Sophie Conlon
It has been confirmed the carcasses of felled trees will remain where they landed, even after nearby homeowners spoke up with their concern around the fire risk they may pose.
Mount Gambier/ Berrin residents Ted Wolinski and Heather Teakle, who live at the foot of Sugar Loaf Mountain, said the City of Mount Gambier had left felled trees on the side of walking tracks and they were concerned for their homes should a fire start in the area.
Felled trees included non-native pines and olive trees and council’s acting general manager city infrastructure Karl Manarangi said the work was completed in partnership with the Limestone Coast Landscape Board.
Mr Manarangi said while some trees were left behind, they had removed them where it was safe to do so.
“The olives that were up there, some of them have been chopped down and left, where we could remove them we have,” he said.
“There are some that have been left… because of the slope that they’re on, it is actually standard procedure for the contractor to leave the stuff there.”
A spokesperson from the landscape board said the work had been difficult because of the area’s topography and steep terrain.
Ms Teakle said when the olive trees were felled they were still laden with fruit and she was worried about them dropping and germinating, ultimately leading to more trees growing.
“There’s no signs that the stumps have been treated so the trees are going to regrow, every olive that was on the tree is going to regrow,” she said.
“So rather than eradicate the weeds, they’ve spread them.”
But Mr Manarangi said the right thing had been done by cutting the trees and the stumps had indeed been treated to prevent regrowth.
“They did talk about germination, but if we didn’t do anything about the olives there and they continued to grow they would have gotten huge and more and more olives would have continued to fall in that area, ” he said.
“They have been cut and swabbed, they just haven’t been cut and left, as part of the program the trees are treated.”
In his working life, Mr Wolinski was a fire prevention officer and he said it was “just sheer luck” the wind changed during the 2022 Crater Lakes fire and saved his home.
He was now concerned another bushfire event would be fuelled on by the carcasses left behind.
However Mr Manarangi thought the fire risk was relatively low, thanks to several fire breaks in the area and prevention work they had undertaken.
“Personally I think it is relatively low because right up on the other side there is a big buffer, and the track acts as a fire break as well,” he said.
“We’re doing as much as we can in the area to make sure residents around that area are protected.”
Ms Teakle was also concerned some pines had been left over the fire tracks backing Carinya Gardens Cemetery and homes on Tenison Drive, though Mr Manarangi said these trees had since been cleared.
Mr Wolinski and Ms Teakle agreed the fuel load needed to be lessened in the area, and the tree carcasses needed to be removed.
In his professional opinion, Mr Wolinski said an updated bushfire management plan needed to be created specifically for the area.
“That doesn’t mean cutting trees down and leaving them where they fall, because that just adds to the fuel load,” he said.
“The whole purpose of a fire prevention plan… is to eliminate the risk, so what happens? They increase the risk.”
The landscape board spokesperson said they would work with council and residents to come to a resolution.
“General manager of the Limestone Coast Landscape Board Mr Steve Bourne has spoken with the complainant and will lead a discussion with the City of Mount Gambier to work towards a possible solution, whilst continuing to support the City of Mount Gambier’s declared weed control efforts,” they said.
Mr Manarangi said council would continue fire prevention work in the area.
