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DSE's planned burn program


What is DSE’s planned burn program?


DSE’s planned burn program is the use of planned fire to protect life, property and the environment, by reducing fuel levels and maintaining the health of plants and animals.

What is fuel and why is it important to reduce fuel levels on public land?


In a forest or grassland, fuel is any material that can burn under certain conditions. Fuel ranges from decomposing material on the ground through to the bark and leaves of trees. The amount and type of fuel in a forest or grassland, and whether it is lightly scattered or densely packed, can affect the way a fire behaves.
  • Grass, leaves, fine twigs, flaking bark and pine needles are fine fuels. They catch alight and burn very quickly, and are the main fuels that carry a bushfire forward.
  • Large branches, logs and densely packed fuels such as peat are coarse fuels. These fuels are slow to light but can burn or smoulder for many days after the main fire has passed.
By reducing fuel levels on public land, DSE helps to reduce the likelihood of a bushfire becoming uncontrollable.

Low fuel levels will not stop a bushfire, but if the fire burns into a fuel-reduced area, it will burn more slowly, with lower flames and less heat. This gives trained firefighters a better chance to control the spread of the fire.

How does DSE reduce fuel on public land?


DSE uses three different methods to reduce fuel in national parks, state forests, reserves and grasslands.
  • DSE carries out planned burns to reduce fuel across large areas for the protection of communities in places of high risk, and for the maintenance of healthy ecosystems.
  • To increase protection near towns and settlements in very high-risk areas, DSE creates breaks in forest fuel by slashing and mulching vegetation in wide strips. DSE has created fuelbreaks in parts of the Otways and Dandenongs and around Melbourne’s water catchments.
  • DSE also reduces fuel by slashing, mowing or clearing each year before and during the fire season. DSE slashes blocks of public land in towns and clears firebreaks and fire tracks to provide safe access through areas of state forest.
For advice on how to control fuel on your property, contact your local CFA office or visit the CFA website. For information about when you can burn, visit DSE’s webpage about burning on private land.

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Why does DSE do planned burns and what are the different types of burns?


DSE carries out planned burns for a number of reasons. For example reducing fuel, protecting the community and environment from uncontrollable bushfires and maintaining the health of plants and animals.

Burns to protect life and property
DSE carries out planned burns in areas that have a high risk of bushfire to reduce the build-up of fuel and so protect life and property. These burns are on public land close to towns, settlements, homes and properties, plantations and powerlines.

They are often called Fuel Reduction Burns or Asset Protection Burns and they occur in autumn and spring.

DSE also carries out planned burns as part of a protection program for specific areas covered by Township Protection Plans. These are plans that describe the intended response by emergency services and the community to a bushfire that may affect the community within or near a township.

The plans deal with the specific needs of people, property and environment. They also consider facilities such as schools, kindergartens and nursing homes, access and exit routes and potential places of relative safety or assembly. The CFA is leading the development of the Township Protection Plans, working with local councils and engaging local communities.

Burns to reduce fuel loads in forests
A different type of planned burn is also carried out in spring or autumn. DSE reduces fuel loads in forests near areas of occupation or activity.

These areas are long, wide barriers or corridors that slow the speed, heat and spread of a bushfire. They help to reduce the risk of spot fires – small fires that start by sparks or embers outside the fire area, and also provide a safer place from which firefighters can attack a bushfire.

These planned burns may be called Strategic Burns.

Burns to reduce the impact of severe bushfires
To help reduce the impact of severe bushfires and to maintain the health of ecosystems, DSE has introduced a new way of burning called Landscape Mosaic Burning. This is the burning of large areas of public land in a patchy manner. Between 30-70% of the overall area remains unburnt.

These burns can be carried out in places that have a range of challenges, such as remote areas with few roads or tracks, or areas of special animal habitat. Burns occur in several stages and over a range of weather conditions. An example is burning remote ridge top areas in late autumn.

Landscape mosaic burning factsheet - June 2010 - PDF version [PDF File - 461.3 KB]
Landscape mosaic burning - factsheet June 2010 - Word version [MS Word Document - 31.5 KB]
A mix of fuels, both fine and coarse, green and dry, will be burnt in this planned burn near houses


Firefighters working in a recently slashed fuel break


This planned burn in remote country aims to reduce the impact of an uncontrollable bushfire, and also restore the health of ageing plants


The Heath Mouse lives in dry heathland and woodland forest with a heathy understorey. It depends on patchy burns every 10 to 20 years to maintain the most suitable habitat


Chocolate Lilies in Gippsland flourish after a planned burn

Burns to maintain healthy native plant communities and habitat for native animals
DSE carries out planned burns to maintain healthy native plant communities and habitat for native animals.

Many native trees, shrubs and grasses depend on fire to regenerate. Because they have endured bushfires for many generations, they have developed special features that help them survive fire. Some have thick woody seedpods that need to be burnt before they can open and release their seeds. Others have buds in stems or under the ground that re-shoot and flourish after fire. Planned burns help native plants continue their natural cycles in the absence of bushfire.

Planned burns restore ageing plant communities that need fire to encourage re-growth. Native grasslands in western and northern Victoria benefit from regular planned burns. Burns can also be helpful in controlling weeds such as invasive stands of gorse.

DSE uses planned burns to create patches of burnt and unburnt bush within very large areas of forest. The unburnt patches are refuges for plants and animals. As the patches grow over time, they provide food and shelter for a variety of plants and animals that have many different needs. For example, the Heath Mouse needs small patchy fires. It thrives best in vegetation that has not been burnt for at least 10 years.

A planned burn that encourages new growth or improves habitat is called an Ecological Burn. An ecological burn may also be part of a much larger Landscape Mosaic Burn. A secondary but important result of ecological burns is lower fuel levels. Additional information is available in the following document that outlines the principles, standards and planning procedures for ecological burning on public land throughout Victoria.

Guidelines and Procedures for Ecological Burning on Public Land in Victoria 2004 [PDF File - 590.6 KB]
Burns to re-establish harvested forests
Planned burns also help re-establish harvested forests. DSE carries out Windrow or Heap Burns to remove old woody material and prepare the ground for new forest growth. Another burn in VicForest’s harvested forests is the Regeneration Burn to prepare seed beds to be suitable for seed germination.

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What areas does DSE exclude from planned burning?


DSE excludes some areas of public land from planned burning for a number of reasons.
  • Some contain historically important sites or habitat for threatened wildlife.
  • Others may need a very specific frequency of fire or a long gap of many years between planned burns.
  • Some plants are harmed by fire and need to be excluded from fire completely.
DSE may carry out fuel reduction burns next to these areas to protect them from bushfires.

How long do the benefits of a planned burn last?


Planned burns that reduce fuel levels have been shown to reduce the risk of uncontrollable bushfires.
  • Reduced fuel levels slow the spread of a fire, reduce the risk of spot fires and provide safe places from which fire crews can fight the fire. In this way, planned burns help protect communities, water sources, timber, plants and animals and important cultural sites from fire.
  • The benefits of planned burns as a bushfire prevention method are greater in the first few years but generally last from 10 to 15 years.
  • The benefits of a planned burn for plant and animal health vary according to the reason for the burn. For example, a burn may protect the health of native grassland for about three years. The benefits of a burn in Heath Mouse habitat may last for more than 10 years.

What is backburning? Is it another name for planned burning?


Planned burning should never be confused with backburning.

Backburning is a fire control strategy - it is used to reduce fuel in front of a bushfire. Firefighters light a controllable fire along the inner edge of a control line to burn the fuel in the path of a bushfire. This creates a burnt area that widens the control line.

What research and technical expertise does DSE use to develop its planned burn program?


DSE’s planned burning program is guided by many years of research into the effect of fire on the environment.
  • Fire and biodiversity experts study the way fires burn under the influence of weather and landscape. They also explore how fire affects plants and animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, fungi and soil, and how the use of fire maintains healthy native plant communities.
  • Monitoring planned burns and researching their effects provides DSE with information that helps improve the management of public land.
  • A range of organisations, including Victorian and interstate universities, government agencies and research centres, such as the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre, work with DSE to share and build expertise.
  • The Bureau of Meteorology provides regular weather information, which DSE uses to plan and make decisions and to update the community. Bureau advice on long-range forecasts and recent weather patterns helps DSE predict how the season will affect the planned burn program. The Bureau also gives local weather conditions for specific burns and the likely movement of smoke, for example whether smoke will linger or drift away.
  • The State Control Centre (SCC) has an important role during planned burn activity – coordinating the movement of aircraft and fire fighters to burns across the state and ensuring the flow of information to communities, media and other agencies. The centre also brings together fire specialists, including fire weather forecasters from the Bureau of Meteorology and fire behaviour experts. These specialists help DSE identify the best weather conditions for planned burns.

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Planned burning information sheet 1 - DSE's planned burn program [PDF File - 174.1 KB]
Planned burning information sheet 2 - Planned burn types [PDF File - 179.0 KB]

Please note: Document(s) on this page are presented in PDF format. If you do not have the Adobe Reader, you can download a copy free from the Adobe web site.

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