Early in 2021 the Rural Fire Service (RFS) responded to a recommendation (no. 47) from the NSW Bushfire Inquiry and introduced a new protocol for backburning. Known as OP 1.2.20 Operational Protocol for Backburning, the document supercedes “SOP #17” of 1999 and includes much more detail on types of backburns, risks, approval and recording. Notably it requires higher-level review of strategic backburn proposals under certain risk conditions.
In a more recent advance, also related to to a NSW Bushfire Inquiry recommendation, a new Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDR) has been developed nationally and will be rolled out across Australia from September 2022. The new system has just four ratings instead of six and applies to eight different vegetation types rather than just forest and grassland previously. In NSW the rollout will be accompanied by a community education campaign.
The new system delivers simplified public communication, while applying a more nuanced science of fire danger to better inform firefighters. This includes a complex of meteorological factors, which can be ‘decoded’ on the ground to inform decision-making. Notably, the AFDRS incorporates ‘red flag’ warnings for elevated Continuous Haines index (a measure of atmospheric instability) and for high levels of a new Wind Change Danger Index. A suite of technical guides support the system.
IBG comment
- These advances will help bushfire management teams to make well-considered decisions in situations that are often complex and high-stress. The new Backburning OP and the new fire danger rating system will also aid community awareness and understanding.
- The new Backburning OP is a major step up from the previous version that was in use for 20 years, despite revealing its weaknesses many times, up to and including Black Summer. The new OP addresses some key concerns documented by IBG in its report and submission to the NSW Bushfire Inquiry while leaving other issues unresolved. The risk threshhold for review of backburns should be lower. However the OP does promote much improved backburn planning. To ensure this is delivered it needs to be promulgated and applied throughout the bushfire industry, and not only within RFS. It is not clear if a process exists to assess the effectiveness of the new OP, but the relatively quiet fire season of 2021-22 has not yet provided a useful testing ground.
- The new AFDR system includes detailed fire weather advice that will be routinely conveyed to bushfire suppression teams. This has the potential to be a catalyst for elevating suppression decisions and strategies. It could in future avoid some of the issues that were apparent in Black Summer, by promoting full consideration of factors such as atmospheric instability and the probability of wind changes.
Independent Bushfire Group 