{"id":250759,"date":"2019-12-22T16:08:32","date_gmt":"2019-12-22T06:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=250759"},"modified":"2020-07-13T16:58:42","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T06:58:42","slug":"historic-tower-escapes-blaze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/12\/22\/historic-tower-escapes-blaze\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Tower Escapes Blaze"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Burned bushland lining Kilcoy-Murgon Road near the turn-off to Jimna (Photo: Cameron Bond)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Jimna fire tower showing singed trees nearby\u00a0 (Photo: Cameron Bond)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 22, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The recent bushfires in the Jimna area burned dangerously close to the historic Jimna fire tower.<\/p>\n

Photos taken by Cherbourg firefighter Cameron Bond show singed trees close to the 47 metre-tall wooden structure.<\/p>\n

Water-bombing aircraft and the efforts of firefighters on the ground have been credited for saving the tower.<\/p>\n

The State Government has committed $2 million for the restoration of the tower following a decade-long campaign by local residents to protect the tourist attraction after it was closed to the public for safety reasons in 2006.<\/p>\n

The Jimna Fire Tower is claimed to be the tallest man-made wooden fire tower of its type in the southern hemisphere, and was formerly Heritage-listed.<\/p>\n

HQ Plantations, which manages the nearby forestry, said more than 700ha of hoop pine plantation in the Jimna area had been burned in the recent fires, affecting more than 500,000 trees<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Peach Trees camping area and associated walking tracks, managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, have been closed until further notice.<\/p>\n

In a notice to Jimna residents, HQ Plantations said the burnt and damaged trees would need to the cleared.<\/p>\n

“Even though many of these trees may still look green, (hoop pine) is very susceptible to fire, and they will gradually die over the coming months,” the statement said.<\/p>\n

“We will be increasing the number of harvesting crews in this area … for the next three to six months to salvage as much of the burnt area as possible.”<\/p>\n

HQ Plantations said the damaged areas would be replanted, with a progressive program beginning once there had been a suitable amount of rainfall.<\/p>\n

[Photos: Cameron Bond]<\/strong><\/p>\n

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