BAL Assessment Cape Paterson Bass Coast

Travelling across coastal land that has been extensively cleared for agriculture purposes I come to the Coastal reserve that welcomes the ocean ashore South West of the township of Cape Paterson. The vegetation and the slope here varies dramatically and it is a good example of why field survey work for BAL assessments is critical to gather all the data required to gain an in depth understanding of the fuel types and arrangement of the fuel in the landscape as opposed to the overview granted by the desktop analysis from the aerial photos.

The Coastal reserve here is predominately Coastal Heathlands dominated by Coastal Tea Tree with a noticeable absence of Eucalypts and therefore a reduction in the ability of a bushfire to generate spot embers and spot fires. There is also a variety of fuel differentials with the glossy-leaved boobillas in the gullies and large boulders in and along Pea Creek.

The Pea Creek waterfall although runs only during time when there i rainfall theses rocky outcrops form a fuel break within the localised landscape under the canopy. All these factors uncovered in the field survey put together an accurate picture of the fuel hazards and the potential fire behaviour.