A massive fire, called the Wambelong fire, is currently burning out of control in and around the Warrumbungles National Park. I spent an amazing couple of weeks in the Park, as well as in the nearby community of Coonabarabran, shooting a story about the Park for this month's Australian Geographic magazine. My thoughts go out to all of those who have lost so much in this fire. Fortunately at this time there has been no human loss with the fire, but the loss in property, buildings, wildlife and livestock in and around the Park has been tremendous.
The epicenter of this fire was in the Park and the NSW Rural Fire Service believe it was started by lightning. I contacted Phil Draper who lives in Coonabarabran and has been rock climbing for years in the Warrumbungles and he said, "Most of the Park has been burnt, including the Visitors Centre. While conditions have been favourable the past 2 days it appears to be currently burning to the south of Mt Exmouth (Exmouth would have been burnt) to the TV towers to the east of Belougery Spire and through the next valley. My estimate is that the Grand High Tops etc have certainly been burnt. If it happened in the last 2 days the fire would at least be less intense, if it happened on Sunday it would be scorched. Would love to know how balor Hut got on - not hopeful of it surviving. My estimate is that when the fire ends the Park will be closed for a minimum of weeks and possibly months.From some television footage of the past few days (somewhat outdated) aerial shots have shown the fire front heading south in the Balor Hut/Belougery area. It looked to be burning slowly upwards and not the intense fire experienced on Sunday in the centre and eastern sections of the Park. Only time will tell."Phil is not in any way an authority on the fire and is just sharing his firsthand observations.
Fire is a common event in Australian bushland, but the fire that is currently burning through Warrumbungles National Park will certainly leave a long lasting impact on the Park.
I really like the pictures! Being a professional photographer I understand it is usually tricky to choose the best ones although they're excellent. I prefer some Lightroom presets to keep some consistency in my own.
Posted by: photographer | January 04, 2014 at 05:38 PM