With the opening of the spring firewood season last Sunday, the locations where firewood can be collected have been announced.
There are three locations in the Wimmera -
  • Wail - Broken Dam
  • Wallup - Barrett Flora and Fauna Reserve
  • Lubeck - Brynterion Plantation
Broken Dam can be accessed by four-wheel drive vehicles via Nursery Road; the Barrett Flora and Fauna Reserve is located at the corner of Barrett and Dogwood Roads and is suitable for two-wheel drive vehicles in dry weather only, and Brynterion Plantation is also four-wheel drive access only.

These firewood collection areas open for Spring firewood collection season on 1 September and will close on 30 November, and currently, none are affected by any road closures.

There are no planned burning activities planned for the first two, but there is a burn planned for the Brynterion Plantation at some point during the collection period, and it may be closed at short notice as a result.

Further details on firewood collecting can be found in this article.
Firewood Collection Rules -
  • Only collect firewood from within a designated domestic firewood collection area and during a domestic firewood season.
  • Only collect fallen or felled trees.
  • Do not collect more than 2m3 per person per day. Note: 1m3 is approximately a 1.8m (6’) x 1.2m (4’) trailer of split firewood neatly stacked to a height of 0.5m (20”).
  • Do not collect more than 16m3 per household per financial year.
  • It is illegal to sell firewood collected from domestic collection areas or to use the wood in a commercial enterprise.
  • Heavy vehicles (> 4.5 tonne GVM) (including any trailer) must not be brought into or used in a domestic firewood collection area.
  • Heavy machinery (e.g. a bulldozer, crane, excavator, forwarder, hydraulic log splitter, saw bench, skidder, skid steer loader and tractor) must not be brought into or used in a firewood collection area.
  • Do not tow or winch fallen or felled trees along the ground.
  • Do not collect firewood within 20m of a watercourse.
  • Do not drive your vehicle off formed roads or tracks.
  • Do not cut, break off or damage standing trees or shrubs (living or dead).
  • Do not take away fallen or felled trees that are visibly hollow or growing moss or fungi with a coverage of >50%.
  • Do not damage, disturb or destroy native flora and fauna.
  • Do not injure, damage, deface, desecrate, destroy or remove cultural heritage sites and artefacts.
  • Take all litter with you when you leave.
  • Do not enter the forest on days of Code Red Fire Danger rating.
  • Do not use chainsaws on days of Total Fire Ban.
  • Use only chainsaws fitted with a proper exhaust and spark arrester.
  • Only refill chainsaw oil and fuel on an impermeable surface.