Even if you live in suburbia you are not free of danger from fire, except perhaps in older, more densely built up areas.
Find Out MoreIf you live in a rural area or on the fringes of the city or a country town, you need to be pro-active ahead of each summer.
Find Out MoreWhat are we talking about here? Any land covered with forest or woodland on Crown land including national parks., state forest, nature reserves & miscellaneous reserves.
Find Out MoreThis website is based upon many years of hard-won field experience and on on-ground fire behavior research, followed by successful implementation of forest fuel management practices. Our information is based on fact, not unproven urban or academic theories. Although the focus of our website is Western Australia, our site has much relevance to the whole of Australia.
The site has two parts: the Home Page with overview information and directions to the site, as well as POSTs that are our opinions on current bushfire-related issues, and the PAGES section, under the headings set out above, that contain a wide range of information intended to be a resource for site visitors seeking to explore different aspects of the bushfire situation
Fire is an inescapable and hugely important part of the Australian environment. Not just because of the damage caused by bushfires, but also because fire is a critical factor in the management of virtually all types of land in Australia, even in suburbia.
Why are we bothered about all this? Because we have had a series of disastrous bushfires in Western Australia in recent years. Look at this list, which covers the period 2003-2016.
The critical factor in bushfire management is the fuel load, the amount of leaf litter, fallen twigs and shrub growth on an area. If fuel loads are kept within certain limits a bushfire will have minimal impact and will be easily (and safely) controllable.
The graph and table below show the situation in Western Australia in recent years - an increasing number of disastrous bushfires. These data are slightly out of date but will be updated for WA at the end of the 2019-2020 fire season. The graph demonstrates how a well designed and implemented fuel management system virtually eliminated large bushfires from 1961 to 1995. Following the Ferguson report of April 2016, major changes have been made to improve the system , but much work remains to be done.
The Howitt Society, Victoria's equivalent of the Bushfire Front in WA, is equally strong in advocating the benefits of prescribed burning. Here is an article from their latest newsletter on...
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