A NSW government-approved hazard reduction burn on March 20 caused potentially millions of dollars in damage and devastated multiple vineyards.
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The "catastrophic" fire damage comes five years after the Black Summer bushfires swept through the Southern Highlands region in NSW and left the local industry reeling when smoke and fire destroyed their grapes
Anton and Mark Balog, of Mittagong's Artemis Wines, and Cherry Tree Hill general manager David Lorentz, from Sutton Forest, said they pleaded with the government and politicians to change their plans for a hazard reduction burn at Joadja Hill mere weeks before the Highlands' cold-climate industry was due to harvest.
They contacted the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), NSW Environment and Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe, and the NSW National Parks director David Crust, the winemakers said.
They said they were given two days' notice of the government's intention to burn and estimate the financial implication across the industry to be in the millions.
When these concerns were put to Ms Sharpe and the department, they said the burn was identified as "high priority by the Southern Highlands District Bush Fire Management Committee".
"If the burn had been postponed, there was a high probability it may not have been completed this hazard reduction season due to cooling conditions," a NSW DCCEEW spokesperson said on Monday, March 24.
Industry begged the government to reconsider plans
On Tuesday, March 18 Mr Lorentz sent an email to Ms Sharpe marked "urgent".
"If this burn goes ahead and the winds are not favourable, I could potentially lose my whole crop, which is 60 acres of grapes, all of which is still on the vine," he said.
"This burn could be absolutely catastrophic for my business, I cannot afford to lose a vintage.
"Even if you could give us one or two more weeks to try to get our fruit off (the vines). This business is my whole life and if this burn goes ahead (there is) a possibility that I will lose it," Mr Lorentz said.
Call for government assistance fell on deaf ears
Mr Lorentz received no response to his email, so the following day he wrote again.
"Since writing ... I have spoken to many people from RFS and national parks including ... director David Crust. Everyone has been sympathetic to my situation, but unfortunately, the burn has gone ahead," he said.
"Today (March 19), the northeasterly winds shifted to northerly, and early in the afternoon, we had significant smoke at Cherry Tree Hill.
"My entire vineyard has possibly been affected by smoke, and I will have to send every variety to get tested for taint."
He told Ms Sharpe and the department the situation was "soul-destroying".
"My staff and I spend the entire year attending to every fine detail in order to grow and harvest the best possible fruit," Mr Lorentz said in his email.
"This fruit then gets made into amazing wine that we pride ourselves in ... If there is any taint at all in my fruit, I will not be able to make wine this year. Apart from the opportunity cost of losing a vintage, there are so many other costs that my business will endure that are not so obvious.
"I understand that it is necessary to backburn, but surely there could be a compromise to ensure all of the vineyards in the Southern Highlands can either pick (the) fruit when it is ripe or at least be given enough notice to put some damage control in place," he wrote.
Every vineyard in the Southern Highlands has fruit on the vines in March.
Communication could have saved the harvest
Emails continued to fly in one direction from the Southern Highlands' wine producers to Ms Sharpe and the department on Friday, March 21.
Mr Lorentz said he asked the national parks director, Mr Crust, to stop the burn. He said he was told the fire risk outweighed the impact of smoke taint to the industry.
During one phone call, Mr Lorentz says he asked for Mr Crust to communicate with him if the hazard reduction burn was to be discontinued, because that decision would underpin his plans to harvest early using machines as opposed to hand-picking his grapes.
The burns stopped, but Mr Lorentz said no communication was forthcoming so he made the decision to harvest early using machines.
A department spokesperson said: "There was no decision to stop burning. The burn was scheduled for two days and completed within that time.
"NPWS (National Parks and Wildlife Service) can confirm it spoke to a concerned grape grower before (and after) the burn to explain the priority of the operation to ensure the safety of all neighbouring communities, and to provide reassurance about the wind and smoke forecast modelling relevant for the grower," the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Artemis Wines was also sending similar emails, calling for the hazard reduction to be rescheduled and communication around the burn timeframe.
"Smoke taint renders grapes unusable for wine production, and in this respect, a controlled burn can be as damaging as a bushfire," Anton and Mark Balog wrote to Ms Sharpe's office.
"We are still recovering from the 2020 bushfires and are particularly concerned that this decision was made despite the millions of dollars in state government loans provided to affected farmers and growers through the RAA (Rural Assistance Authority) in 2020.
"As a result of the burns that have just started, growers are now forced to desperately strip grapes from their vines in an attempt to salvage them," they said.
Confusion around consultation process
The Artemis Wines brothers and Mr Lorentz all say they were only informed of this burn two days prior, despite it being planned for some time.
"This lack of communication with impacted wineries is unacceptable," Anton and Mark Balog wrote to the minister.
However, in their statement, the department spokesperson claims consultation was undertaken with grape growers via a representative from GROW on the Southern Highlands Bush Fire Management Committee.
"This consultation started months before the planned burn and continued with a meeting held on the Friday before the burn commenced, with no issues raised," the spokesperson said.
But the wineries claim this is where the consultation fell apart.
GROW was approached for a response.
Department doubles down on hazard reduction
"The Joadja Hill hazard reduction burn ... has been previously postponed twice due to conditions," the department spokesperson said.
"The burn provides important protection for adjoining landholders and Southern Highlands communities including Mittagong, Welby and Berrima.
"NPWS is committed to consulting with neighbours and stakeholders to work with them to minimise impacts where possible of these activities undertaken to protect public safety and property," the department spokesperson said.
Joadja Hill hazard reduction 'tactical'
Rural Fire Service district manager, Supt Daniel Osborne, told Southern Highland News the opportunities to conduct hazard reduction burns were getting smaller due to weather and climate conditions.
He is the executive officer for the Southern Highland Bush Fire Management Committee.
"We consciously take every opportunity to reduce the risk of bushfire across our landscape," Supt Osborne said.
"As part of the bushfire risk planning process, which is the planning document that the Bush Fire Management Committee develops, the burn located at Joadja Hill was an extremely high priority."
That's because it is a strategic location for bushfire risk reduction, according to Supt Osborne.
"It provides protection for a number of nearby localities including the Belangalo Valley, Medway, Berrima and right up to Mittagong," he said.
"It's far broader in context than just the immediate area."
Sally Foy
I've been a journalist working for regional communities spanning southern NSW for the past two decades. I am also a mother and advocate for children with a disability and epilepsy.
