Firefighters unite in burn off

The City of Busselton has made headway with its bushfire mitigation program with a controlled burn in Dunsborough this week.

About 8ha of Hanson Reserve had its fuel load reduced in partnership with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services on Wednesday.

Community emergency services officer Tim Wall said crew from Yallingup Rural, Yallingup Coastal, Dunsborough, Sussex and Vasse bushfire brigades attended.

“Hanson Reserve has not had a fire for 29 years so the fuel load was massive, ” Mr Wall said.

“We’ve burned a 40m buffer around the edge — next year or the year after we’ll burn inside that.

“There is some very rare flora and fauna in here so we needed to be careful hence the time of year we’ve done the burn.

“It was a clean burn, with not too much flame height and we’re really happy with the outcome.”

Mr Wall said Wednesday’s burn backed up recent burns in Dunsborough at Marri Reserve and parts of Armstrong Reserve.

“I’m happy with where we are with the City’s burn program – we’re on target, ” he said.

“We receive phone calls from people about bushfire hazards, but we have to risk assess and prioritise.”

Mr Wall said future burns included Bayview Crescent in Dunsborough and Yungarra Drive in Yallingup.

Weather permitting, burns could go on until December but this window could close at anytime, Mr Wall said.

He said Wednesday’s burn was also a useful training exercise for fire crews.

“With all the burns we’re doing now, we’re getting new fire fighters to pair up with more experienced ones, ” he said.

“We treat it like a real incident. It’s a useful opportunity to update our skills.”

Mr Wall said he was disappointed with the amount of litter and rubbish found in Hanson Reserve.

“Furniture, tyres … I’m astounded by the amount people have dumped, ” he said.

“What’s the point in having these reserves if we don’t look after them?”

He said the burns would make it harder for dumping to occur.

Visit www.infogo.com.au/bdt and click GO!Extra for more.