Planning for Bushfires

Bushfire Plans

Do you have a bushfire plan?   CLICK HERE

Managing fire is vital for protecting our homes and maintaining environmental habitats.  Planned burning on Warrumbungle Shire Council land is used to lessen the impact of wild fires.  Planned burning reduces the build-up of  fire fuel, such as sticks and leaves, that makes of the bush are left untouched. These areas also help re-establish vegetation in the burnt sections. Most planned burns in the Shire take place between May and August. Rural Fire Service staff use weather forecasts to determine the best day for each planned burn. Burns postponed due to poor weather conditions are rescheduled. Please contact the Rural Fire Service to report any build-up of fuel in any areas that threaten assets, or contact Council if these areas are council property, roads or parks.

Planned Burn Program

Neighbours adjoining the burn areas will be notified prior to burning as specific dates for burns are difficult to predict. Planned burning that occur regularly are usually scheduled for the following areas :-

1.   Newell & Oxley Highway, north of Coonabarabran
2.   Dandry & Timor Roads, Coonabarabran
3.   Areas around the village of Leadville
4.   Areas around the village of Ulamambri
5.   Areas around Council Waste Disposal sites 
6.   Areas around the Coonabarabran Treatment Works

 You can play your part in managing fire by:

• Being aware of fire management issues in your area
• Talking to your neighbours and the RFS about reducing the risk of fire if your property shares boundaries with bushland
• Asking your neighbours and the RFS about Fire Brigade membership
• Preparing an evacuation plan for your family and pets
• Reporting fires to 000

When you are building and living in the bush you must consider fire safety issues. Subdivision and building plans for homes located in high fire danger areas must meet state government standards. Bushfire hazard planning includes guidelines for:

• Building location, design and construction
• Power and water supply
• Access, firebreaks, clearings and maintenance

For more information on building in bushland, contact the Warrumbungle Shire Council  or visit the Rural Fire Service Web Site www.rfs.nsw.gov.au

• Flying embers and spot fires starting in or beside your house
• Leaves in roof valleys and gutters, pot plants on decks, timber decks, vegetation planted next to the house
• Wood heaps and rubbish under or beside the house, doormats made of flammable material  

• Maintain a fuel free zone around your fence line
• Do not place garden waste and other flammable materials in fuel free zones, firebreaks and fire access trails
• Never dump garden waste and other flammables in adjoining bushland areas
• Remove vegetation overhanging your house
• Clean decks, gutters and roof valleys
• Clear firewood, other flammables and rubbish from under and around the house
• Plant less flammable local plant species in your garden
• Point LPG safety valves away from the house
• Remove doormats made of flammable materials
• Have good access to water around your house such as tanks and swimming pools
• Do not rely on electric pumps and town water as these services can go down during fire emergencies

• Do regular maintenance work around the house such as roof repairs, general clean-ups
• Don’t have garden beds and vegetation next to your house
• Teach your children the dangers of wildfires
• Work with your neighbours to carry out fire management activities

• Fire weather occurs when a combination of air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed create an atmosphere conducive to easy ignition and rapid spread of fire
• Bushfires cost the whole community

Bush Fire Danger Period     [ 1st October  till  31st March ] 

The Bush Fire Danger Period for the Warrumbungle Shire Council Area is from the 1st October till 31st March annually. This may be varied, depending on conditions from the Castlereagh Bush Fire Management Committee (BFMC). During the Bush Fire Danger Period you require a FIRE PERMIT issued from RFS ( see your local Captain or ring the Fire Control Centre) or for town residents, contact the NSW Fire & Rescue.  Legal conditions on the Fire Permits, must be followed. Infringement fines will apply if burning without a Fire Permit. For more information see   www.rfs.nsw.gov.au or contact Castlereagh Zone Office during business hours on (02) 6842 2645  or FAX  6842 2932

Off Fire Season Agricultural Burn

During the non Bush Fire Danger Period, Landowners must still give notice when lighting a fire to the RFS and Neighbours: under section 86 of the Rural Fires  Act 1997 and Section 33 of the Rural Fire Regulations 2013.

To give notice of lighting a fire on your land, you must provide 24 Hours Notice before lighting. Notification is by phone to the Castlereagh Zone, Fire Notification Line on  1300 557 876, any time.  

Leave details of your name, address, location from nearest town, type of burn and period of burn, with a maximum of 3 weeks notice for each burn period.

Towns and Villages

You cannot burn garden waste or any other rubbish in an incinerator in your backyard, on vacant land or on the road, without permission. you must contact the Rural Fire Service, or if in town the NSW Fire & Rescue Brigade , if you are planning to light a fire on your property for fuel reduction purposes. Hazard Reduction Certificates can be issued to burn on some road side areas controlled by Council, subject to the Rural Fire Service rules and procedures that you need to follow. See the  'Burning Off Flowchart'  for further information for overgrown areas of Crown Land or other unidentified areas please contact the Rural Fire Service.

Neighbourhood Safer Places  (NSP)

Neighbourhood Safer Places  is a recently new concept that has evolved out of the tragic Victorian ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires in February 2009. Neighbourhood Safer Places have been identified as an area of open space that can provide improved protection to human life, taking into account exposure to radiant heat, smoke and embers during the onset and passage of a bush fire. The primary purpose of a Neighborhood Safer Places is the protection of human life. Neighbourhood Safer Places still entail some risk, both in moving to them and while sheltering in them nd cannot be considered completely safe. The safest option for residents of bushfire prone areas is to leave their property well before the threat of bush fire.

The following limitations to Neighbourhood Safer Places (NSP) should be considered within personal Bush Fire Survival Plans :-

• Do not cater for Pets

• May not provide shelter from the elements, particularly flying embers

• Do not provide meals, accommodation or medical attention

• May not have Emergency Services present

 Survival when travelling to or gathering at the NSP is not guaranteed. Identify these areas on the list in your area and LOOK FOR THE SIGNS

Last Updated: 13 Jul 2020