For some days weather forecasters had been warning us we were in for a Thursday of extreme heat and, worse, wind. Pretty well anyone keeping a weather eye out would have twigged that lighting any kind of fire would have been a bad idea – a very bad idea.
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So, when reports of a big fire on the weapons range on Beecroft Peninsula reached us at the Register yesterday, we suspected a live firing exercise might have been involved. Lithgow 2013 immediately came to mind.
What became known as the State Mine Fire broke out on October 16, ignited by an explosives exercise at a Defence Force training base near Marrangaroo. That fire quickly spread out of control, burning out 55,000 hectares and destroying property. A commission of inquiry pointed the finger at Defence for going ahead with a potentially incendiary exercise on a totally unsuitable day.
We would like to have thought important lessons had been learned but, unfortunately, it does not seem they were.
Residents we spoke to at Currarong told us they had heard bombing on the Beecroft range on Wednesday. Ahead of a well publicised hot, windy day, it seems incredible the exercise was not rescheduled.
With hot, nor-westerly winds forecast, it would have been prudent to delay the live fire exercise until conditions improved. The fact a strong southerly had also been predicted for early afternoon, potentially fanning a blaze back towards the township of Currarong, would have surely made the exercise seem even more risky.
We understand our soldiers, sailors and airmen need training. We happily – even proudly – share our region with them. But we also expect them and their officers to consider the safety of residents who live nearby. We also expect all involved in scheduling live fire exercises over summer to be intimately acquainted with forecast weather conditions.
If the average resident can work out that some days are in no way suitable for activities that might ignite fires, surely so, too, can those involved in the business of training for war.
Even if there was no live fire conducted on the Thursday, commonsense would have dictated that calling off such activities the day before would have been the wise course of action, especially given the tinder dry state of the bush on Beecroft. We urge all involved to go back, look at the Lithgow disaster, and do better in future.
