Call for trials to reduce bushfire intensityFriday 7 Nov 2014
Mr Hampton said, ‘For the second time in as many years the Blue Mountains are going up in smoke. With many authorities citing climate change as a driver of more and deadlier bushfires, it is vital that we look at all options for decreasing the fuel load. “The Australian Government allocated AU$15 million in the May budget to bushfire mitigation measures. I call on the Government to set aside AU$1.5 million of that fund to fund trials so we can ascertain if machinery removal can combine with the usual winter burn-offs to make a more dramatic impact on risk reduction.” A Deloitte Access Economics scoping study, commissioned by AFPA, found that removing fuel from as little as five per cent of a dangerously dense area could dramatically lessen the chances of out of control fires. The study found that if fuel reduction had occurred before last year's Blue Mountains fires for example, the blaze would have been far more manageable and saved NSW AU$34 million. The study also found major community benefits such as fewer days off work for those affected and reduced health impacts such as asthma. Mr Hampton said, ‘Every year at this time all over Australia, our bush fight-fighters prep their gear and keep the fire-trucks idling in readiness for the inevitable call out. But this is really akin to parking the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. It is past time we had a more rational discussion about reducing fuel load. Winter burn-offs are useful but are often limited because of their smoke impact on the community. “Australia should follow the lead of the United States. President Obama is midway through a decade long program of landscape restoration in public national forests, spending $400 million on reducing the density of the forest to create a more manageable environment and reduce the severity of wildfires”, said Mr Hampton. | ||
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