The Staaten River Wild river rangers answered the call for help recently following the devastation of Cyclone Yasi. The rangers provided assistance not only closer to home but also in the worse affected areas around Cardwell. Tully Heads The new Senior Ranger, Steven Wargent was employed in early February and his skills were tested early in his role when he had to coordinate the rangers’ response and quickly prioritised work tasks.
The Girringun Aboriginal Corporation provided a much needed camp ground and despite the last of electricity and water the young rangers set up camp and coordinate their activities. 25 Rangers from Burketown, Cooktown, Girringun and Ewamian all worked together in providing much needed help and back-breaking labour for 3 weeks. Much of the work involved cleaning up debris, chain sawing fallen trees and generally cleaning up. Ranger Coordinator, Mr Jimmy Richards said “it was an incredible feeling that we were really helping people”.
Friendly fire may seem an unlikely way to look at bushfires but it actually is the solution to a lot of wildfire problems. Whenever there is a major wildfire event, many people and a lot of equipment are gathered together and work tirelessly as a team to contain the fire before it does any more damage. A wildfire is bad for people, property and the environment.
