Much of the Australian landscape has evolved with fire. Fire is a certainty and necessary for the continued survival of fire-dependent species and ecosystems. Indigenous Australians understood this relationship and effectively integrated the use of fire to manage the landscape over millennia.

With a warming climate and changes in land uses, we are witnessing the increasing impacts from and escalating threat of destructive bushfires. Effective fire management strategies are crucial to protect our communities, biodiversity, and natural and cultural resources. The most important tool for a land manager to stop vegetation fires from getting out of control is planned burns, also known as prescribed burns or hazard reduction burns. Well-planned and implemented planned burning is an essential, practical, and cost-effective tool within broader approaches to managing fire.

While creating fire to prevent fire may sound like a weird way to go about things, there’s far more to this clever management technique than you may realise. We’re here to explain the science behind planned burns, as well as how they help protect the changing Queensland landscape.

What is a planned burn?

A planned burn is a fire placed in the landscape at a range of scales; from the local level to protect communities and infrastructure, to a landscape level which provides risk reduction and broader ecological benefits.

Basically, planned burns are intentionally ignited fires that reduce the buildup of flammable vegetation and minimise the risk of uncontrolled bushfires. Land management and fire agencies carefully plan and manage these burns, which are lit under specific weather conditions and management strategies.

Who does planned burns?

Carrying out planned burns requires great skill and knowledge. As managers of the parks and forests in our state, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) works alongside the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) and other partner agencies, First Nations people, and neighbours to maintain a robust fire management strategy. With over 13 million hectares – or 8% of the state – being classified as parts and forests, it’s a large responsibility that requires teamwork and cooperation.

How do planned burns work?

Bush fires can be risky and unpredictable. With planned burns, everything that can possibly be controlled to mitigate this risk is accounted for. Let’s go through the basics of how planned burns happen from start to finish.

Planning and preparation: For a planned burn to be safe and successful, the key is in the name – strict preparation and meticulous organisation (PDF, 257.1KB) are vital for them to work effectively. Fire management agencies carefully plan and prepare for each burn. This includes assessing environmental conditions like the weather, humidity, wind direction, and fuel and soil moisture levels.

Setting objectives: There are different reasons for undertaking planned burns. At this phase, the fire management team defines why the planned burn needs to happen – it could be to maintain ecosystem condition, reduce fuel load, create a break in flammable vegetation, or help with other conservation efforts (such as weed control).

Selecting burn sites: Suitable burn areas are chosen based on ecological and fire management considerations. Factors like vegetation type, terrain, and proximity to sensitive areas (like vine forests) are all taken into account.

Implementing the burn: On the day of the burn, trained personnel carefully ignite and monitor the fire. The burn is conducted under prescribed conditions, with resources (like firefighting equipment and park rangers) in place to make sure the fire stays within predetermined boundaries.

Monitoring and control: Fire behaviour and smoke dispersal are closely monitored throughout the burn. Rangers use different ignition techniques like spot burning (creating smaller fires along the perimeter) to control the rate and direction of the spread and intensity of the fire.

Benefits of planned burns

Planned burns are a vital tool for fire management and maintaining ecosystem health in Queensland. Below, we go through some of the main reasons we undertake planned burns.

Reduced fuel load

You know the term “adding fuel to the fire”? That’s exactly what you don’t want during a bushfire. Planned burns help reduce accumulated vegetation, or fuel load, which often make fires more intense. By strategically burning areas under controlled conditions, rangers can lower the amount of available fuel, making it less likely for bushfires to escalate quickly and uncontrollably.

Improved fire safety

Planned burns create low-fuel areas and modify vegetation structure to reduce the intensity and spread of bushfires. This helps protect communities, infrastructure, and natural assets by reducing the risk of catastrophic fires that can endanger lives and property. It also reduces the risks for firefighters when they respond to bushfires.

Ecological strength and biodiversity

Controlled burns play a vital role in ecosystem management. They promote ecological diversity by controlling weed growth, stimulating the germination of native plants, and maintaining habitat diversity for wildlife. Many Australian plant species actually depend on periodic fires for regeneration and the diversity in stages of growth after a fire.

Protecting cultural sites

Indigenous fire management knowledge and practices have been developed over millennia. It includes burning to maintain cultural landscapes and protect culturally significant sites. Planned burns can support these traditions while making landscapes more resilient. QPWS works closely with First Nations people in all aspects of fire management, including through the Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger program. Looking after Country is best done by implementing expert knowledge and systems developed by Traditional Owners of the land.