The recent bushfires are a fresh blow to Victoria’s timber industry, coming just weeks after the state Labor government announced the end of all native forest logging within 10 years. Sawmills in the east of the state, which had already been struggling to secure enough logs to keep their machines running, said the government’s move[…]
Three of Forestry Corporation’s most experienced firefighters and incident management specialists are part of the Australian firefighting contingent being deployed to Canada to assist with the wildfire emergency. The overseas deployment comprises a 222-strong contingent from Australian and New Zealand fire agencies, coordinated by the Australasian Fire Authorities Council’s National Resource Sharing Centre. “AFAC as the[…]
TED Vancouver: Aerospace executive talks new tools to help fight wildfires from space With “mega fires” of more than 40,000 hectares becoming more prevalent, George Whitesides says better satellites are among the innovative tools firefighters need to cope with them. Author of the article: Derrick Penner in the Vancouver Sun Former aerospace executive George Whitesides[…]
Imagine a system that could detect any bushfire in Australia within minutes of ignition so firefighters could tackle the blaze before it spreads. Recently, an important development on the road to this future: a Queensland-based company, Fireball, announced the first purpose-built satellite for fire detection in Australia. Scheduled for launch a year from now, the[…]
Independent research from Airborne Research Australia (ARA) after the 2019-20 bushfires on Kangaroo Island has confirmed that plantations can act as a fire suppressant. “From what I can see on our aerial imagery and Lidar it does not seem to support the opinion that the plantations were particularly bad in the fire situation. We have several examples[…]
Seedlings – KIPT has completed its first replanting following the summer bushfires. The new crop of pine and blue gum, in a small 24-hectare compartment, was planned well before the devastating bushfires. The site in the Bark Hut Road precinct was harvested a decade ago by a previous owner and it had been part of KIPT’s[…]
• It’s estimated more than 50,000 hectares of pine plantation in southern NSW was lost in the Black Summer bushfires • Tumbarumba’s Hyne Timber mill has lost 40 per cent of its future plantation wood supply • The timber industry is seeking federal freight subsidies to haul logs from other regions to sustain local mills When[…]
EDITOR’S COMMENT ISSUE 73 Rebuilding communities The Australian bushfires have brought out the best in the wood industry
EDITOR’S COMMENT ISSUE 73 A large part of me wants to use these column inches to focus on the international trade concerns that stem from the outbreak of the coronavirus in, and from, China. The nation’s position as a major demand engine for natural resources, including timber, suggests the fortunes of the international wood trade will[…]
As recovery gets underway for the Tumbarumba region, NSW, the Hyne Timber Mill is back up and running, despatching truckloads of timber, thanks to the many volunteers and emergency services who protected it throughout the bushfire crisis. A number of team members from Queensland have been deployed to Tumbarumba to assist with the Mill’s recommencement[…]