Firefighters hopeful of saving Fraser Island resort, unique rainforests

Professor Patrick Moss, a University of Queensland expert in ancient ecology, said that while large areas of the island were “fire adapted”, the rainforests around the Valley of the Giants and Central Station, along with its perched lakes (rainwater-fed lakes that sit on top of sand that’s been cemented together with decomposed vegetation) were of most concern.

“If the fire has gotten into those areas, that’s where it could do long-term damage,” Professor Moss said, pointing to the fire that tore through Binna Burra Lodge near the NSW border last year. “Rainforests don’t really burn.”

Professor Moss said the potential for such events to become more…