SCHEDULED BURNS NEAR YOU
People often ask us what they can do to monitor and protect areas of their favourite local bush during the prescribed burning season.
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Every season, DPaW provides details of DBCA's burning program online. Their Burn Options Program map informs the public about all scheduled burns in WA.
Here’s what you can do.
STEP 1
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Click here to find the Burn Options Program.
Find prescribed burns in your area - they have codes like DON_123 (these are the forest block IDs).
Use the + and - buttons to zoom in and out on the map.
Take note of the area scheduled to be burnt to get an idea of how big it might be.
STEP 2
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If you want - do a drive out there and walk 50-100m into the bush. (You will be able to locate access roads on the Burn Options Progam - these are usually the boundaries of the burn block).
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Make sure your camera or phone is GPS enabled and take photos.
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If you have a drone, fly a transect and take photos at certain distances straight down, as well as landscape shots.
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Archive these photos with dates and GPS co-ordinates. This info will be recorded as metadata if your phone or camera is GPS enabled.
STEP 3
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Contact your district DBCA office and ask to meet with the Fire Officer or the district manager to discuss the scheduled burn.
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Ask to see the burn plan, sit in the office and study it (you won't be able to take it with you). Look for Flora and Fauna surveys prior to the burn.
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Ask these questions:
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When is this particular burn scheduled? – spring, summer or autumn?
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Will it be lit on the ground or by incendiary?
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What is the intended scorch height?
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What is the intended burn percentage?
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Have endangered fauna or flora been recorded?
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How are DBCA going to manage sensitive communities and exclude them from fire?
BURN OPTIONS PROGRAM
The Burn Options Program is only an indication of which prescribed burns are scheduled but not exactly when.
You will need to check Today's Burns daily to find out which day DBCA are conducting the burn.
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If a burn is scheduled, check the Emergency WA site to confirm it is going ahead and how the fire is behaving.
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If a prescribed burn jumps containment lines it will be reclassified as a 'bushfire' on the Emergency WA website
EMERGENCY WA
For real time information about planned and active ignitions, and bushfires go to the Emergency WA site.
This is WA's official website for community warnings and bushfire management information.
Click here to find contact details for your local DBCA office.
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