Fire chief backs fuel load claim
WA's top firefighter has taken a veiled swipe at the Department of Parks and Wildlife amid complaints that heavy fuel loads contributed to the severity of the blaze in Northcliffe last week.
Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Wayne Gregson said yesterday he "entirely agreed" with suggestions that reduced fuel loads would have made it easier for firefighters.
On Monday, the captain of the Northcliffe Volunteer Bushfire Brigade, Rod Parkes, said budget cuts and a Perth-centric management approach exacerbated the situation.
Mr Gregson rejected assertions that bureaucracy was standing in the way of controlled burning while declining to be drawn on whether budget cuts were affecting the Department of Parks and Wildlife's ability to do them.
But he agreed that reducing fuel loads was crucial to mitigating the threat of bushfires.
And in a backhander to DPAW, when asked about the agency's repeated failure to hit its prescribed burning targets, Mr Gregson said only that they were "interesting questions".
"My view is if you own the fuel, you own the risk," Mr Gregson told ABC Radio. "The more you can reduce fuel load, the greater the chance you've got of stopping these fires."
A spokesman said DPAW was committed to prescribed burning and would have liked to have conducted more around Northcliffe but plans were hampered by other fires and the need to accommodate new procedures.
He also pointed out that burning was complicated and had narrow weather windows in which it could be done safely.
The spokesman said the department would continue to work closely with DFES and volunteer fire brigades, noting there had been a high degree of co-operation in the most recent fires.
SES Volunteer Association spokesman John Iffla urged the State Government to implement "bushfire protection zones" around towns to mitigate the risks of major blazes.
