Fire trail improvements to boost mountain safety

Published on 03 December 2020

A critical firefighting and evacuation route on kunanyi / Mount Wellington will receive a major upgrade from next week, boosting safety for all mountain visitors and the residents below.

Work will start next week to upgrade the 4km Big Bend fire trail, with a 20 tonne excavator to be brought on site 1000 metres above Hobart

The $250,000 upgrade is jointly funded by the City of Hobart, the City of Glenorchy and TasWater as an important safety project that will also benefit recreational visitors to Wellington Park.

"Having safe access points on the mountain are vital in protecting our city from bushfire,” Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said.

“We’re seeing more dry lightning strikes in the forest behind Hobart and Glenorchy and it’s predicted that the bushfire risk will continue rise as a result of climate change, so providing safe, fast and reliable access for firefighters to battle a firefront is a critical investment.”

Glenorchy Mayor Kristie Johnston said the trail was a particularly important one in the strategic fire management of the mountain.

“Firefighters used the Big Bend trail to fight last year’s Tom Thumb bushfire,” Ald Johnston said. “But its condition did hamper operations and highlighted the need for the upgrade.

“We’re hopeful that recent rains and a positive outlook for more rain to come means bushland will be wetter leading into this year’s bushfire season, but we always need to be preparing for worst-case scenario.”

Once the upgrade is complete, the trail will also provide an alternative emergency access route from the summit in the event of Pinnacle Road being blocked by a rock fall, fallen trees, or other incident.

The upgrade is part of the Hobart Fire Management Area Bushfire Risk Management Plan, which identified the Wellington Range as a high bushfire risk area. Works are aimed at reducing bushfire risk to Greater Hobart.

The fire trail upgrade will be undertaken in accordance with the approved Wellington Park Management Trust permit and Contract Environmental Management Plan, which were developed based on expert investigations into environmental and heritage values along Big Bend Fire Trail.

The works will include upgrading of the trail surface and improvements to drainage tough construction of table drains and culverts.  

The works are expected to take up to eight weeks to complete. For safety reasons the fire trail will be closed to the public during this time.