The bushfire in the north of the Byron Shire will remain active for some time and could flare up again suddenly, according to those fighting the blaze.
More than two weeks after the fire began in bushland behind the Byron Arts and Industrial Estate, a representative from the Main Arm rural fire brigade said it was now ‘in the peat’.
This means that while the immediate danger has passed, the fire is continuing to smoulder in the earth, a situation that is not uncommon for bushfires that have burnt for an extended period at high intensity.
The local fire brigade representative said that it was virtually impossible for the smouldering fire to be put out by humans.
‘Fires in this state continue to be active,’ he said.
‘They can pop up again like unwanted houseguests.’
‘Unless we get 60-70mm of rain we’ll need to stay vigilant.’
The representative said fire fighters were still active on the site, and would continue to be so for some time.
‘We’ll be using smaller trucks to get right in the forest there.’
‘It’s an opportunity for residents to revisit and look at their fire plans.’
Meanwhile the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital said it had seen some wildlife that was injured in the fire.
‘Last week, we treated some eastern long-necked turtles brought in by a member of the public from outside the fire zone, with smoke inhalation related illness,’ Dr Bree Talbot told The Echo.
‘They are currently in care’.
‘There was also a swamp wallaby, which had to be euthanised after trying to escape through barbed wire’.
‘We know that there are some macropods with burns still mobile, but access to the fire zone is still limited by the incident controller for safety reasons,’ she said.
‘It’s usually a couple of weeks after the fires that we see the real impact on wildlife’.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
