While the rain finally fell on Thursday, January 16, on some of the Australian regions plagued for several months by gigantic forest fires, officials announced on Wednesday that a secret mission had saved the last site's flames natural to the world of Wollemi pines, a prehistoric tree discovered in 1994.
Less than 200 of these protected trees still exist in their natural state, hidden in a gorge in the Blue Mountain, a mountainous area located northwest of Sydney and classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
"An unprecedented environmental protection mission" was carried out to save these trees, as the region was hit by one of the dramatic fires that hit the country, Environment Minister Matt Kean said in a statement Wednesday. from New South Wales, a state in south-eastern Australia where the largest blaze is located.
A species over 200 million years old
In late 2019, as the flames approached the protected area, Australian firefighters used water bombers to drop retardant in a protective ring around the pines. And specialized firefighters were hoisted in the throat where the trees are hiding to install an irrigation system to provide them with moisture, officials said.
"The fire went well in the area, we had several days of thick smoke so we could not know if they had been hit. We were all waiting anxiously," said Matt Kean on ABC radio, but finally "the operation was a phenomenal success".
The precious pines, a species over 200 million years old, were considered extinct until the site was discovered in 1994 in New South Wales in the Wollemi Natural Park, where their name.
The location of the pines, sometimes nicknamed "dinosaur trees", has been a well-kept secret to protect them from contamination by visitors.
Since their discovery, Wollemi pines have been distributed in botanical gardens around the world to preserve the species. But the gorge that has just been saved from fire is the only site where these trees are still found in their natural state.
And this site is carefully protected. "Illegal visits remain a threat to the survival of Wollemi pines in the wild due to the risk of trampling of new growth and the introduction of diseases that could devastate the remaining population," said Matt Kean.
"Good falls" of rain
Since October, Australian forest fires have left 28 dead, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and burned 10 million hectares, an area larger than that of South Korea or Portugal.
Nearly a billion animals may have died in the fires, and many species are now threatened with extinction, according to environmental organizations.
Aggravated by global warming, this seasonal crisis of forest fires has been fueled by particularly hot weather in recent months on the immense island continent, and the virtual absence of significant precipitation. And impatience did not stop growing lately among the population.
Thursday morning, "good rain" fell in the south-east of Australia, said the local weather office.
"It is a relief for firefighters working in New South Wales," said rural firefighters in a social media comment with a video showing rain falling on a forest. in fire.
"This rain will not put out all the fires, but it will help contain them."
Before the first drops, there were still around thirty fires out of control in this state which has Sydney as its capital.
With AFP
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