Kangaroo Island plantations fire risk sparks fears of more devastation

Kangaroo Island farmers have spent millions rebuilding their fire-ravaged properties – but they’re worried their work will be in vain unless urgent action is taken.

Kangaroo Island landholders are worried blue gum plantations will present a huge fire risk this summer, as concerns mount about a lack of work to manage fire breaks.

The region’s Bushfire Management Committee, which includes representatives from government agencies and the local council, has flagged serious worries about the fuel loads in more than 19,000ha of plantations and whether land can be defended if fires break out.

A report to Kangaroo Island councillors says forest manager PF Olsen has blamed rain on the island and state border controls for delays to work to clear fire breaks.

Council chief executive Greg Georgopoulos said there was a “high level of anxiety” about the issue across the region, following the devastation wrought by the catastrophic 2019/20 bushfires that ripped through almost half of the island.

Farmer Sam Mumford – also a Kangaroo Island councillor and bushfire committee member – is among those whose properties burned.

Cr Mumford, whose land is near Parndana alongside blue gum plantations, lost 4500 sheep and 800 cattle in the inferno.

“It’s not safe for the CFS to enter the blue gums – there’s been that many blue gums come down on the tracks themselves that you can’t drive down these tracks,” he said.

Leader of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, Andrew Colvin, with Kangaroo Island farmer Sam Mumford. Picture: Sean McGowan

“Last year because they got nuked that bad, nothing grew. This year, because we’ve had more rain we’ve got inter-row trees growing. They’re 2-3m high, but also, there’s the bark off the trees that have fallen down.”

Cr Mumford, a CFS member, said under the status quo, volunteers would not be allowed to enter the tracks to fight fires because it was not safe.

“The only way to attack it is to allow the fire to come out,” he said.

A fire breaks out on the Playford Hwy between Kingscote and Parndana. Picture: Tait Schmaal

“I don’t want to be the person that goes to the adjoining landholders and says, ‘I’m sorry mate, your place is going to be burned because we haven’t had time to put a fire break around the trees’.”

Cr Mumford said work to manage the fire breaks should have begun months ago. He said farmers were worried their work to rebuild could be in vain.

“We’re starting to talk mental health for the community,” he said.

“These guys are grown men that are saying, ‘We can’t let this happen again’.”

Mr Georgopoulos said after “positive discussions” with the company, council staff were “hopeful that they’re moving in the right direction”.

Kangaroo Island farmer Sam Mumford. Picture: Sean McGowan

Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers, which owns the majority of the island’s plantation estate, has changed its name to KI Land as part of its move to phase out timber operations and replace them with farmland.

Executive chairman James Davies declined to comment and forest manager PF Olsen did not return calls.

A report to councillors said PF Olsen had intended to undertake a chemical treatment of all fire breaks and engaged a contractor with machinery to do the work.

But it said delays had been caused by rain and SA Health not processing applications for travel exemptions to allow the Victorian-based company to send staff and the machine to do the work.

It said PF Olsen had engaged a local contractor with a grader to target all fire breaks and it was confident the work could be done before the fire danger season.

SA Health said travel exemptions were assessed on a case-by-case basis and prioritised cases included compassionate grounds, urgent medical treatment, school boarders, returning South Australian residents, relocations and specialist workers in essential sectors.

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