Modernised Fire Mitigation Program
An opportunity exists to modernise fire management in the Kinglake area in response to recent peer-reviewed science.
Kinglake Friends of the Forest Inc. have commissioned fire behaviour scientist and former remote area firefighter Adj. A/Prof Philip Zylstra to prepare a Modernised Fire Mitigation Program for the Kinglake area. Read the full report here.
Broadscale burning of forests is an outdated practice that is ineffective in reducing bushfire risk to our community.
It is causing huge damage to biodiversity, the climate and human health.
Yet Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) plans to burn 25,000 ha of forest in the Kinglake - Tallarook - Marysville area within the next 3 years.
Analysis of Departmental mapped fire histories for the forests covering the Kinglake area has shown that fire promotes a pulse of increased flammability as forests regrow. This means that planned burning may create a short-term advantage, but then impose a long-term increase in fire risk.
The forests in Kinglake and surrounds that burned in 2009 are now past their peak flammability and according to the latest modelling will reach a lower-than-average state of flammability by approximately the year 2028. As a matter of priority, these forests should be protected from fire over the next 4 years until they reach this state. Fire risk will continue to decline after this point, creating a broad landscape of reduced fire risk.
