ALMOST 30 years on from a devastating wildfire that tore through Beerburrum and surrounds and razed 5000 hectares of forestry, trees planted in the wake of that catastrophic event are ready to be harvested.
The forestry, now owned by HQPlantations is set for a staged harvesting from this week with the view, especially from Wild Horse Mountain set to change completely for a generation used to seeing a green ‘mosaic’ of pine trees soaring from ground level with the majestic Glasshouse Mountains in the background.
HQPlantations’ Stephanie Hunt explained that the way plantations were designed had been forever changed following the 1994 fire in order to avoid a similar uncontrolled fire.
“We follow a mosaic pattern, where the trees mature at different stages,” she explained. “This acts as a form of protection against fire as it reduces the ability for fire to spread easily between plantations.”
Once transported to a local sawmill, the harvested timber will be transformed into structural timber used to build Queensland homes and businesses for generations to come. HQPlantations raises 10 million seedlings a year to maintain its annual planting program, with the species Southern Pine taking 25-30 years to mature.
GC&M News understands 5000 hectares of plantation were affected in the 1994 wildfire.
Public access to parts of Beerburrum Plantations will remain closed for most of the year as harvesting of the Glasshouse Logging Area gets underway, with Stephanie advising that the Glass House Logging Area is just one of over 25 logging areas in the Beerburrum Plantations.
The entire Plantations Licence Area from Moffatt Road and Johnston Road to the north, Red Road to the south, Steve Irwin Way to the west and the Bruce Highway to the east will be closed from February 27 to December 22, 2023, with HQPlantations also advising a smaller area north of Johnston Road will also closed for a shorter period of time.
The gravel section of Rapkins Road through the closure areas will be closed, with gazetted roads remaining open to be used to detour around the closure, with the exception of brief periods where traffic control will be in place. Neighbours who use these plantation roads for property access may be affected.
The closure is 24 hours a day, seven days a week and applies to all public access including to motor vehicle drivers and riders, cyclists, horse riders and walker, including people exercising dogs; only authorised forest workers can enter the closure area.
Main haul routes will be along Rapkins Road, Red Road and Johnston Road, and hours of operation in compartments adjacent to neighbours will be confined to 6am – 6pm.
HQPlantations advised that access to the Bora Ring during this period will also be affected and they are working with First Nations people to accommodate access when needed.
For further details and map of closure visit www.hqplantations.com.au
Image supplied (HQPlantations): Overlooking Glass House Logging Area
