Free fire management workshops on offer for Livingstone Shire residents

Livingstone Shire Council has partnered with Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium, Fitzroy Basin Association, and Capricornia Catchments to help locals be bushfire prepared.

Mayor, Andy Ireland, said free information sessions and planning workshops are being held across two localities in Livingstone Shire, Byfield and The Caves.

“The sessions will provide information to landholders and guidance on creating individual fire management plans, with consideration for fire safety, production, and conservation of plants and animals,” he said.

“These plans will aim to mitigate the risks associated with bushfires, with a specific focus on helping communities in safeguarding individual properties, particularly in the wake of the Cobraball fire in 2019.

“More than 6,000 hectares of grazing, agricultural, and bushland were burnt. The fire was 14 kilometres long and 6 kilometres wide and burning on multiple fronts. A disaster declaration was made for the area and many properties were lost amid an “ember attack”.

“The blaze burned towards Bungundarra, Maryvale, and Lake Mary, as more than 60 fires burned across the state. It was an extremely challenging time for fire crews and the community had never seen anything like it.

“During the information sessions and workshops we wish to build upon the experiences and lessons from those landowners who protected their properties during those catastrophic fires. 

We’re urging residents, particularly those who do not yet have a fire management plan, to come along.”

Information sessions and workshops include: