Mount Wilson

and Mount Irvine

Details

Last Updated: 22 January 2023

The Mt Wilson/Mt Irvine Rural Fire Brigade has established a network of Street Coordinators who have volunteered to assist both the brigade and local residents/property owners in the event of a significant fire threat.

The Street Coordinators are on hand to give other residents as much local information as possible to help them make their decisions. In addition, the Coordinators will update the Brigade on the whereabouts and intentions of people in their area and the conditions at their property to assist the Fire Services in prioritising their operational plans.

When fire threatens, please contact your local Street Coordinator to advise them of your situation. Street Coordinators will be regularly updated with the progress of any fire and should be your first port of call for obtaining local information. If you have a rental property, please advise tenants of the bushfire risk as well as advising the street coordinator of their existence and intentions.

Once the fire threat is over please contact your street coordinator to advise your situation or your return to Mt Wilson or Mt Irvine. Your Street Coordinators are:

Details

Last Updated: 14 September 2016

FireWise communities experience fewer fires and fewer fire-related deaths, injuries and property losses.

We encourage all property owners to review their own properties and we are willing to offer advice on the various alternatives, although the final plan is your responsibility.

Fire can be a useful tool for reducing bush fire hazards, removing rubbish or conducting agricultural activities. The inappropriate use of fire however, can endanger lives, property and the environment.

Property owners carry an important community responsibility to ensure all the area within their property boundaries has been properly prepared for a bushfire and that they have protected their own and their neighbour's properties. They can do this by hand clearing, carrying out hazard reduction activities on their properties before a fire season begins. This can be by slashing bush to lower the fuel loads particularly under trees, removing flammable material, or by controlled burning.

The following guidelines are provided to assist you, the landowner and/or contractor to comply with the conditions required by a notice issued under Section 66 of the Rural Fires Act. By carefully following these simple instructions, your obligation as a member of this community will not only be met, but the balance between bush fire safety and environmental responsibility, will be maintained.

Bulldozing or clearance of the block to bare earth is not acceptable. Unless otherwise specified, all trees covered by Council's Tree Preservation Policy are to be retained. Severe penalties are applicable for acts of environmental degradation. The use of bulldozers, other track type machinery or skid steer loaders is not acceptable except to load logs, stumps and heaps onto trucks for transport to Council garbage tips. Rubber tyred wheel type agricultural tractors with slashers, walk-behind mower slasher, scrub cutters and hand tools are the most satisfactory equipment for clearing on the fragile soil types of the Blue Mountains. Only this type of minimum impact equipment is approved for use.

The understorey vegetation from about 50mm above ground level should be cut, thinned, removed or mulched. Single specimens or groups of plants not exceeding 3 square metres in area may be left in an undisturbed condition provided a break of at least 3 metres is maintained between these islands. By this method both habitat and species diversity will be maintained whilst the overall fire threat will be reduced. Where possible such islands should be located around retained semi-mature trees.

Small saplings and vegetation under the proportions specified by Council's Tree Preservation Policy may be removed, lopped or thinned (preference should be given to smooth barked species when retaining trees). As stated earlier the removal of any tree covered by Council's Tree Preservation Order requires Council inspection and approval.

Cut vegetative material and ground fuel, leaves, bark, twigs, grass tussocks etc. may be mulched and spread over the block to help prevent weed invasion and soil erosion. Such mulch must not exceed 100mm in depth or 50mm square in size. Additional care must be exercised on steep slopes, near watercourses and swamp areas. Once the land has been cleared, no material is to be heaped and left. The work on the block and therefore compliance with any notice issued will not be considered complete until this process has been finalised.

If material is heaped during the clearing process, it must be disposed of by one of the following methods, removal to the local garbage tip or by returning it to the site in the form of mulch. Burning is not recommended and will only be permitted subject to all of the usual restrictions and conditions. Written permission for the use of fire to reduce fuel levels on privately owned land is required in all cases and subject to approval.

In addition to any specific requirements listed under environmental considerations in the notice, all legislation regarding protected and endangered species and pollution control must be complied with.

Should you have any uncertainty regarding your particular property or the requirements of any bush fire notice please contact Blue Mountains Fire Control Centre in Katoomba on 02 4784 7444. Your co-operation is sought in providing a safe and enjoyable environment on the Blue Mountains.

We ask all property owners to review the material on the NSW RFS website to assist you to prepare yourselves and your property.

Various approvals may therefore be required before you light a fire. These approvals contain conditions that seek to minimise possible adverse impacts.

The following information will help you work out which approvals you need before you light your fire.

The Rural Fire Service (RFS ) can provide you with the following approvals (or advise you who to contact):

• Fire Permit - for fire safety; and/or
• Bush Fire Hazard Reduction Certificate - for bush fire hazard reduction works.
• Other government authorities may provide you with other environmental approvals.

You will need information before lighting a fire for hazard reduction on your property.

A great deal of published guidance is available and together with necessary approvals.

Details

Last Updated: 22 January 2023

Hazard Reductions

Under the Rural Fires Act, 1997, land managers and owners are responsible for carrying out hazard reduction to protect existing dwellings, major buildings or other assets susceptible to fire. Effective hazard reduction is one way to reduce the risk of damage to homes and structures by bushfire. The RFS Commissioner has the authority to order all owners and managers of private, commercial and government land to conduct essential hazard reductions.

Agencies such as National Parks, State Forests and local Council reduce hazards on their property according to strategies in the Bush Fire Risk Management Plan put together by the Blue Mountains Bush Fire Management Committee.

Private landholders or occupiers must also reduce hazards on their property. If hazards are not reduced, the RFS can issue a notice (Section 66) requiring a private landowner or manager to reduce fuel loads.

The RFS offers advice and assistance on hazard reduction. RFS volunteers often do hazard reduction work to help protect their communities, but it is not their legal responsibility to do so, because the RFS does not own or manage land. Volunteers work with private landholders, National Parks, State Forests and NSW Fire Brigades to do hazard reduction on a range of land tenures.

To learn more about hazard reductions click on the NSW Rural Fire Service website.

To learn more about past and planned hazard reductions at Mt Wilson click on the Community Protection Plan - pdf Bush Fire Preparation map (5.22 MB)  on this website

In Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine private properties rarely require large scale burns to reduce hazards. For residents here, reducing the risk of bushfire is mainly achieved by maintaining cleared space around the house and properly maintaining the garden. This can result in a pile of dead vegetation (a bushfire risk) and, if it cannot be chipped, mulched or taken to the tip, the best way to dispose of it is to undertake a pile burn.

Pile Burns

The restrictions that are now placed on the burning off of garden waste are mainly an attempt to control pollution. In the Blue Mountains this is the responsibility of Blue Mountains City Council and generally pile burns are not allowed

After community consultation, the BMCC has granted certain outlying areas (including Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine) approval to conduct pile burns as long as certain conditions are met. Oversight of this process has been handed to the NSW Rural Fire Service. It is vitally important that these conditions are abided by as failure to do so could see the withdrawal of this concession. During the non-bushfire period (usually 1 April to 30 September) the process, in brief, is as follows:

1. Norify and apply online for approval to conduct a pile burn. This can be done via the RFS here.....
2. Give your neighbours at least 24 hours' notice of your intention to light up. 
3. There is a requirement for a responsible adult to be present at all times, an adequate water supply to be available and the pile must be 20m from the nearest residential building.
4. Ensure that your pile burn abides by the document Standards for Pile Burning, available from www.rfs.nsw.gov.au. In brief, material must only be vegetation from your property, the pile should be no greater than 2m in length or width and must be no greater than 1.5m high, material must be dead and dry and no logs over 150mm in diameter.

During the bushfire season (usually 1st October to 31st March) the increased risk of bushfire means that any pile burns allowed also require a permit from the District Office of the NSW Rural Fire Service. As this entails an inspection of your pile it is preferable that you give a fortnight to complete the process. Permits can be given for up to 21 days but they are usually given for a lesser period. In the event of a TOBAN (Total Fire Ban) all permits are revoked. See the Blue Mountains District NSW Rural Fire Service website for more details.

Your local brigade will do their best to protect properties in the event of a fire but they cannot be everywhere. You need to give your property the best chance of surviving on its own and being able to protect you and your family. Even if your brigade can get to your street, if they have to choose between properties, crew safety dictates that they will have to choose the better maintained and safer property to protect. So, please:

GIVE US A BREAK – ALONG YOUR BOUNDARY, AROUND YOUR HOUSE AND WATER SUPPLY AND THROUGH YOUR PROPERTY ENTRANCE

Details

Last Updated: 10 December 2022

As a result of the tragic 2009 fires in Victoria, the NSW Rural Fire Service has embarked on a program of developing Community Protection Plans for vulnerable towns and villages in NSW. Mt Wilson was chosen to be part of the trial as an example of a village located in a heavily forested area with only one access road. The plan was completed by NSW RFS staff with assistance from the Mt Wilson/Mt Irvine Rural Fire Brigade. Data for a plan for Mt Irvine is currently being collected with the hope that a draft will be available in 2014.

The overall aim of the Community Protection Plans is to 'improve community and fire fighter capacity to prepare, act and survive bushfires'. The Plan consists of three maps:

1. 1. Operational Brigade map (for Brigade only) – provides brigades and other fire fighting agencies with important operational data such as fire trails, water supplies, community assets, helipads, communication towers, neighbourhood safer places etc
   2. pdf Bush Fire Preparation map (5.22 MB) – provides information for land managers, fire agencies and the community on details of existing and proposed bush fire risk treatment works for the community. It shows past and planned hazard reduction works
   3. pdf Bush Fire Survival map (3.58 MB) – the most interesting map for residents as it provides vital information for preparing a Bushfire Survival Plan such as indicating the possible impact on your property of a fire as well as leave early options and neighbourhood safer places.

The Bush Fire Survival Map shows the effects of a fire (direct flame, radiation heat or ember attack) when the Fire Danger Rating is 'catastrophic' and fire is coming from all directions. This is an extreme case and one not yet experienced here (since white settlement). Nevertheless, bushfire conditions do not need to be 'catastrophic' for fires to destroy properties and lives. The Fire Danger Rating at the outset of the 2013 State Mine Fire was 'extreme' and that fire destroyed 2 properties and numerous sheds, fences and equipment and came close to burning all round Mt Wilson and Mt Irvine. The map is extremely useful for showing you the worst case scenario for your property as well as last resort options.

For further information on Fire Danger Ratings check the subtopic on this website or the NSW RFS website under Plan and Prepare – Fire Danger Ratings.