Mount Jerusalem hazard reduction burn

If you’re wondering what that smoke is over Mount Jerusalem today it is because a planned hazard reduction burn by the National Parks and Wildlife Service is underway.

The Mount Jerusalem burn, along Koonyum Range Road and the Nandaly Trail west of Mullumbimby, will help provide protection from summer wildfires, according to NPWS Tweed/Kyogle area manager Damien Hofmeyer.

‘From mid-morning local residents should expect to see smoke, and people with asthma or those susceptible to respiratory problems are advised to keep clear of the area or stay indoors and keep doors and windows closed,’ Mr Hofmeyer said.

‘Motorists are reminded that Koonyum Range Road will be closed and fire crews will be active on roads in the vicinity of the burns,’ he said.

‘Where traffic control is in place during the burn, people are reminded to drive to conditions and follow directions.’

The NPWS conducts controlled burns in many of its reserves over the winter season for a range of purposes including asset protection, strategic fire control, maintenance of biodiversity, and research.

This burn is part of the NSW government’s $62.5 million package to boost bushfire preparedness and double hazard reduction in the state’s national parks wherever conditions allow.

With the assistance of the Enhanced Bushfire Management Program, NPWS plans to burn an average of over 135,000 hectares per year, through more than 800 individual hazard-reduction activities.

In the 2012–13 financial year the NPWS conducted more than 80 per cent of the hazard reduction undertaken across the state with a record 208,000 hectares in 1,300 separate fuel-reduction activities in our national parks and reserves.

For more information on planned hazard reduction burns, visit the Rural Fire Service website: www.rfs.nsw.gov.au.