The massive bushfire currently ravaging Queensland’s Fraser Island is a frightening reminder of the destructive power of these blazes.
Campers and entire communities are being urged to evacuate as the seven-week-old bushfire which has destroyed almost half of the world-heritage-listed national park continues to threaten.
The scale of the fire is a reminder also of just how long it will take the island to recover.
The southeast of New South Wales was hammered by bushfires last summer and many national parks and reserves are still closed as a result.
And even in parks that are open, such as Deua National Park, many trails, lookouts and camping grounds remain off-limits
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has been busy carrying out repairs to reopen the parks ever since the fires hit … but it’s a huge task.
National parks closed in southeast NSW due to significant bushfire damage are: Biamanga National Park; Clyde River National Park; Conjola National Park; Gourock National Park; Kooraban National Park; Monga National Park; Wadbilliga National Park; Araluen Nature Reserve; Badja Swamps Nature Reserve; Berlang State Conservation Area; Bermaguee Nature Reserve; Frogs Hole Nature Reserve; Illawong Nature Reserve; Majors Creek State Conservation Area; Murrah Flora Reserves; and Wombeyan Karst Conservation Reserve.
While some parks are still closed, many other remain open and NPWS visitor experience director, Julie Bishop, said it looked like being a busy summer.
“These holidays will be unlike any before, with many people holidaying domestically this year and NSW national parks are the state’s home of nature-based tourism,” she told ‘About Regional’. “In 2018, park tourism and management expenditure contributed $17.85 billion in total economic output and supported 74,280 direct and indirect jobs … a boom for park visitation is a boom for regional economies.”
Pity they didn’t throw more effort into the fire at the start