Grampians Trail Updates and Planned Burns March 2012

Just in time for the long weekend. A number of the tracks previously closed have now reopened and these are listed below. As well as these updates, there are some future planned burns in the Victoria Range. I don’t have actual dates at this stage but at least you can get an idea of the time frame they are looking at and hopefully plan around them. I have been told that during the school holidays, it will be business as usual but the closures will occur before and after this. Sections of the Victoria Range will be closed for a couple of weeks at a time.

Hollow Mountain Walking Track – reopen Tuesday 5 March

The Grampians Flood Recovery crew will be reopening the Hollow Mountain walking track tomorrow after four weeks of construction works. Crews have installed new timber steps and approximately 400m of the walking track has been ‘lifted’ to reinstate the track surface to above ground level.

Bullaces Glen Walking track – reopen Friday 9 March

The Bullaces Glen walking track will reopen this Friday in time for the Long Weekend. This popular track has been closed since the January 2011 flood and storm event. There has been a lot of work done on this track including 200metres of track realignment. The crews have harvested tonnes of rock on site for the creation of over 100 stone steps and have also built a new creek crossing in the Bullaces Glen area. Other works on the track include drain clearing, risk mitigation and vegetation removal along with the replacement of directional signage. The new loop track offers a fantastic option for visitors wanting a 1 to 1 1/2 hour walk with moderate difficulty or visitors can take the longer option to Chatauqua Peak.

Venus Baths Walk Update

There will be access to a small part of the Venus Baths walking track for the Bullaces Glen Walk, however the walk to Venus Baths will remain closed. Concept planning for realignments around land slips and bridge replacement is underway.

Coppermine Road – Reopened

Road crews have repaired the large washout on the road between Coppermine bushcamp and Mt Zero Road.

Grampians National Park – Planned Burn Program 2012

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and Parks Victoria will be commencing its autumn planned burning program in the Grampians National Park during April and May. Planned burns have been scheduled a little later this year because of the dryer weather conditions we have experienced locally.

In line with the Wimmera Fire Operations Plan released last September; DSE and Parks Victoria intend to conduct seven separate burns in the Grampians area. Planned burning is part of an integrated plan to reduce the bushfire risk to people, property and communities. Please see the attached map of the Grampians that provides all planned burns for this autumn.

Favourable weather conditions largely influence when particular planned burns go ahead. The final decision around planned burning will be made on the day of the burn and this will be based on the results from the monitoring of the ground and weather conditions. Where possible, DSE and Parks Victoria will provide notification prior to each burn, but it is your responsibility to check the DSE website regularly for planned burns information.

During the burning program, there will be some short term closures of roads, visitor sites and walking tracks for public safety. The burn areas will stay closed until they are classified as safe. This may be up to a week after a burn. If you are planning a camping or walking trip, it is important that you plan an alternative route in case you need to change your trip at short notice.

Some of the areas that will be impacted by closures this planned burning season include:

All walking tracks and access within the Victoria Range (including Manja Shelter, the Fortress, Mt Thackeray, Goat Track and Victoria Range Track)

• Access to the Red Rock area including all climbing sites
• The walking track from Plantation to Mt Difficult, Boronia Walking Track
• Terraces Track to Tandara Road and the Griffin Picnic ground

For more information

To find out where and when planned burns are happening visit www.dse.vic.gov.au, call the Victorian Bushfire Information Line on 1800 240 667 or listen to your local radio station

Information is also available at www.dse.vic.gov.au/fires and for information about fire restrictions, fire bans and fires on private land at www.cfa.vic.gov.au

For further information on the Wimmera Planned Burns program contact the Horsham DSE Fire Operations Room on 5362 0720 or visit www.dse.vic.gov.au.