Noosa’s beefed up fire protection plan will protect locals

Noosa Council has plans to implement strategic safeguards to limit the risk of fire erupting in bushland after the devastating Peregian blaze.

Fireys threw everything at the Peregian fires.

Having been through hell and back in the 2019-20 fires from Peregian Beach to Cooroibah, Noosa Council is planning to implement strategic safeguards to limit the risk of raging infernos in bushland reserves.

They include:

1. More planned burns with up to seven planned a year.

2. Additional fire trails – council plans to create 2km of brand new trail breaks

 3. Wider trails stretching almost 2km around bushland reserves

4. Extra staff resources, with council to appoint a dedicated fire management officer to train up council staff to carry out our own controlled burns without relying on private contractors.

Fire ravaged communities helped produce the council’s newly endorsed Bushfire Reserve Strategic Fire Management Plan.

The 2019 Peregian Beach fires taken from Point Perry at Coolum Beach.

Mayor Clare Stewart said the council was committed to being more proactive in protecting the shire from bushfires, by acting on what was learned from the 2019 fires which burnt more than 2060ha.

“Our aim is to better protect homes and lives from fire and generally boost the safety of anyone who visits our bushland reserves,” Ms Stewart said.

Council Principal Environment Officer Peter Milne said each bushland reserve required individual assessment to determine what fire mitigation measures were needed, while still conserving biodiversity values.

“While bushland reserves occupy a relatively small area of the shire – 4 per cent – the challenge is that many of the reserves are very closely integrated with our urban areas,” he said.

Ms Stewart said the proposed increased burns would be much more achievable with the addition of a dedicated fire management officer to replace the system of using only contractors.

“As specialised contractors are under huge demand, it can be very hard to get them to come to Noosa when the conditions are right for planned burns,” Ms Stewart said.

“This council is committed to working closely with QFES and our rural fireys to help alleviate the very real concerns our residents have about fires.”