Dolphin Sands residents rebuilding after devastating bushfire

Dolphin Sands residents have begun the long rebuilding process after a recent bushfire destroyed 19 homes in the community.

The fire, which occurred in early December, was caused by a registered burn that was not properly extinguished.

"Unfortunately, the landowner chose to cover the fire with sand, which has contained the heat in the ground and the uplift in wind has caused embers to come out of that," Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) deputy chief officer Matt Lowe said.

Robyn Moore, the secretary of the Dolphin Sands Community Association, decided to stay behind and defend her property once the bushfires started, even though her husband was on the mainland.

A couple of her friends who had to evacuate ended up joining her.

“When they came here, at that stage, I would have expected my property to be safe because the wind direction was from the northwest,” Ms Moore said.

“And then the wind shifted and started coming from the southwest.

“I said to the guys ‘we’ve got to go and protect the house.”

Ms Moore said she and her friends had to battle an ember storm while defending the house.

“We just kept hosing down and putting out the embers.

“Once the ember storm went, there was fire coming in from three directions.

“I really needed three people there because I would not have been able to deal with it on my own.”

The focus for Ms Moore and Dolphin Sands residents is now on recovering and rebuilding following the fire.

“We’re just tidying up our property and all the burnt vegetation,” Ms Moore said.

“We’ve levelled out some sand dunes to make them easier to maintain and have been doing a bit of replanting.”

Ms Moore said she had been having issues with Crown Land Services, who have control over the management of the coastal reserve at Dolphin Sands.

“They don’t do anything to maintain that land.

“I’ve had conversations with them over the years, saying that if a fire gets into the coastal wattle, it’s going to act as a wick and it’s going to spread the fire up the peninsula.

“And that’s exactly what happened on December 4.”

In her interactions with agencies that have authority over land at Dolphin Sands, Ms Moore said they had been completely indifferent.

“We are clearly in a highly bushfire-prone area.

“And when you have such indifference from the authorities, it’s just unconscionable considering we are a really high risk of bushfires.”

Ms Moore wants to see a permanent total fire ban enacted at Dolphin Sands.

Stephen Denman lost his property in the bushfire.

“It was a kick in the guts to start off with, and then once we were allowed in to see it in person, it's an even bigger kick in the guts,” Mr Denman said.

“But at least no one was hurt and we can rebuild.”

Mr Denman said a total fire ban for Dolphin Sands was not the answer.

“They’re talking grinders, barbecues and everything like that crap.

“You can’t stop life just because there was a bushfire.”

He also did not expect the TFS to support it either.

“The only way you can really save things is through fuel reductions,” Me Denman said.

“You've got to be removing vegetation.”

A state government spokesperson said community safety was its top priority.

“Situations are constantly being assessed as they develop, with the community informed at the earliest opportunity.

“All Government agencies continue to work with the local community about any concerns.

“Any concerns raised by residents will be considered.”

The government said it sympathised with the residents of the East Coast following the fire.

“Our thoughts are with the Dolphin Sands community at this time, particularly those affected homeowners.

“The Dolphin Sands community has incredible resilience and community spirit, which has been on full display during this time.”