Hazard Reduction

Hazard Reduction burnThe Willoughby City Council Hazard Reduction Strategy considers the bushfire environment, risks, management strategies, prescribed burning, local priorities and the cooperative agreements outlined by the Bushfire Management Committee. By taking into account these factors, the committee approves a plan to best manage fire risk in Willoughby.

The objectives of Willoughby’s Hazard Reduction Strategy are to:

  • Reduce the number of unplanned fires caused by humans.
  • Suppress unplanned fires.
  • Minimise the potential for the spread of bushfires within, from or into the reserves.
  • Protect people and property in or next to the reserves.
  • Manage fire regimes to avoid the extinction of all species that occur naturally.
  • Protect all Aboriginal sites, history places and culturally significant features known to exist from fire.

The Bushfire Management Committee involves Hunters Hill, Lane Cove, Ryde & Willoughby councils. The committee includes members from the NSW Fire Brigade and National Parks, and is required by the Rural Fires Act 1997.

The strategy is prepared in accordance with the following policies and Acts:

  • Bushfires Act (1949)
  • Department of Urban Affairs and Planning Circular C10 – Planning in Fire Prone Areas
  • Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (1979)
  • Heritage (Amendment) Act (1979)
  • National Parks and Wildlife Act (1974)
  • Occupational Health and Safety Act (1983)
  • Rural Fire Services Act (1997)
  • State Environmental Planning Policy 19 – Bushland in Urban Areas (1986)
  • Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995)

Hazard Reduction Program 2012

Willoughby’s Bushfire Management Team is currently implementing the pdf format Willoughby City Council Hazard Reduction Program 2012 (10.31 KB).

To ensure a safe and successful hazard reduction burn, weather conditions need to be suitable. This includes air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and fuel moisture. When these conditions are not suitable such as high air temperatures and strong winds, the fire can be difficult to control and present a very real threat to life and property. When the fuel moisture is high the fuel won’t burn properly and the hazard reduction won’t meet the management objectives in reducing the desired amount of fuel. Therefore, due to the importance of weather conditions and constraints, the number of suitable burn days can be quite minimal.