Trees fail to please

WE ALL have an urgent need for this message.
Many people are in danger from a widespread problem that has crept up on us all. The Victorian Department of Agriculture and Environment has just announced an event that is creating massive amounts of fire fuel in certain situations. Scientists report that a contagious fungus disease is killing thousands of cypress trees across southern Victoria. It is not curable. It spreads through the air, water and soil. A further complication in these huge fire/fuel loads of dead trees are they occur sporadically, heavy in some places with apparently disease-free trees adjacent, in a checkerboard pattern.Some compare this fungus canker disease that is killing all species of cypress, to the animal disease foot and mouth of cattle, sheep, pigs, deer and others. This is because both diseases are not curable, and the only useful action is to eradicate and burn to kill the disease organisms. Burning would need to be done under a council burning permit.
Why does it all matter? Well, picture a large Christmas tree which is dead, or patchy dead and dying. Obviously it is potential fire fuel. Now picture a planted row of tall cypresses with a big bulky wide growth of 15 to 20 metres (45 feet to 55 feet) in height. Such growth situations would be a potential massive fire fuel load and very dangerous adjacent to homes or along roads or streets.
Many regional council cypress rows along a road/street would cause the closure of that road/street for many hours. There are many examples like that along our regional roads and streets. We need to appreciate that a row of dead/dying large cypress trees would be a massive fire fuel load compared to a dry grass patch.
The Royal Commission strongly recommended as a result of the Narre Warren South fires on Black Saturday that quickly destroyed seven homes in an hour, due to four-feet high dry grass, up against backyard wood fences connected to sides of houses, wood fences under houses and wood eaves that all fuel fire on property boundaries must be removed.
I know this is true because I put in a detailed submission on Narre Warren South fires on Black Saturday. I personally interviewed many of the owners of the destroyed homes at Narre Warren South. My recommendation to remove all fire fuel along boundaries was fully, strongly adopted.
The Agricultural Department says dead tree material in chipped mulch carries the canker fungus and buying/using it spreads the fungus spores whose botanical name is Seiridium sp. Does the public need more information about this? Should public information meetings be held to promote public information? Would you like Monash University, the Berwick CFA, Casey Council and others to hold information meetings? Is more leadership needed on this problem? Should cypress be permitted to be planted on boundary lines and roads in future?
The environmental scientists at the CFA say many, from Bass Coast to Geelong, are dying in Wonthaggi, Korumburra, Bayles, Phillip Island, Narre Warren North and Harkaway, in massive rows up to half a kilometre long. Massive numbers along roads, almost equal to a huge oil ship, are along roads like Rowallan Avenue. Dead cypresses are a huge fire danger.
Syd Pargeter,
Harkaway.