The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is gearing up for a season of prescribed burns to help manage the State’s bushfire risk.
Announcing the program, Director of Fire Management at NPWS, Fiona Gill said a total of 43 burns were scheduled for this autumn when mild weather conditions are more favourable, following a successful spring 2021 program with 47 burns completed.
Ms Gill said the prescribed burning program would respond to seasonal weather patterns, rather than set dates.
“The fire management team will work with industry groups and stakeholders, such as grape growers and winemakers, to ensure harvests are not impacted by prescribed burns,” she said.
“NPWS takes opportunities to burn as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.
“Autumn is a time when larger, unbounded burns in more remote parks will go ahead as the cooler overnight temperatures and increasing relative humidity help suppress the fire.
She said that by creating strategic, low bushfire hazard areas in the landscape, on reserves and at some strategically chosen private land, the autumn program would help manage the intensity and extent of future bushfires while providing safer access for firefighters.
Ms Gill said the season’s first prescribed burns started last Thursday (10 March) in Lincoln National Park and continued on Friday (11 March) at Leslie Creek in Wilpena Pound in Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, in partnership with Adnyamthanha Traditional Owners.
She said prescribed burns were carried out by NPWS in partnership with the Country Fire Service (CFS), ForestrySA, SA Water and Landscape Boards.
“The program of burns are part of a rolling three-year program and extra burns are planned which gives us flexibility to move burns to another season or year according to the conditions,” Ms Gill said.
Further information on prescribed burns, including a location map, can be accessed at this PS News link.
