The Dry Burning Season

It is now the time of fires. Fires have been part of this landscape for ages, apparently even before the Aboriginal people came here over 40 thousand years ago. Lightning strikes still set a number of fires, but people have been using fire purposely since they came. The native plants are uniquely adapted to fire, but many invading species are not.

I think I mentioned before that you can be driving along a highway and see a fire crackling away in the bush beside the road and it's not remarkable or worrisome. It's a very strange experience for this Californian (however, the recent appearance of golden brown grass along roadsides and in unwatered lawns makes me feel very much at home--it was something I missed when I lived in NY and the Solomons).

The bike trail I use to get to work is along the river, right in town. There are swathes of burnt grass in various places along my route. The gum trees (eucalyptus) remain untouched, just the dry, golden grass burns. Then new grass comes up out of it, green blades sprouting right out of a clump of blackened grass.

These pictures don't really do the images justice, but I hope they help you visualize it a bit.