FAQs

Fire management plans help guide fire management activities in South Australian parks and on Crown land.

They set strategic priorities about where, how, and why we need to undertake risk reduction activities to reduce the risk of bushfire and manage the environment. They are informed by the latest technology, evidence and science available.

 Fire management planning considers:

• bushfire risk to park assets including the natural, built and heritage values these parks are protecting
• fire regimes required to maintain and enhance biodiversity
• management strategies that address highest priority areas first to reduce the risk and minimise negative impacts
• information gathered through monitoring and evaluation.

Learn more about fire management planning.

A fire management strategy can be made up of a combination of actions to:

• reduce fuel hazards
• provide reliable fire infrastructure such as water and access to fires via track networks and airstrips
• reduce the likelihood of NPWS staff and visitors being in areas of bushfire risk through policies that alter access to parks
• increase NPWS staff, visitors and community knowledge and awareness of bushfire risks and enhance their capacity to prepare for bushfires
• use fire as a tool to maintain and enhance natural values.

Learn more about fire management strategies.

Risk is assessed based on how bushfires might impact on what we value: human life, property, infrastructure and the environment. A risk assessment is completed using the best available global, national and local science, data and knowledge which is then used in computer models. Computer models help us analyse complex scenarios and view the effect of different strategies, so we can choose the most effective one. The models, datasets and tools used by NPWS simulate bushfire scenarios, calculate risk, and test strategies.

Combined with expert knowledge, strategies are then assigned based on bushfire risks and/or biodiversity needs in a particular location. Risks are assessed at the landscape and local scale with priority given to those values most at risk.

The ecological process of fire is critical to helping many native plants and animal habitats to regenerate. Key objectives of these plans are to identify where ecological burns are required to restore and maintain ecosystems for threatened plants and animals, and to reduce the impact of bushfires on environmental assets.

A range of plant species in the Mt Lofty Ranges require fire to germinate or to stimulate flowering and set seed. An example is erect hakea (Hakea carinata), which is found in heathy woodland communities. After being burnt, its woody fruit splits open to release seeds that germinate and establish new plants. Without fire, this germination event is not triggered, and populations decline over time. 

Erect hakea also provides a critical native food source for the threatened yellow-tailed black-cockatoo, especially during breeding (December to January). Without this food source, this species may suffer food shortages at critical times of the year.

Environmental assets such as hollow-bearing trees are relatively rare in modified landscapes which is why the habitat they provide is critical for a wide range of animals, including nesting hollows for the iconic yellow-tailed black cockatoos. Trees are also an important aesthetic feature of our local landscapes with which many members of the community identify. High intensity bushfires can significantly affect the structural integrity of old hollow-bearing trees and cause them to collapse. 

Find out more on the use of fire to help conserve and manage native ecosystems.