Ridgeway woodlands target of Hobart's first autumn burn

Published on 25 March 2023

The City of Hobart's fire crew plans to carry out a fuel reduction burn in bushland around Ridgeway on Sunday 26 March as it resumes a burning program hampered by La Nina weather patterns.

"The wetter than usual conditions experienced by Hobart over the past three years associated with a La Nina climate pattern have led to a lot of growth of fine fuels in the bushland surrounding Hobart," City of Hobart fire and biodiversity program Leader Dr Jenny Styger said today.

"The end of La Nina and the cooler autumn weather will hopefully provide ideal opportunities for the City of Hobart to resume its fuel reduction program over the coming months.

"Autumn’s generally stable weather conditions and the increased moisture in our soils lay the groundwork for conducting safe fuel reduction burns in our bushland areas.”

The City of Hobart carries out fuel reduction burns to help protect Hobart from uncontrolled bushfires and as an ecological management tool.

Many of the native plants and animals found in Hobart's bushland reserves have adapted to controlled fires in the landscape.

"This autumn we have fuel reduction burns planned for Ridgeway, Fern Tree, the Queens Domain, Lenah Valley and Lower Sandy Bay,” Dr Styger said.

"These planned burns can be viewed on the What’s Burning Now website."

Reducing the build-up of flammable materials in Hobart's bushland reserves is an important part of preparing for the bushfire season and helps protect people, property and our natural environment from the risk of destructive bushfire.

If people or family members have a medical condition that can be exacerbated by smoke they are encouraged to sign up for the City of Hobart's burn alert emails.

'Burn Alerts' are sent up to 24 hours before any planned fuel reduction burn and again on the morning of the burn, once the final decision is made to proceed.