Grose Valley Aftermath

The road to Govetts Leap Lookout re-opened on the weekend and this four frame pano stitch was my first glimpse of what had happened to the Grose Valley during the fires. For weeks (even before the road had been closed) the valley had been filled with smoke so no one had any real idea what was happening apart from official online diagrams.

MUST SEE LARGE!!!

Oddly enough the nearby valley floor seemed largely untouched but the far floor approaching the northern escarpment has been badly laid waste (extra 1). Curiously it had been the other way around about a dozen or so years back. The foreground of trees seems to have recovered from that fire fairly well although it didn't seem like it was going to, at the time.

The far western side of the pano was very badly burned (extra 2). You can see the Pulpit Rock Walkway (normally obscured by trees) quite starkly against the ashes and some familiar trees quite close to the lookout and behind this viewpoint are destroyed. The infrastructure seems okay though.