HISTORIC cattle huts on the Bogong High Plains and near Mount Hotham have been wrapped in a fire-retardant material in a pre-emptive effort to protect them from bushfire.
Fire crews at Falls Creek wrapped the historic Wallace’s Hut and Cope Hut in a material known as Firezat – a foil-like cover with Kevlar backing - a fortnight ago and at Mount Hotham last week, Spargo’s Hut, which stood through the 1939 and 1944 fires, was also wrapped beyond recognition.
The heritage-listed iconic Wallace’s Hut, built by three Wallace brothers in 1889, is one of many bush huts constructed by cattle musterers, fishermen, miners, loggers, forest rangers and, more recently, ski and bushwalking groups that are scattered across the Alpine National Park.
Following the devastating 2003 fires, when 29 huts were lost in the Alpine National Park alone, the Victorian High Country Huts Association (VHCHA) invested in the material to avoid further devastation.
President of the VHCHA Allen Skilten said buildings such as Wallace’s Hut were important buildings to protect, particularly after losing a total of 53 huts across the state to fire since 2003.
“We’ve been storing some Firezat material in Mount Beauty for a few years, and right now wrapping the huts is about protection – there’s no direct threat to them at the moment, but we need to be sure,” Mr Skilten said.
“This is the start and we’re expecting there’d be more to wrap if the need arises.”
At Mount Hotham, crew also rolled out more than a dozen of their snow-making machines ahead of last weekend’s severe fire conditions.
The snow guns will be aimed over critical infrastructure to shoot a mist over buildings to protect them from ember attack.
