Kangaroo Island is a priority among a total of 42 prescribed burns proposed as part of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) autumn 2024 fire management program.

Burns of varying sizes and complexities have been prepared across the state this autumn, with 23 of these planned to protect communities in the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges region.

Weather conditions permitting, the burns are scheduled to start this from today, 21 March, with Seal Bay a focus on Kangaroo Island.

The first prescribed burn was due to start at 10.45am and is likely to be completed by 7pm; the area to be burnt is 168.1 hectares at Range Track in the conservation

park, approximately 20 kilometres south of the Parndana township.

The objective of the burn is to create low fuel areas to limit the likelihood of bushfire spreading from or into Seal Bay Conservation Park, and to increase firefighter safety along fire access tracks.

Range Track and Nicks Track will be closed and some smoke may be present around South Coast Road and Seal Bay Road and may be visible for the following days.

National Parks and Wildlife Service crews will remain on site until safe.

Prescribed burns are a vital fire management tool to reduce fuel loads across public and private land, and to help protect communities and industries by limiting the spread and intensity of bushfires.

NPWS Fire Management Director Fiona Gill says the dates of individual prescribed burns will be based on seasonal weather patterns.

“As part of our fire management programs, every opportunity is taken to complete as many burns as possible in suitable weather and fuel conditions,” she says.

“The number of prescribed burns that can be safely and effectively completed in any season is always subject to a window of specific weather conditions and we will never burn unless we can achieve a safe outcome.”

Prescribed burns can also play an important role in regenerating habitats for native plants and animals, and the requirements of these species are factored into the planning process.

A strategic, risk-based approach is used to carefully manage smoke around the state’s wine grape areas, and smoke taint from NPWS prescribed burning has not been recorded since its fire management program started in 2004.

In 2023, NPWS completed one of its biggest spring prescribed burn programs in the past five years as part of its ongoing efforts to manage fuel loads and reduce the threat of bushfires.

A total of 46 out of 56 planned burns (82 per cent) were completed across the state last spring, compared with the long-term average of about 70 per cent each year over the past decade.

Prescribed burns are a shared responsibility between land management agencies - Department for Environment and Water, ForestrySA and SA Water - Country Fire Service, councils and private landholders.

Burns that are unable to be completed due to unsuitable weather are rolled over to the following spring or autumn as part of an ongoing, rolling 3-year mitigation program.

For more information on the Department for Environment and Water’s fire management program and details of scheduled prescribed burns, visit the website.