by Aardvark » Fri 01 Nov, 2019 10:11 pm
I would definitely agree that if a sign was at Cleared Ridge, then there should have been one at Lower Portals Carpark and at Yellowpinch.
But regardless of how many access points you try to cover , you won't get them all and many people will ignore the signs anyway. The threat has to be very apparent or else they will just assume they will get away with it. When people have travelled a fair distance to go hiking it will take a lot to deter them.
When was the last time you saw people on the ground, turning people away from entering a park? That's what it would take to deter some people.
Myself included.
However, if caught out and a fire becomes a real threat, they will only have themselves to blame. They will have to accept responsibility. They will have to deal with the consequences. They may even get hurt or die.
We don't have the resources or the willpower in the community to wrap everyone in cotton wool, make everyone follow the rules or want to, consult websites and other forms of notification and so, people will do what they do.
Something has to be done, don't get me wrong. But it will only ever be a token effort. You can advocate all you want on a forum. It will change the thinking of some but you won't reach many.
Maybe a major catastrophe will have some significant effect. Massive body count perhaps. Sooner or later, it will quieten down and go back to where it is now.
Point is, fire is a real threat all the time when bushwalking. When on the ground you won't know how big it is and how big a threat it will be.
The real skill comes in knowing how big a risk it is before you leave home. Smart ones would seriously limit the amount of activity they undertake right now.
Dumb ones, and the occasional smart one taking a needless risk, will perhaps die. Oh well, that's life.
Ever on the search for a one ended stick.