Autumn planned burning set to commence in Little Desert Forest Fire Management Victoria is preparing to start an extensive planned burning program across the Wimmera District to reduce bushfire risk for local communities, protect important assets, and manage environmental biodiversity.
Wimmera District Manager Glenn Rudolph said: "Our Autumn planned burning program will initially focus on reducing bushfire fuel in the Little Desert National Park and later in the season, the Grampians National Park area from Halls Gap to Dunkeld and around townships such as Ararat and Stawell."
"You may see and smell smoke from these planned burns, and some roads and parks may close," Mr Rudolph said.
Forest Fire Management Victoria is working with local communities to ensure residents and visitors are informed about the upcoming planned burning program set to start late-March.
"We aim to reduce the impact of smoke on communities from planned burning and continue to invest in new technologies and systems to help us better understand the dispersion of smoke. We understand that smoke from planned burns may cause concern for some people, but it's important that our crews take every opportunity while conditions are right to reduce bushfire risk.
We work closely with the Bureau of Meteorology to assess weather conditions - such as humidity, temperature and wind speed - and will only carry out burns when conditions are suitable."
For the latest information about when planned burns are happening near you go to FFM website, download the Vic Emergency app or call the VicEmergency hotline on 1800 226 226.
You may also choose to subscribe to the Planned Burning Notification System (PBNS), which can be customised to notifies you when a planned burn in a nearby park or forest is close to being ignited.
If you are experiencing any symptoms that may be due to smoke exposure, the Department of Health and Human Services advises people to seek medical advice or call Nurse-on-Call on 1300 60 60 24.
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