Fire recovery well underway on southern Yorke Peninsula
Southern Yorke Peninsula locals describe last year’s Yorketown fire as a once-in-a-lifetime blaze. Recovery is well underway, but there are concerns about the issues the blaze could raise.
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Recovery from last year’s Yorketown fires is well under way, but the blaze could raise problems for farmers in the season ahead including a mouse plague.
The fire broke out on November 21 last year and there were 29 livestock producers in the fire’s path. The department for Primary Industries put livestock losses at 534, with 1563ha of crops burnt.
Troubridge Point farmer Jack Barlow said he had never in his life seen anything like the aftermath of the Yorketown fire.
“The fire completely obliterated one of our blocks and hit a portion of the others,” he said.
All up, about 650ha of his family’s property was burnt; a hay shed and house lost.
While counting themselves lucky they didn’t lose any livestock, Mr Barlow still has about 20km of fencing to put up as part of the farm’s recovery, with Blaze Aid digging in to help.
Mr Barlow said the community spirit in the southern Yorke Peninsula has really shone through in the fire recovery effort.
The Yorketown fire recovery has been aided by many, including the Randall Wine Group, which donated 1300 treated pine posts to help with the rebuild.
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Mr Barlow said it is likely to take three to five years to get the farm back to where it was. The major issue he is concerned about is a potential mouse plague.
After the Pinery fire in 2015, farmers had to grapple with a huge rise in the numbers of mice, as burnt grain on the ground provided a food source for the pests.
“There could be 200 tonnes of grain on the ground in this area,” Mr Barlow said.