Fire Management – 101.
Over the next week or so I will present some material about basic fire management based on my personal knowledge and 40 years’ experience as a Victorian forest manager, senior firefighter and incident controller. The topics covered include – There is a large body of scientific literature, technical reports and training manuals which capture the…
Fire Management – 101.Some important fire terms.
There is often confusion about the many terms used in firefighting. They often vary between States but are outlined in the AFAC glossary. Here are just a few. https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/glossary/?wordOfTheDay Fuel Reduction Burning. The planned application of fire to reduce hazardous fuel quantities, undertaken under prescribed environmental and fuel conditions within defined boundaries. (AKA Planned burning,…
Incendiaries.
Over many decades the Forests Commission used and developed a wide range of incendiary devices for its burning operations. These pyrotechnics included “strike anywhere” wax vestas, safety fusees, burning tyres dragged behind vehicles, humble drip torches, incendiary shotguns and mortars, flame throwers of various designs, blow torches, jellied petrol blivets wired up to electrical circuits…
Spot & Ted.
Spot and Ted Stabb became friends in the late 1980s during the days of the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands (CFL). Rob Chalwell (ex-Bright Forests Commission) told Ted that Spot had been looking very sad and lonely in the front window of the Lands Department Office at Bright for some years. Ted then rescued…
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Peter McHugh
Retiring in 2016 after nearly 40 years as a field forester and firefighter in Victoria I now find time to write about the forests and their rich history..
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The Working Forests – Volume 1.
The notion of The Working Forests sits at the very heart of traditional forest management and the long-term approach to sustainability. It conjures up an image of a continuous cycle of harvest and renewal, of balance and multiple use of a wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits, while growing, and protecting forests for the future.
This eBook comes in two volumes and aims to capture the story of Victoria’s State Forests from the earliest days of the Colony in the 1800s through to the present.
Volume 1 covers the period from colonisation of Victoria, through to roughly the end of World War Two.
Peter McHugh (2025).
The Working Forests – Volume 2.
The notion of The Working Forests sits at the very heart of traditional forest management and the long-term approach to sustainability. It conjures up an image of a continuous cycle of harvest and renewal, of balance and multiple use of a wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits, while growing, and protecting forests for the future.
This eBook comes in two volumes and aims to capture the story of Victoria’s State Forests from the earliest days of the Colony in the 1800s through to the present.
Volume 2 covers the period from World War Two to the present. But there are inevitable overlaps with some topics.
Peter McHugh (2025).
The 1983 Ash Wednesday Bushfires.
The 1982-83 Victorian Bushfire Season.
Including Ash Wednesday – 16 February 1983.
A forester’s perspective – Peter McHugh (2022).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 5.
Peter McHugh (2024).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 4.
Peter McHugh (2023).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 3.
Peter McHugh (2022).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 2.
Peter McHugh (2021).
Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria: A compilation of short stories. Series 1.
Peter McHugh (2020)
Forest Faces : Mysterious carved wooden faces of Gippsland’s forests and roadsides.
Peter McHugh (2021)
1965 Gippsland Bushfires : A reconstruction of events from February to March 1965
Peter McHugh (2020)
Copyright © Peter McHugh – 2022. All rights reserved.
This blog draws a selection of my original stories from a parrallel FaceBook Page.
Contact: theworkingforests@gmail.com
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 