A HOMERTON farmer is concerned not enough has been done to prepare Budj Bim for the summer after last summer’s devastating bushfires, saying he believed the national park was a “death trap”.
Craig Millard’s farm, Grafton, was one of two properties neighbouring the national park that were impacted by last summer’s bushfires, which burned through around 7000 hectares in late December and early January.
Mr Millard lost 227 sheep and around 4.5 kilometres of his farm’s boundary fence from the fires.
He said a year on from one of the toughest times of his life, he was concerned not enough had been done to ensure another fire wouldn’t have the same effect.
“It’s a very serious concern for me – it’s all fuel up there … it’s a major fire hazard,” he said.
“The only way we can combat fire in this situation is to reduce fuel and I don’t think there’s been enough of that done ahead of the summer.
“I don’t want to go through another year like last year – it was terrible – but I’m worried that when the next fire comes, it will be exactly the same.”
Mr Millard said he believed the national park was less prepared for a fire than it had been a year ago.
“Because of the potash and the nutrients, (the vegetation) seems to have come back worse since the fires, which is a similar problem to what they’re having in Kangaroo Island,” he said.
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