More ask questions about Cresta Lodge Fire

This is an article I found tonight ,from The Border Mail dated Jan 17

Outrage at Cresta loss
By BRAD WORRALL
THESE exclusive pictures show the intensity of the blaze that destroyed Cresta Lodge last month — a fire some in the local community claim was the result of negligence.
But they don’t expect that will be the conclusion of a CFA report to be released this week.
Yesterday a spokesman for The Friends of Mt Buffalo, Leigh Kennedy, said the report was more likely to raise more questions than it answered.
“We want to know why the lodge was left unattended for more than two hours when there was fire nearby,” he said.
“Who authorised pulling the firefighters and equipment off the hill?
“Why was there a bulldozed containment line put in around the Parks Victoria offices 9km away but not around the lodge?
“And why have the investigators not interviewed members of the Ovens CFA crew that were first on the scene? We doubt that any of these questions will be answered by the report.”
Cresta Lodge, adjacent to Mt Buffalo’s only ski field, burned to the ground on the morning of December 12.
DSE, CFA and Parks Victoria crews had spent the previous afternoon back-burning around the lodge and patrolled the property overnight.
Mr Kennedy said he understood that the DSE crew who had patrolled Cresta Lodge the previous night had left the area about 7.30am.
“It was a cold change-over and no one went out to the lodge for at least two hours,” he said.
“Parks Victoria didn’t even tell the lodge management it was unattended.
“But at the same time they were expecting embers and spot fires on the northern grassy slopes near the lodge.
“We believe the report will say the lodge was destroyed by a rogue wildfire, but all the evidence points to it being the result of an ember which could have been easily prevented had there been a crew on site.”
Yesterday the CFA said the report had been completed and handed to DSE.
There is no indication of when the report will be released to the public or lessees of the lodge.
The Friends of Mt Buffalo also drew parallels between the mismanagement of the Cresta Lodge fire and the dispute that threatens to close the historic chalet on the mountain.
“We feel that Parks Victoria would like nothing better than to get rid of all accommodation in the national park,” Mr Kennedy said.
Mt Buffalo Chalet closed its doors earlier this month as part of an ongoing dispute into its lease with Parks Victoria.

-------------------------------

Fires add to Mt Buffalo’s uncertain future, Jan 24
No reprieve for chalet
THERE will be no last-minute rescue for Mt Buffalo Chalet.
Yesterday Burbank’s Eddie Sanfilippo confirmed the chalet would be mothballed next Wednesday.
The co-founder of the major property developer that has leased the historic tourist icon since 2004 said it would be months before the future of the chalet will be known.
And he didn’t rule out simply walking away from the lease.
Mt Buffalo Chalet closed its doors as an accommodation house earlier this month as part of an ongoing dispute into its lease with Parks Victoria.
Its tea rooms had remained open.
“There are certainly no negotiations or meetings planned for this week,” Mr Sanfilippo said.
“As it stands the chalet will close completely on January 31.
“Sometime after that we will talk with Parks Victoria and DSE about what can be done, what can be resolved.
“It is fair to say that our thinking has changed since Cresta Lodge was burnt down.
“A fair part of the mountain’s revenue stream has been lost, possibly forever.”
Last year, Burbank had announced it would close the chalet if it could not reach an agreement on getting electricity to the mountain and extend its lease.
They instructed staff to look for alternative employment from the end of February.
But the bushfire-led downturn in tourism and the loss of Cresta Lodge in the fires accelerated the closure.
Mr Sanfilippo said recent events had left the company questioning its commitment to Mt Buffalo.
“I don’t know what the future will bring for the mountain,” he said.
“The loss of the lodge has hit us in the guts, we spent $3.5 million to refurbish it.
“We have run Mt Buffalo at a significant loss since we took over — tourism is hard work.
“But when we took on the lease we were under no illusions, we realised it would not be a big money-spinner, our decision to take on the lease was partly sentimental.
“But with the fires, the downturn in visitors and the uncertainty of whether we can rebuild at Cresta we really don’t know what the future holds.
“One option would be just to walk away.”
But Mr Sanfilippo is not blaming anyone.
“Everyone is working in the best interests of Mt Buffalo,” he said.

------------------------

International firefighters are being paid $A600 a day to fight bushfires ravaging the Australian state of Victoria as overworked volunteer crews pay their own way, the Australian firefighters' union says.
United Firefighters Union state secretary Peter Marshall said on Wednesday he was "gobsmacked" to receive a leaked document showing government firefighting agencies were paying international crews to aid local workers.
Dozens of professional firefighters from the United States, Canada and New Zealand have bolstered the attack against the bushfires since they erupted almost two months ago.
The leaked document, from the Department of Sustainability and Environment and Country Fire Authority (CFA) to members of the Australasian Fire Authorities Council, shows these firefighters are being paid $A600 a day, on top of having their flights and accommodation paid for.
Mr Marshall said in contrast, CFA volunteers were sacrificing pay and footing their own bills to help protect Victorians.
In addition, more than 800 off-duty paid Metropolitan Fire Brigade and CFA firefighters were sitting idle waiting to be called on, he said.