Chris Hardman
Chief Fire Officer, Forest Fire Management Victoria
BUSHFIRES are a natural part of the Victorian landscape, but with the right planning and action, we can reduce their impact on communities, the environment and critical infrastructure.
Right across the state, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) crews are working hard to reduce the risk and impact of bushfires through a combination of planned burning, non-burn bushfire risk management and strategic preparation.
Leaves, small branches, long grass and undergrowth can fuel bushfires making them faster, more intense and harder to control. Bushfire risk management helps reduce this danger by removing excess vegetation (or fuel), protecting communities, the environment and critical infrastructure.
Less fuel means it’s harder for a fire to start and spread, and easier for our crews to contain. That’s why last season we delivered bushfire risk management works across more than 109,000 hectares of public land.
The seasonal bushfire outlook for spring asks Victorians to prepare for an increased risk, particularly in the state’s west, but also the southern coast and areas around Melbourne. With low rainfall over the past 18 months, the outlook shows areas at increased risk stretching from the South Australian border across to Bendigo, the Otways, Melbourne including the Dandenongs and Yarra Valley and parts of south Gippsland.
As soon as favourable weather and forest conditions arrive, we’ll make sure all available resources are delivering planned burning and non-burn bushfire risk management works.
Our bushfire risk management program is underpinned by a significant body of scientific evidence, built over more than 35 years. We acknowledge bushfire science is continually evolving, and we continue to invest in research and the best available science to inform our bushfire risk management program.
We use science and modelling tools to choose the right time and approach for delivery of our bushfire risk management program in each location or landscape, combined with our understanding of the ecological needs of our forests and the plants and animals that depend on them.
Planned burning plays a key role in our work in reducing bushfire risk. It involves the careful use of low-intensity fire to reduce dry vegetation like leaves and small branches that build up over time and make forests more flammable.
Our crews look for opportunities to carry out planned burning throughout the year, and with drier conditions in parts of the state, we’ve already been able to deliver planned burns over winter, including at Anglesea Heath in the Great Otway National Park, Boggy Creek Nature Conservation Reserve, Gellibrand Bushland Reserve, Wilson Promontory and at Mountain Creek Education Area in Shelley.
In areas where planned burning isn’t suitable, such as near homes, on steep slopes or close to roads and towns, FFMVic uses non-burn bushfire management techniques. These include mowing and slashing long grass, mulching dense vegetation, targeted spraying of invasive weeds and maintaining public road networks in forests and reserves. Each method plays a vital role in reducing fuel loads and improving access for emergency services.
Over the coming weeks, you can expect to see our crews and contractors ramping up the mowing and slashing program. The timing of these works is important; if grass is slashed too early, before it has cured, it will only encourage regrowth.
Our top priority is to protect life, property and the environment from the risk of bushfires. While Victoria will always have bushfires, we want you to know that when fires happen, we are ready to respond. We have more than 1800 personnel on the frontline, including firefighters, fire lookout observers and fire support officers; firefighting equipment, including more than 500 ultralight tankers and close to 100 heavy tankers, and more than 50 aircraft contracted for the season ahead.
But being prepared for the bushfire season is a shared responsibility. While FFMVic crews are working hard on public land, all Victorians are encouraged to start cleaning up around their properties to help reduce bushfire risk in their own communities.
Visit our website to learn more about how FFMVic manages bushfire risk.
And to keep up to date on planned burns near you, sign up to receive notifications at Planned Burns Victoria or download the VicEmergency app.
