Student Julia Juchnicki won a competition to design the strategy’s cover. The strategy is out for public feedback. Photo: Supplied.
Greater community involvement in disaster planning, modelling impacts of bushfire smoke and more joint exercises might be on the cards for ACT firefighters.
They’re some of the action items proposed in the fifth version of the ACT Strategic Bushfire Management Plan (the draft SBMP).
The ACT Government first prepared the plan in the aftermath of the January 2003 fires. The latest version has now been released for public comment.
ACT Rural Fire Service A/g Chief Officer, Ken Hall, said the plan shaped how the ACT handled fighting fires and recovery in their aftermath.
“We know climate change is coming, we know technology is improving, and there’s so many things we need to adapt to quickly,” he said.
“The lifespan of a five-year plan can be very, very different from the start to the finish. We want to make our plan very adaptive to that.”
According to the plan, 93 per cent of bushfires (on average) were started by humans, be it by mistake or arson, and lightning was the most common natural cause of bushfires (1-5 per cent of ACT bushfires).
Mr Hall said the updated plan would chart the course for the Territory’s bushfire preparation and management over the coming years and look at bringing in new technologies.
The strategy’s goal is wide ranging.
“How do we use the technology that’s coming down towards us – with satellites, fire towers, early detection cameras, AI, all those areas?” he said.
The SBMP consists of two documents – a strategic plan and an implementation plan.
Its implementation plan has 17 outcomes, spanning categories of community preparation before a bushfire, firefighting capacity and resources, land management, research opportunities and disaster recovery.
Other sections of the report propose renewed efforts to better inform the community about bushfire risks and how they can prepare for future events.
“These are plans we develop to help build our resilience and how we move forward into that climate change area as we move into and build with the resilience of our communities. Because as fire services and fire agencies, we cannot do this alone.
“We need our community to be part of our resilience and know what to do when there are fires.”
MLA Marisa Paterson (second from left) wants the public to have their say about the bushfire management plan. Photo: Supplied.
For Nick Daines, senior director of Fire Management with ACT Parks and Conservation Service, getting the “balance right” is key.
He said the Territory faced a “growing urban edge and a growing population”, as well as impacts from climate change – all which needed to be taken into account during bushfire planning.
“Anywhere along that line, the community needs to be involved,” he said.
“We should find ways they could be better able to help with things, ways we could be more engaged with the community.”
Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services Marisa Paterson encouraged Canberrans to have their say.
“There’s been a significant amount of work put into this plan … and it’s really great to see it at a point where we can now have the discussion with the community about their views on the plan,” she said.
“It really is a very detailed paper on planning, preparedness, response and recovery, and managing risk of bushfires.”
The draft ACT Strategic Bushfire Management Plan is open for public comment until 11 June. You can leave a quick comment or upload a document to the ACT Have Your Say website for a longer response.
There’s more information about preparing for bushfires on the ACT Emergency Services Agency website.
