Fire damage at the back of our place

We didn't used to be able to see - or hear- the road behind us. 

The clothes line remained intact. The plastic strands did not melt!

The raised vegetable garden beds were not as lucky as the clothes lane. 

The only remains of the tumble composter

Epicormic growth

Epicormic growth is evident in many trees after bushfire damage. It is when a shoot grows from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch. The bud lies dormant until damage occurs higher up the plant. If the crown of the tree recovers, then these shoots will fall off. 

This phenomenon is one which is easily observable not long after bushfires.

 

Still bushfire smoke

 Even after the devastation of 21 Dec 2019, bushfires lingered in the area. On 23 January I took these photos at Batemans Bay and Tomakin (looking south)

Smokey Batemans Bay

Bushfire smoke from Melville Point, Tomakin, looking south.

And then it rained!

As so often happens, after the fires come the rains. Because the side of our house was damaged when next door burned down (everything plastic melted), the heavy rain saw ineffective downpipes, and the water breached our fireplace flue and made its way inside...

Bushfire aftermath: asbestos

 The house next to ours burned down. It had a lot of asbestos in it. We were unable to effect repairs to our house until the house, including the asbestos was cleared. This was because our tradies couldn't get safe access, and much of the asbestos had ended up on our side. The pink colour is caused by a dyed glue that is sprayed to bind particles together and hopefully prevent the small asbestos fibres floating around. 

Bushfire aftermath: Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden Part 2 - Survivors

 

Amidst the devastation, the visitor centre and cafe survived, along with part of the nursery, the wooden deck of the lunch room, the Wallace herbarium, and a lovely stand of Corymbia maculata (Spotted Gums), and some kangaroos. 

Bushfire aftermath: Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden Part 1 - casualties

I am a volunteer at the Botanic Garden, and on the committee of the Friends of the Botanic Garden. Committee members were able to visit on 16 January 2020, under the guidance of the Manager, in order to see first-hand the damage the bushfire of 31 December 2019 had caused. 

The fire ripped through the entire site, burning all the vegetation, the manager's house (which was being used for storage), all of the equipment and storage areas, much of the nursery, bridges and walks. The newly developed Visitors' Centre and cafe, which had opened the month before, and the state-of-the-art Wallace Herbarium escaped the carnage. 

Much of the wildlife - animals and birds- was affected, although some kangaroos survived. 

The fire melted all the underneath soft fall base of the children's playground.

The orchid house

Orchid house

Tool shed and containers. Everything was lost,

About two-thirds of the nursery was lost.

Part of the nursery and propagation area was spared. 

The Pavilion