Goldfields wilfire threat analysis and fire prevention plan / Dept. Conservation and Land Management.

Entrant: Pre-disaster Category, Federal/State Government Stream, Safer Communities Awards 2005.

The development and implementation of Goldfields Wildfire Threat Analysis (WTA) and Fire Prevention Plan (FPP) was a cooperative effort between the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) and the Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) undertaken in 2003 and 2004 for an area of 4.2 million hectares between Southern Cross and Coolgardie. The area includes a corridor that contains most of the infrastructure for the essential services to the Goldfields including the Great Eastern Highway; the Transcontinental Railway; the Goldfields Water pipeline; power transmission and telecommunications links. The area is also rich in biodiversity values, incorporating largely intact natural ecosystems and conservation reserves. The Goldfields WTA and FPP project was initiated due to concerns over the impacts of recent severe wildfires in the area that threatened the provision of water, power and communication to the Goldfields, and disruption of critical transport links. The Wildfire Threat Analysis is an analytical tool designed to identify the likelihood and consequences of wildfires in a given location, and the outcomes of the WTA analysis provides a framework within which effective decisions can be made to ameliorate the risk and impacts of potential wildfires. The threat posed by wildfire is a combination of the risk of ignition, potential fire behaviour, feasibility and effectiveness of suppression response; and the social, economic and environmental values potentia11y impacted. The outputs from the WTA, as displayed with GIS map products, has allowed the development and implementation of a cost-effective fire mitigation plan for the area. Extensive community and stakeholder involvement has led to considerable mutual benefits for fire management in this important area of the Goldfields. This project provides a prototype for interdepartmental cooperation (CALM, FESA Local Government) and extensive stakeholders involvement in wildfire presuppression planning in Western Australia.