Had loads of it been planted as a cash crop or something?

Yes it's true. Eucalyptus don't resist so good to the fire as others autocnous trees and they tend to spread the fire much faster.
Of course it's one factor between many others.
They were planted because they grow fast and so one for the paper industry it's appealing.
On top of this considering the road withd and the fact they were planted on the road edges with high intensity winds made that road a hell.

Edited by Portuguese (20 Jun 2017 3.50am)