The Mackay Whitsunday best practice fire guidelines provide advice on the time of year to burn, years between fires and intensity and patchiness fires should achieve, to be rated as a good fire in the region. Bad fires are easily identified as fires that cannot be contained, and they generally occur late in the dry season when they threaten lives and property, native flora and fauna, as well as crops and cattle feed.
Friendly fire may seem an unlikely way to look at bushfires but it actually is the solution to a lot of wildfire problems. Whenever there is a major wildfire event, many people and a lot of equipment are gathered together and work tirelessly as a team to contain the fire before it does any more damage. A wildfire is bad for people, property and the environment.
Fire can also be good for people, property and the environment when it is used to reduce the dead grass and leaves that fuel a wildfire or create fresh green shoots for grazing, or to control an invasive weed like lantana or regenerate a forest and maintain a range of habitats for biodiversity.
