Outing to the Mount Lofty Fire Tower

 

On the afternoon of Sunday, 19th June, the Club was treated to a rare opportunity to climb to the top observation deck of the Mount Lofty Fire Tower. The tower is 34 metres high and offers spectacular views of the surrounding landscape in all directions. While the weather when we were there, was fairly cloudy with a misty haze in the far distance, on a clear day the view can extend to Kangaroo Island to the west, Monarto to the east, the Fleurieu to the south and beyond Two Wells to the north.

 

The tower is used for spotting fires on days of high or extreme fire danger during the summer months. Within the observation deck are various markings and pointers as well as a large topographical map which the crews use to determine the distance and bearing of any smoke or fires spotted. Details of sightings are passed on to the Country Fire Service, who then respond accordingly.

 

The tower commenced operation in 1982 and was initially manned by National Parks and Wildlife Service officers. The Country Fire Service took over responsibility for the tower in 1987, recruiting a paid staff of three fire spotters on a contract basis who between them maintained an eight hour watch for the entire Fire Danger Season from 1 December to 30 April. The spotting crew typically reported close to 200 sightings per season. In the mid-1990s a volunteer unit, Friends of Cleland, was established specifically to operate the fire tower in conjunction with the CFS.

 

Even though the weather was decidedly cold and windy, quite a number of club members attended, not wanting to pass by such a unique opportunity. The climb to the top, winding around the outside of the tower and up a fairly narrow staircase was exciting enough, but to brave these heights with a fierce wind of around 60 to 70 kmh trying to blow you off the edge, made for quite a "white knuckle" experience. For a few, it was unfortunately a little too scary, although some did make it about halfway before turning back. For those that made it all the way to the top, the panorama was absolutely fantastic and a great place for the happy snappers amongst us to take a number of excellent snapshots... once you got used to the swaying of the tower.

 

It took a while for everyone to have their turn as only a limited number could climb the tower at a given time, but the staff receiving the guests at the observation deck were great. We were treated with a lot of excellent information and explanations on how everything was run during the fire season. Our sincere thanks to Trevor for organising such a great outing and of course, our appreciation to all the members of the Friends of Cleland and the CFS for making it all possible.

 

Perhaps we could run this again during the calmer months? We'll see what we can do...

 

Gerry Paay