- Title:
-
Assessment of the Effectiveness and Environmental Risk of the Use of Retardants to Assist in Wildfire Control in Victoria
- Date:
- February 2000
- Organisations
- DSE
- Authors:
- CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products
- Location:
- Victoria, VIC, Australia
Overview
opography, vegetation and climate combine to see Victoria, southern California and the south of France as places experiencing the most severe wildfire climates on Earth.One third of Victoria comprises publicly owned land. These parks and forests are often rugged and remote, with limited access. In an average year around 600 wildfires occur on these lands, and between 20-30% of these are caused by lightning. Over the last twenty years the average annual area of public land burnt by wildfire has exceeded 100,000 hectares. In the last 150 years in Victoria wildfires have resulted in considerable loss of life, and much property damage.
These factors have led to the development in Victoria of a range of approaches to deal with wildfires. With few large natural water sources available, techniques developed are generally known as ‘dry firefighting’. They primarily involve removing fuels from the path of the wildfire using hand tools and/or machinery. Fire is also sometimes used in combating a wildfire. Firefighters light fires, at times of the day or night when fire behaviour is more predictable, to burn fuels ahead of the main fire.
The use of aircraft to assist in wildfire management commenced in Victoria in 1925. In 1939 Victoria was one of the first locations in the world to trial the ‘bombing’ of fires using aircraft. Since that time dramatic developments have taken place in all aspects of fire related aviation. From an international perspective Victoria, and North America have led this field and close liaison between fire managers in both locations continues.
In 1967 Australia’s first operationally assisted control of a wildfire using two agricultural aircraft ‘bombers’ occurred in Victoria’s Great Dividing Range. These days, in an average year fire retardant chemicals are used on around ten percent of all public land fires. Retardants are particularly useful in slowing the spread of lightning caused fires in inaccessible mountain terrain, thereby improving the chances and safety of follow-up fire crews.
Building control lines (either with hand-tools or bulldozers), ‘backburning’ and the application of chemicals in wildfire suppression all have environmental impacts. So too do large uncontrolled wildfires. Park, forest and fire managers clearly have to make regular judgements about these matters and often in dramatically changing situations. Victoria’s 1995 Code of Practice for Fire Management on Public Land sets out several over-riding ‘wildfire’ and ‘environmental care’ principles that underpin all fire management activities.
To assist land managers in better evaluating the wildfire control options available, and as part of its normal fire management continuous improvement program, the Department last year commissioned CSIRO to assess the effectiveness and environmental risk associated with wildfire related retardant use. The report subsequently provided by CSIRO represents the most detailed Australian examination of the subject yet undertaken. NRE welcomes the report’s findings and is moving to address the report’s key recommendations.
In particular NRE has already further strengthened its training programs and the relevant operations manual. Further, discussions with the United States Department of Agriculture are continuing in relation to the need for additional testing of retardant chemicals. Finally, and while Victorian rangers and forest officers have not in the last thirty years reported obvious impacts of retardant on local ecosystems, a specific research program, consistent with the CSIRO findings, is currently being designed to examine this issue.
In the last fifty years the number of wildfires occurring in Victoria’s parks and forests has continued to grow. The consequent area burnt however, and particularly the number of large fires each year, has declined quite significantly. There are many reasons for this. Victoria cannot afford to be complacent however, and innovation, training and a commitment to excellence will continue to underpin the approach to all aspects of fire management. The safety of firefighters, and the well being of the community, and of our unique flora and fauna demands nothing less.
In conclusion I would like to thank the officers from CSIRO who contributed so professionally to this report. I would also like to thank the officers from NRE and from Parks Victoria who gave so willingly of their time and expertise in assisting with the review.
