I’ve been back for another look at the Tabletop fire, which was started by a lightning strike on December 31, 2019. It went on to become an enormous blaze that threatened the village of Dinner Plain twice, and many houses in the Cobungra area. It also had significant ecological impacts, burning large areas that had been burnt previously, compounding the damage caused by earlier fires.

The most noticeable thing after a summer of growth (the last visit was pre summer – scroll down for images from November) was the incredible fields of tall grasses that now cover much of the burnt area. The growth has transformed the forest, and while it is lovely to look at, it hides the potential transformation of some of these forests away from snow gums to something else which is currently underway.

This is an update on my last visit in November 2020. The story is here.