Published works

Planned burning is one of the most utilised fuel management activities, but the safe application of this method is hindered by climate change (e.g. shrinking and shifting windows of opportunity) and adverse societal and environmental outcomes (e.g. smoke impact, risk of fire escape). For this reason, fire managers need access to detailed information to help them make informed decisions and select a fuel management strategy that is compatible with a range of factors.

This report focuses on the development and illustration of a general guidance framework that provides users with the information and knowledge they need to select suitable fuel management strategies for their particular circumstances, and hence assists them with preparing an effective fuel management plan. The framework is developed based on a review of literature and data collected from survey responses from local governments and their fire managers in Western Australia who conduct fuel management activities.

The framework provides information on a set of functions bushfire mitigation officers need to consider when developing fuel management plans for a range of fuel management techniques. The functions are divided into:

• specific drivers: timing of the activity (mainly linked to weather conditions and seasonality), terrain conditions (e.g. slope), landscape (e.g. vegetation, land use, soil type), presence of specific assets (e.g. residential developments, industrial developments, utility infrastructure, transport infrastructure, airports or cultural assets), presence of protected biodiversity elements, and other considerations;
• constraints, which can be linked to costs, benefits, and limitations (i.e. economic, social, environmental) related to the application of each fuel management activity; and
• resource availability, which can be connected to the equipment required to conduct mitigation activities or specific types of training.

The fuel management techniques include:

• mechanical fuel management techniques (forest thinning, scrub rolling / bush cutting, mulching, mowing / slashing, fire breaks and strategic access, parkland clearing); and
• other types of fuel management treatments (planned burning, pile burning, chipping, herbicide, grazing).

The utility of the framework is illustrated on two hypothetical scenarios, representing situations where a user would like to ascertain relevant attributes of a set of candidate fuel management techniques and where a user would like to identify the best fuel management technique for a given situation.