Roughly 9,000 hectares of public and private land will be targeted across South Australia as the Marshall Liberal Government begins the spring prescribed burn season to reduce the risk of bushfires impacting communities and the environment.
A total of 90 burns are planned across the state in spring 2021 and autumn 2022, which will be carried out by National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), in partnership with the Country Fire Service (CFS), SA Water and ForestrySA.
This follows a record 96 prescribed burns which were delivered in the 2020/21 season as part of the Marshall Liberal Government’s commitment to significantly increase fire hazard reduction.
Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said the first burns for spring 2021 took place last week on private land in the Adelaide Hills and on the northern Eyre Peninsula.
“Prescribed burns play an important role to reduce fuel hazards across the landscape which helps reduce the intensity and spread of a bushfire, helping protect property, save lives and provide safer areas for fire fighters to work from,” Minister Speirs said.
“They also play an important role in regenerating habitats for native plants and animals and are carefully planned to minimise environmental impacts. Locations are strategically chosen to help build a landscape-scale approach to manage the intensity and extent of future bushfires.
“The Marshall Liberal Government has committed a record $37 million over five years to significantly increase hazard reduction across the state as part of the $97.5 million response to the Keelty Review into the tragic 2019/20 bushfire season.”
Emergency Services Minister Vincent Tarzia encouraged landholders to work with the Government to reduce bushfire risk.
“It’s crucial we all work together to create a more bushfire resilient South Australia,” Minister Tarzia said.
“Protecting lives and property starts with prescribed burns season. Every South Australian has a responsibility to reduce fire hazards around their property, and now is the perfect time to prepare your bushfire survival plan for summer.
“If bushfires do break out, 25 new CFS trucks and 55 state-of-the-art thermal imaging cameras will be in action, delivered as promised by this Government, to keep volunteers safe on the front line.”
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a wetter than average spring, which could impact the State Government’s ability to complete all its planned burns this season.
The number of prescribed burns that can be safely and effectively completed in any season is always subject to a window of specific weather conditions and we will never burn unless we can achieve a safe and effective outcome.
They are part of an ongoing, rolling three-year program of bushfire mitigation that allows flexibility to move burns to another season or year according to localised conditions.
For the most up-to-date information on prescribed burns follow @SAENVIRWATER on Twitter.
A list of planned prescribed burns is available on the DEW website.
You can also subscribe for updates on NPWS prescribed burns straight to your inbox: www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/fire-management/stay-informed
