more proof the greenies are wrong ...again

This from todays local Bendigo paper "THE ADVERTISER"

Also had picture of the area (which I cant reproduce here) that had been previously been burnt in a fuel reduction programme at Malmsbury showing the barrier it provided.

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News Local News News General The fire that saved Malmsbury The fire that saved Malmsbury
19/02/2009 8:46:00 AM
FUEL reduction burns saved more than 50 Bendigo houses and spared the township of Malmsbury from going up in flames, according to the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
The Dai Gun San reduction burn at the rear of Creeth Street was one of the most challenging undertaken by the DSE’s state fire and training investigation co-ordinator Les Vearing.

“I’ve done hundreds of burns and this was the most stressful,” he said.

“We had very heavy scrub with very dry grass up against people’s backyards and houses. Sometimes it’s straight forward enough and other times it’s not.

“Fire behaviour can change pretty quickly and it probably takes twice as many resources to burn a small urban area than a burn in the open.”

Mr Vearing said there was no doubt the stress paid off, and others who were opposed to the burn had acknowledged its benefits.

One woman who had been critical of fuel reduction burns has emailed the DSE thanking them for saving her house.

“There is no doubt it saved 50 houses or more,” Mr Vearing said.

“We’ve said every year the potential to burn into Bendigo was high and people have said it won’t happen . . . it can’t happen in an urban area.

“This has proved that it will burn and you can lose houses.”

The CFA’s Mark Gilmore acknowledged the CFA’s life-saving efforts.

“That burn has saved hundreds of homes,” he said.

“It might have even saved lives.”

Mr Gilmore said while there was widespread opposition and criticism of authorities at the time of the burn, it limited the potential for a three-mile front that would have presented in Cal Gully and Long Gully.

Fuel reduction burns had also prevented the township of Malmsbury facing the fire front that threatened the town in January.

“If it was not in place . . . we would have had the full impact across the town and large loss of houses, whereas we didn’t lose any,” Mr Vearing said.