Quick action saves forestry plantation from blaze - ABC Online

By Rhianwen Whitney

Posted October 29, 2012 10:32:36

Ergon Energy says it has narrowly avoided losing a multi-million dollar forestry plantation to fire on southern Queensland's northern Downs.

Company spokesman Rod Rehbein says a grassfire threatened a 1,300 hectare plantation of future power poles near Ravensbourne last week.

He says prompt action saved most of the trees.

"In total we're able to back-burn 12-and-a-half kilometres almost in very difficult conditions to do that," he said.

"We also had nearly 16 kilometres of graded fire breaks, another kilometre-and-a-half of dozed breaks.

"Really it was just coupled with the preventive hazard reduction program we've done over the years since we've been there and the good network of fire trials that we've built up.

He says those were the only things that managed to "save us from a really bad situation".

"[We] have a good fire risk management strategy in place and it's a case of that plus the prompt action producing the result," he said.

"But of course where fire is concerned you can never be 100 per cent certain, so we are very grateful that those efforts did reap the rewards we hoped they would."

Topics: bushfire, emergency-incidents, emergency-planning, ravensbourne-4352, toowoomba-4350