Fire at Eagle Hawk

Jivrashia said :

c_c™ said :

ACT pumpers sent to Cooma and Quenbeyan yesterday, would have left urban Canberra a bit vulnerable.

We’re tentatively okay for the time being I think… (taps wood)

ESA News Alert – 11:50am Wednesday 9 Jan 2013

An aerial reconnaissance flight was conducted this morning over Sentry Box, Rendezvous Creek, Mount Ginini and the general area of the Namadgi National Park and no fires were found.

The ACT Rural Fire Service will continue with aerial observation flights over the next few days to ensure that no fires go unnoticed.

You know there’s a reason I specifically said ‘urban Canberra’. The pumpers are for urban fires and road rescue. Minimum two pumpers have to respond to a house fire, so with three out of Canberra already and another three sent up north…

Not disputing their decision, if they thought that’s what they needed then that’s what they needed. Just odd with such a big response, no word on what actually happened.

Roundhead89 said :

Nowadays whilst driving through Eagle Hawk on the way to and from Sydney I often wonder how the area would look now if my late father and uncle’s plans had gone ahead.

Exactly like it looks now, but with poker machines?

c_c™ said :

ACT pumpers sent to Cooma and Quenbeyan yesterday, would have left urban Canberra a bit vulnerable.

We’re tentatively okay for the time being I think… (taps wood)

ESA News Alert – 11:50am Wednesday 9 Jan 2013

An aerial reconnaissance flight was conducted this morning over Sentry Box, Rendezvous Creek, Mount Ginini and the general area of the Namadgi National Park and no fires were found.

The ACT Rural Fire Service will continue with aerial observation flights over the next few days to ensure that no fires go unnoticed.

Ah, Eagle Hawk. It could have been entirely different if my father had his way. In 1970 when we moved here, my father and uncle owned restaurants and like many in this city were disturbed at how the Queanbeyan Leagues Club had the monopoly on poker machines in this region and was a gold mine as a result with a ten-year waiting list for membership. Pokies were only legal in NSW at that stage so they formed a consortium which intended to establish a rival club and stock it with pokies just over the border where Eagle Hawk is now.

The plans were submitted to the old Yarrowlumla Shire Council and – because it involved poker machines – had to be approved by the NSW Government. They rejected the proposal.

Of course we all know what happened a few years later. In 1976 pokies were introduced into the ACT and it was open slather from then on. Eagle Hawk was finally developed – sans pokies – in the early 1980s.

Nowadays whilst driving through Eagle Hawk on the way to and from Sydney I often wonder how the area would look now if my late father and uncle’s plans had gone ahead.

Strange that ESA is saying resources are being released and a pumper is remaining on scene without saying anything about damage or what actually happened at the resort.

Sending that many resources is a fairly large response, and with ACT pumpers sent to Cooma and Quenbeyan yesterday, would have left urban Canberra a bit vulnerable.