All hands on deck for Magnetic Island

Called Yunbenun by its Traditional Owners — the Wulgurukaba people — over three quarters of this beautiful island is protected. With everything from granite headlands to sandy beaches and vine thickets in between, the diversity of the island is just one of the things that makes it such a magnetic destination for Queensland locals and tourists alike.

That same breathtaking variety of landscape makes managing bushfire risk on Yunbenun a unique challenge.  A combination of local knowledge and agency expertise is required to adequately plan and safely carry out hazard reduction burns. With coastal winds influencing key planning considerations like humidity, and topographic differences between the mainland and Yunbenun, the limited accuracy of commercial weather reports posed a significant challenge. Fortunately for QPWS, the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) were willing to lend both a hand, and a mobile weather station. This localised, real-time reporting of weather conditions meant safer decision making and faster responses to changing weather patterns as crews undertook a mosaic burn of 270 hectares.

While State Emergency Services monitored all walking tracks in and out of affected areas, QPWS, Queensland Fire Department and the Rural Fire Service focused on laying down fire in the right spots. Residents and visitors weren’t the only ones crews were on the lookout for; a dedicated wildlife carer was also on standby in case any native animals were injured during the burn, a thankfully unnecessary precaution.

While many hands certainly make light work, managing so many people amongst reception dead zones is a testament to the significant preparation work that goes into planned burns. Communication plans for radio relay played a significant part in ensuring all sectors could maintain communication between the sectors with the Incident Control Centre.

‘It takes a lot of preparedness to ensure the prevention, response and recovery of fire in any element. Whether it be hazard-reduction burn or bushfire, it can be well mitigated and be a good ecological outcome for the land and the community.’ – Julie, Volunteer Firefighter/Community Educator, Horseshoe Bay Rural Fire Brigade

But it was more than just the communications. Pre-burn familiarisation training got everyone up to speed on the terrain, the specific equipment being used, and each other. When you’re working in such potentially dangerous conditions, taking the time to get to know the person working next to you on the fire line is crucial.

While the planned burn season has ended for the year, and the island is now cautiously alert for any bushfire activity, the ongoing partnerships needed to protect places like Magnetic Island National Park continue to thrive.