What factors account for the difference outcome in 1985?
In 1985 there was a large work force of experienced firefighters in the forests. It included people working on hydro-electricity projects; tree fellers, sniggers and log carters employed by the timber industry; graziers; forest workers building fire access tracks, maintaining roads and tracks, and picking seed for forest regeneration and forest officers supervising forest licensees, forest works and planning autumn prescribed burning for forest regeneration and fuel reduction. That work force and the vehicles and equipment it used daily in the forests was immediately available on 14 January 1985. This work force was not available for fire fighting in January 2003.
