How the Southern Downs and Granite Belt is working to rebuild from the recent catastrophic bushfires

The recent catastrophic bushfires that devastated parts of the Southern Downs and Granite Belt have had a major impact on local wildlife, structures and land. See how those communities have been rallying support to help rebuild here.

Native wildlife is often the collateral damage of devastating bushfires, and the recent blazes that swept through Wallangarra and Dalveen were no exception.

Wildlife carer Michael Wilson has been working closely with other wildlife carers, protection groups and community members to begin the bushfire recovery process to determine what wildlife has been lost.

“It’s hard to determine exact numbers of wildlife lost, we’re still in the early stages of reaching out to landholders who were affected to offer our services,” he said.

“It’s even harder to determine what was lost when you’re not even quite sure what was there to start off with.”

As many of the surrounding areas impacted were still processing such an event, Mr Wilson said the priority was to work with those residents who may not be ready to face the carnage left behind on their land.

“We’re not part of any particular wildlife group, we’re just individuals who are trained to deal with these types of events,” he said.

“We’re here for those communities to offer our services to anyone who might not be ready to deal with (the clean up) themselves.”

The self-named ‘Wildlife Recovery’ team consists of experienced wildlife volunteers who are working alongside the RSPCA, Granite Belt Wildlife Carers, and Bat Conservation and Rescue Queensland.

Although exact numbers of wildlife losses are to be determined, Mr Wilson said there has sadly been a number of species who have been euthanized due to their significant injuries.

“There has been a large sum of macropods – kangaroos, wallabies (and the like) as well as a couple of koalas we’ve come across,” he said.

“We did find a koala that was badly burned and has been in the care of Stanthorpe Vets.”

With such a large area of damage to cover, the team were reliant on reports from locals to direct them to their next target area.

Mr Wilson said he urged any landholders whose property had been affected by the fires and was wanting assistance with removal of deceased wildlife to get in contact.

“If anyone has concerns or questions about the removal process, we ask them to send through photos and some quick details about what they’re needing help with,” he said.

“The most important part of recovery is to bring the community together, and let them tell us what it is they need.”

Mr Wilson said the next few weeks were the most critical in locating any surviving wildlife in those areas, with their risk of infection at an highest.

Anyone who comes across injured wildlife is urged to report them to their local wildlife rescue group.

A koala was located during a walk-through of a property at The Glen in area of unburnt land. Photo: Michael Wilson

MOTOR SPORTING COMMUNING RALLY TO REBUILD BELOVED 4X4 PARK

The catastrophic fires that tore through parts of the Southern Downs and Granite Belt damaged many structures in its path, including beloved The Spring 4x4 Park which sits just off the New England Highway at The Glen, south of Warwick.

In the midst of trying to clean up the devastation the fires caused, the following downpour of rain wasn’t much of a reprieve for the 4x4 park, suffering flood damage from the heavy falls.

Spring 4x4 Park owner Lucas Bree said the support they’ve received from the motor sporting community has been phenomenal in helping them to rebuild the beloved park to its former glory.

“The support has been so humbling, we actually just held a bushfire recovery weekend where we hosted people for free to help us clean up,” he said.

“We had a donation pot to raise money for the local rural fire service to give back to them for all the hard work they put in.

“We managed to raise $5000 and have been able to purchase them a new trailer.”

For 50 hours Mr Bree watched and assisted fire and earthwork crews as they worked tirelessly to put in fire breaks around the house, which ultimately saved it from being destroyed in the flames.

Mr Bree said 9km of fencing as well as 2km of pipework were damaged during the fires, with heavy trees impacting the tracks around the park.

In the wake of these devastating fires Motor Culture Australia launched a national campaign, calling on their fellow motorsport communing as well as local business to help restore the beloved Springs 4x4 park, with general manager Maria Braun initiating a GoFundMe which has already managed to raising a staggering amount.

Thankfully The Springs 4x4 Park with the help of dedicated volunteers and Motor Culture Australia is now back up and running.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1051894775852087&ref=sharing

BLAZEAID BID TO REBUILD 300KM OF DAMAGED FENCING

Landowners in the worst affected areas from Dalveen to over the Queensland border into Tenterfield will see a Christmas miracle as BlazeAid swoops in.

A BlazeAid volunteer camp will be set up at Stanthorpe Showgrounds from November 27 to help rebuild a staggering 300km of damaged fencing from the recent catastrophic bushfires.

Hailing from Gippsland in Victoria, Chris and John Male have been running BlazeAid’s camp in Forbes, NSW since January and will next week begin the almost 800km journey to Stanthorpe.

The damage left behind from the catastrophic bushfires that tore through parts of the Southern Downs and Granite Belt in early November.

Camp co-ordinator Chris Male said they’ve already received dozens of phone calls from eager volunteers ready to give up their time.

No previous fencing experience is required, with the camp also in need of a support team to carry out the many other important jobs required to keep the camp up and running.

“On the job training is provided, it doesn’t matter if you can’t fence (because) we will need a support team to help with cooking and supplies,” she said.

Given the distance of damage the region has suffered, the camp will need roughly 25 to 30 volunteers.

Originally published as How the Southern Downs and Granite Belt is working to rebuild from the recent catastrophic bushfires