Western Australia has undertaken its biggest ever controlled burn this week in an effort to mitigate the summer bushfire threat.
More than 660,000 hectares of land is being burnt along the Nullarbor to ensure the protection of pastoral leases and infrastructure assets such as the railway.
Environment Minister Bill Marmion says this year’s grass fire hazard on the Nullarbor is the worst it has been since the mid 1970s. “Parts of the target area received more than 600mm of rain this year, which is two-and-a-half times the annual average,” he says.
"We only have a narrow window of opportunity for this operation between now and the end of September when grasses will be too dry to burn safely.”
Emergency Services Minister Rob Johnson says the grass growth is prolific, create a high potential for widespread bushfires which could impact on railway, the highway, communication infrastructure, as well as pastoralists.
“The collaboration among all agencies has been excellent and I congratulate the personnel involved in preparing the burn plans within a short timeframe.”
Those on the ground say the burn-off could take at least one month.
