Black Summer recovery efforts continue on Kangaroo Island
06/04/2023
Three years post the Black Summer bushfires, the SA Country Fire Service is assisting several Kangaroo Island farmers with relief and recovery efforts to reduce hazards from the Ravine fire complex.
Tonnes of significantly damaged piles of timber remain on several Kangaroo Island properties, which continue to pose a risk to the land owners and wider community. To assist in removing this risk, the CFS has approved permit applications it received from land owners wanting to conduct hazard reduction burns in the final weeks of the Fire Danger Season. It is important to conduct these burns at this time of year to ensure that the timber burns cleanly and thoroughly.
In addition to approving these permits, the CFS is providing the land owners with risk management strategies and support in the event of unfavorable fire danger weather. If these weather conditions present, the Kangaroo Island CFS Group will attend with Thermal Imaging Cameras to assist in the monitoring of the burn in a controlled manner and to provide advice on risk mitigation strategies.
CFS Community Risk and Resilience Director, Alison May, said the CFS has an important role to play in assisting the community build resilience following events like the Black Summer Bushfires.
"Supporting the community to get back to business and take the steps to recover from the devastation of bushfires is a key responsibility of our agency," Ms May said.
"Often this can be a very slow and difficult part of recovering from a bushfire, however it can be forgotten by those who have not suffered the impacts of a bushfire."
"Although the CFS won't be conducting the burns, we will provide the land owners with approvals to dispose of the accumulated debris in a controlled manner, while also providing advice on risk management strategies and specialist equipment where required."
Key criteria must be met for the approval of the permit applications, with land owners required to monitor the burns with the assistance of machinery and other tools.
Completing these burns at the end of the season provides the land owners the maximum amount of time for the piles to burn before they are extinguished, with the help of winter rains.
The Kangaroo Island community can expect to see a significant amount of smoke during the coming weeks, with burns expected to last for more than seven days. The community are reminded to close all doors and windows and stay inside if the smoke is causing concern. If smoke is present, drive carefully as it may reduce visibility on the roads. In the event of an emergency call 000.
