Planned burn carried out near Lorne

FOREST Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) carried out a 300-hectare planned burn at Lorne last week.

The burn was ignited on Wednesday and aerial support joined the operation on Thursday, with a helicopter, Firebird 307, undertaking aerial ignition and surveillance.

The aircraft team is made up of a pilot and six ground crew, who monitor and support the aircraft operations through a range of areas including refuelling and management of aerial ignition.

“Aerial support has been playing an important role in surveillance of our planned burn program at Lorne, monitoring progress and burn coverage including fire behaviour,” FFMVic Aircraft Officer Sandra Robinson said.

“This intelligence is provided directly to our firefighters on the ground, and to our Incident Management Team in Colac, which is coordinating the planned burn operation.”

“Today (Thursday) has involved aerial ignition, and this has seen our helicopter igniting areas that can’t be accessed by crews on foot, due to the steep terrain and dense forest.”

FFMVic’s work around Lorne last week is the most significant amount of planned burning near Lorne since 2012.

The burns created a significant amount of smoke that was apparent as far north as Anglesea, and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria has reminded people that smoky conditions can be a threat to people’s health, even far away from the fires that create the smoke.

EPA chief environmental scientist Dr Andrea Hinwood said smoke was especially dangerous to vulnerable groups in the community, but there were measures people could take to protect their health.

“Any smoke can be hazardous, but summer bushfires produce large amounts of it, and it’s not uncommon for it to affect communities a hundred or more kilometres away.

“Smoky conditions are particularly hazardous to people with asthma and other lung conditions, those with heart conditions, smokers, children under 14, adults over 65 and pregnant women.

“The emergency services, including EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services, issue warnings whenever smoke is a threat to people’s health, and it’s important that you take action to protect yourself and your family.”

EPA’s website offers advice on protecting your health in smoky conditions, as well as links to the state government sites that provide official emergency warnings – head to epa.vic.gov.au/yourenvironment/air/smoke.