May 8, 20221 min read

9. Smoke from burning is necessary to save lives - WRONG

Updated: May 4, 2023

Since 2000, it is estimated that at least 20 people have died from poor air quality due to manmade burns, with hundreds of emergency hospital visits. A study from the WA Department of Health has confirmed that prescribed burns contribute significantly more to hospitalisations than wildfires (autumn and spring periods in the report).

In contrast, over this same time period, 4 people have died from bushfires in the south-west. These four tragic deaths all occurred in farmland, not forest.

Data from Borchers Arriagada N, Palmer AJ, Bowman DMJS, Johnston FH. 2020. Exceedances of national air quality standards for particulate matter in Western Australia: sources and health-related impacts. Med J Aust. 213(6):280–281. doi:10.5694/mja2.50547.

Comments

1. Burning is based on latest science - WRONG

The 2,000 sq km per annum ‘indicative target’ for prescribed burns is based on a 2009 study which concluded that this would reduce the...

2. Bush must be burnt to protect us - WRONG

After burning, or other disturbances such as logging, the forest responds with dense understory growth, increasing the 'fuel load' and...

3. Burns are cool fires - WRONG

The over 75% of prescribed burns are done by dropping flammable materials (incendiaries) from the air every 100 - 200 m over large areas....

4. Burns don't harm wildlife - WRONG

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGERY BELOW Many animals can't escape the large areas being burnt rapidly, particularly when the fires are lit from...

5. Burns are like Indigenous practices - WRONG

Traditional burning was nuanced, small scale, selective and seasonal and protected key natural assets. This was ‘right way burning’ which...

6. Burns are done carefully to protect sensitive areas - WRONG

While the prescribed burning program was designed not to burn high value environmental assets (such as wetlands, streams, granite rocks...

7. Burns are a natural part of the ecosystem - WRONG

Burns are done at much higher frequency and in different seasons to the natural fire cycle. The south-west of Australia evolved with...

8. Burning is the only way to protect people and property - WRONG

Existing technology developed in Australia is proven to detect all fires within 10 minutes of ignition, even fires the size of a small...

9. Smoke from burning is necessary to save lives - WRONG

Since 2000, it is estimated that at least 20 people have died from poor air quality due to manmade burns, with hundreds of emergency...

10. Burns are done to reduce 'fuel load' - WRONG

Burns are done on a ‘time since fire’ basis, which means that areas such as Wandoo forest are burnt regularly despite there being little...