How to make a local bushfire emergency phone tree

How to make a local bushfire emergency phone tree

Coningham and Lower Snug has a population of 695 people in 314 dwellings. The community of Coningham and Lower Snug is situated on the south-east coast of Tasmania.

Distances are 8 km from Margate by road and 16 km from Kingston by road. The predominant landscape is houses scattered within bushland.The community classification is semi-rural.

The predominant vegetation types are dry eucalypt forest and woodland on gentle (5° – 10°) sloping terrain. The land tenure in the area is a mixture of private dwellings, state reserves and Kingborough Council land.

The dominant feature in the area is the Coningham Nature Recreation Area, which is managed by Parks and Wildlife Service.

Snug Volunteer Fire Brigade is the primary response unit for the area and it is supported by Margate and Channel Volunteer Fire Brigades.

The history of bushfires includes a fire in January 2008 in which the majority of the Coningham area was burnt, from Coningham Road to Benbows Road to the Channel Highway. Some fuel breaks are maintained by Parks and Wildlife Service along the northern and north-eastern perimeters of the Coningham Nature Recreation Area.

There are fire trails that provide good access to the recreation area and are maintained by Parks and Wildlife Service. The area was heavily impacted by the 1967 bushfires.

The area has a TFS Community Bushfire Protection Plan that specifies there is no identified suitable Nearby Safer Places (places of last resort) in the Coningham and Lower Snug area.

TFS advises that Coningham Beach and Montgomery Park Camp are unsuitable due to the dense vegetation at these places. During the consultation phase with residents in the protection planning stage, many people indicated they would seek shelter at Coningham Beach.

This site does not meet the TFS’s minimum criteria for a Nearby Safer Place (place of last resort).
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Lesley King, Community Development Officer South

For futher information, check out our "What is a Community Phone Tree Network" page