The power of controlled burns [AU]Friday 3 Jul 2026
Shifting from suppression heavy to suppression and mitigation focused A central theme is the need to move away from reliance on suppression, which collapses under extreme weather and heavy fuels. Fuel reduction lowers fireline intensity, rate of spread and spotting, expands tactical options, improves firefighter safety and increases initialattack success. Fuel is the only determinant of fire behaviour that land managers can modify at scale and decades of research confirm that reducing fine fuels reduces intensity. Studies show that reducing biomass from 24 to 16 t/ha can halve the likelihood of large fires, and fuels younger than six years markedly mitigate intensity. Enhanced bushfire preparedness Preparedness across SE Australia remains inadequate due to very low prescribed burning rates (0.6–2% annually), these levels are insufficient to manage accumulating fuels. In contrast, SW Western Australia historically treated 6–8% of forest annually, maintaining 40% of bushland in fuels 0–5 years old and achieving strong reductions in wildfire extent. Longterm WA data show that when prescribed burning declines, uncontrolled bushfire area rises exponentially. Improved suppression efficiency Prescribed burning provides a decisive suppression advantage by modifying the fire environment before ignition. Lower fuel loads slow fires, reduce flame height, widen suppression windows and expand viable tactics. Case studies from Victoria, NSW, SA, Tasmania and ACT consistently show that fuelreduced areas slow or halt fires, reduce spotting, provide safer tactical positions and prevent fires from reaching towns. Safety and cost benefits Prescribed burning improves firefighter and community safety by reducing flame heights, moderating behaviour and creating safer access and escape routes. Case studies show prescribed burning reduces suppression costs by enabling quicker control, reducing resource needs, lowering reliance on aerial fleets and decreasing chemical suppressant use. The Dixie Fire example illustrates that proactive fuel management would have cost a fraction of the $700 million spent on suppression. Conclusions Across decades of evidence, prescribed burning consistently delivers decisive benefits for bushfire preparedness, suppression, safety and costeffectiveness. Fuel reduced landscapes slow fires, lower intensity, expand tactical options and protect communities and firefighters. To avoid repeating suppressiondominated failures, governments need to expand and stabilise prescribed burning programs and embed effective mitigation programs as core land management. View the full report Source & image credit: John O’Donnell  | ||
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