The ACT is prepared for summer with the release of the 2023-24 Bushfire Operations Plan, Mick Gentleman, ACT Minister for Planning and Land Management, announced.

The ACT Government today released the ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD) 2023-24 Bushfire Operations Plan, which describes preparedness and prevention activities planned across ACT parks and reserves for the next year to reduce bushfire risks.

This year’s ESPDD Bushfire Operations Plan will take advantage of forecast drier weather to repair and maintain management trails, conduct hazard reduction burns, and reduce fuel loads in the urban environment, Mr Gentleman said. 

“Despite facing some significant challenges because of the extended wet weather over recent years, which led to rapid vegetation growth and damage to management trail network, the ACT Government is confident about the level of preparations for the summer ahead,” Mr Gentleman said.

The Plan outlines a strategy to reduce fire risk, covering 13,415 hectares of the ACT and 560 km of management trails. Land managers and fire fighters from the ACT Parks and Conservation Service (PCS) will carry out these fire reduction activities. 

Ngunnawal people will conduct cultural burning. Mr Gentleman said this will “help to heal country and connect Ngunnawal people as the traditional custodians of the land”.

84 per cent of the 2022-23 Bushfire Operations Plan was completed, despite extreme wet weather, saturated catchments, and damaged fire trails, Mr Gentleman said. 

The government is repairing management trails, training new staff, removing fuel by slashing and mowing, and undertaking prescribed burns, Mr Gentleman said. 

ACT PCS has completed 270 km of priority trail works this year. Any repair works that have not been completed in the previous plan due to wet weather will be prioritised in 2023-24 operations.

ACT PCS and the ACT Rural Fire Service (ACTRFS) are monitoring weather conditions, mitigating risks, and suppressing fires, Mr Gentleman said.

Fire-trained staff have returned from Canada where they helped to put out fires in the northern hemisphere summer season. Mr Gentleman said they “bring back new skills, experience, and knowledge to help inform our management practices here”.

You can read the EPSDD 2023-24 Bushfire Operations Plan or find out more about bushfire management for ACT parks and reserves on the ACT Environment website.

“With the ACT expecting hotter and drier conditions due to El Niño weather patterns, its essential that the government, business, and the community progress their bushfire preparations now to prevent the spread of fire and protect Canberrans and their homes from a potential bushfire event,” Mr Gentleman said.

“I urge Canberrans to be prepared and informed as we head into summer. Now is the time to create or update your own survival plan and play your part in keeping yourself, your family, and your community safe.”

Visit the ACT Emergency Services Agency website to download your survival plan, and to learn more about how you can Be Emergency Ready.