooks fireplace one of Garry Mc's work? (a bit north of his normal stomping ground). I look forward to more of M's "official opening parties" & scones. Zac, re rebuild discussions.. I am sure Parks have been, but they only recently involved me...
I’m 99% sure brooks is Gary’s work, but when you have a skilled stone smith they tend to drag him about the place. I vaguely remember from the opening of Okeefes and Brookes he was mentioned. When you referenced the mortar I thought perhaps it was the walls hence my confusion (not a dig) And yes Brooks has a metal substructure as seen in the photos, so does Pretty plain. As an aside, if you spoke to M about the (concrete or Mortar) to confirm Boral’s suggestions she would have checked with my +1. You will know who she is if you have been on the timber skills workshops as timber and hut fabric is her area of expertise. From memory she also organised or at least arranged funding for the original workshops.
I did one of the workshops (at Currango Homestead) quite a while ago now. The output of shingles went to Bullocks Hut if I remember correctly. Brother Phil did one in Vic more recently. (and may remember your xyl) The workshop I did was more into timber, and old tools. Slabs and shingles and dressing. The Victorian one was more focused on huts. I am hoping any Happys rebuild will be on a full steel sub-frame like Whites River, and include efforts to reduce ember attack. but end up looking as close to the original as possible. I did the back wall on broken Dam, so you can't blame me for that fireplace.
