Fraser Island-K gari returning to former glory six months after monstrous bushfire
ThuThursday 15
updated Yesterday at 11:33pm
ThuThursday 15
AprApril 2021 at 11:33pm
Much of the northern section of the island, where the fire started, is showing signs of real recovery.
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Visiting the most northern-most beaches of Fraser Island-K gari, it s hard to tell there was ever a bushfire, let alone one that tore through 87,000 hectares of the World Heritage Site.
Trees have shed their layers of blackened bark, sprouting new growth much to the delight of campers. It s nice and green and rejuvenated, it s fantastic, visitor Nick Parry said.
Jan Lindbergs had never seen rain like it. A relentless wall of water teeming down so hard it saturated everything, even the inside of the State Emergency Service dual cab ute that led a response convoy from Mackay to Townsville a week after Tropical Cyclone Yasi crossed the coast on February 3, 2011. An experience the SES Mackay Regional Unit deputy local controller north will never forget but one that has forged her will to continue volunteering. Mrs Lindbergs did two deployments to help clean up and rebuild after Yasi crossed; first to Ingham and Abergowrie, then on to Cardwell. It was an experience steeped in lessons on the human will to rebuild but also in solidifying the place SES crews have in the hearts of Queenslanders.
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Even though 10 years have passed, SES Area Controller of the Capricornia region Patrick Downing still remembers the chaos of having to evacuate Theodore during the 2010-11 Queensland floods.
On Christmas Day in 2010, Cyclone Tasha crossed the northern Queensland coast and brought disaster to every river system south of the Tropic of Capricorn, and as far west as Longreach and Charleville.
The flooding engulfed Central Queensland towns Alpha, Jericho, Theodore, Emerald and Rockhampton.
There was a mandatory evacuation for Theodore on December 29, 2010 â the first in Queenslandâs history.
In addition to the Theodore evacuation, the Queensland floods also impacted Rockhampton, with the Fitzroy River peaking at 9.2m.