Two Metre Tall brewer Ashley Huntington said the smoke was the worst he had ever seen
The state’s tourism slogan may be Come Down for Air, but local operators are asking whether forestry regeneration burns are tarnishing the brand, with heavy smoke as major events prepare to kick off. LATEST >>
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THE state’s tourism slogan may be Come Down for Air, but local operators are asking whether forestry regeneration burns are tarnishing the brand.
Smoke from Sustainable Timber Tasmania regeneration burns reduced visibility and contributed to a marked deterioration in air quality as measured by EPA monitors around the Derwent and Huon Valleys.
At Gretna on Monday, air quality repeatedly spiked into the “poor” zone, with up to 50 micrograms of hazardous PM2.5 particles — 2.5 micrometres or less — per cubic metre. Fiona Weaver from Tassie Bound Adventure Tours operates kayaking tours in the Derwent Valley
She said the heavy smoke was unwelcome.
“Yesterday it was really quite thick on the tour we were lucky anyone didn’t have asthma or any health conditions. Everyone noticed and everyone asked what it was,’’ she said.
“It’s a bit of a kick in the face when we’ve just been through a hard 12 months and we’ve had not the greatest weather and we finally get some stable weather and a long weekend.
“It was just the worst timing for us for a tourism event when the spotlight is on us and it’s all just ruined.
“We’ve got the national mountain bike championships up here this weekend and we’ve just been smoked out.”
Heavy, persistent smoke can affect wine grapes, but Wine Tasmania CEO Sheralee Davies said she had not heard reports from growers of issues.
“We do have the potential to be impacted by smoke as we get closer to harvest and we’ve literally just started harvest,” she said.
“That being said Wine Tasmania has a formal agreement in place around the fuel reduction burns with Sustainable Timber Tasmania, the TFS, and also with Parks and Wildlife.”
STT had eight regeneration burns listed over the weekend including two north-west of Geeveston, two north-west of Tarraleah, one south of Westerway, two southeast of Derwent Bridge and one northeast of Mole Creek.
Two Metre Tall Brewery owner Ashley Huntington told the Mercury on Sunday the smoke had sent his customers packing.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor rejected Sustainable Timber Tasmania claims the regeneration burns were intended to reduce bushfire risk.
“My heart goes out to Mr Huntington, to people with cardiac and respiratory issues, and every Tasmanian whose lungs are being polluted by STT’s aggressive burning over this holiday weekend,” she said.
“STT needs to be more honest. These are the burns after clear-fell operations. It’s not about reducing fuel load for community safety.
“They also release millions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere each year, exacerbating global heating.”
‘Choking with rage’: Brewer fumes over regen burn
THE operators of a renowned Derwent Valley brewery are seething after smoke from a regeneration burn blanketed their property, prompting visitors to flee the site.
Two Metre Tall Brewery owner Ashley Huntington said the smoke from a Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT) burn near Westerway on Saturday was the worst he had experienced in his 16 years in the area.
The brewery and farm bar at Hayes is around is 24km south-east of Westerway.
“I had a lawn full of people and they just picked up and left,” Mr Huntington said.
Mr Huntington said he was stunned to be advised by Tasmania Fire Service the smoke was not from a bushfire but a permitted burn.
“I haven’t seen anything like this since January 2018 when there was a genuine catastrophe on our hands … My call to the TFS was one of fright and genuine concern,” he said.
“I can’t believe they are doing a burn when there is an actual bushfire at Molesworth.”
Mr Huntington lashed the decision to burn on a long weekend of warm weather, in the middle of tourist season and the wine industry’s grape harvest.
“No one is thinking here,” he said.
STT had eight regeneration burns listed over the weekend including two north-west of Geeveston, two north-west of Tarraleah, one south of Westerway, two south-east of Derwent Bridge and one north-east of Mole Creek.
In response to Mr Huntington’s concerns, a spokesman for STT said planned burns were intended to regenerate harvested forests and improve community safety by reducing fuel loads.
“Autumn is the best time to undertake this work because it is the safest time of the year to burn, the fuels are dry which creates less smoke, the extreme conditions of summer have passed, reducing the chance of the fire escaping its boundaries and it is the ideal time for germination of eucalypt seedlings given warm temperatures and the onset of regular rainfall,” the spokesman said.
“Our aim is to minimise impact on neighbours and local communities. Every burn is carefully planned for safety, smoke dispersal, protection of assets, infrastructure, special values and threatened and endangered species.”
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