Victorian bureaucrats have approved the sale of 7,000 tonnes of windblown timber from the Wombat Forest after a five-year delay that has left most of the salvaged logs split and fit only for firewood, with the auction set to open to timber and firewood businesses on 26 May. It comes as Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) acting deputy chief fire officer Vincent White confirmed the windblown trees had sat on the forest floor since the 2021 storms before being stockpiled in an open paddock without water to prevent further splitting.
FFMVic has been pushing to clear the salvage for years, but the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has been holding back on sale approval due to concerns, as Peter Hunt reported in The Weekly Times, about political backlash from environment groups if log trucks were once again seen on Victorian highways. White said many of the fallen trees had been left in the forest to provide habitat and other environmental benefits, with removal limited to those needed to reduce bushfire and other safety risks.
“Many have been left in the forest to provide habitat and other environmental benefits,” White said.
The January 2025 fire near Barkstead exposed the operational cost of leaving the storm debris in place, with first-response crews needing to cut a path through fallen material before they could establish a control line around the blaze. White said the crews had taken roughly three times as long as usual to draw that containment line, which has hardened FFMVic’s position on the salvage backlog.
“It took first response crews three times longer than usual,” White said.
Timber and firewood businesses can register for the 26 May auction by emailing [email protected], with the resource now dominated by split material after five years of weathering on the forest floor and in open storage.
