The parable of Gospers Mountain

On 15^th January we were informed that:

Desperate efforts by firefighters on the ground and in the air have saved the only known natural grove of the world-famous Wollemi pines from destruction during the record-breaking bushfires in NSW.

The rescue mission involved water-bombing aircraft and large air tankers dropping fire retardant. Helicopters also winched specialist firefighters into the remote gorge to set up an irrigation system to increase the moisture content of the ground fuels to slow the advance of any fire.

"It was like a military-style operation," NSW Environment and Energy Minister Matt Kean told the Herald. "We just had to do everything."

The National Parks and Wildlife Service, backed by the Rural Fire Service, kept their efforts largely a secret to avoid revealing the location of the Wollemi pines.

With fires still burning out of control in southern NSW and VIC, Peter Hannam of Sydney Morning Herald added that:

All up, fires in NSW have scorched about 5.2 million hectares, with estimates of national wildlife losses from this season's bushfires topping one billion animals nationally.

Thank heavens for Bob Carr, child oracles and Extinction Rebellion!