FORESTRY — LEWANA
PLANTATION FIRE
1233. Hon DIANE EVERS to the minister representing the
Minister for Forestry:
I acknowledge the loss suffered by
neighbouring landowners as a result of the Lewana plantation fire in 2019, and
note that the Forest Products Commission took no responsibility for this.
(1) Has the FPC
replanted pine in the Lewana plantation; and, if yes, what considerations were
undertaken when replanting, were neighbours who were impacted by the fire
consulted and what were their concerns?
(2) On FPC plantations, what is the minimum allowable
distance from homes and other buildings on neighbouring properties?
(3) Has the FPC
replanted any pine plantations within 70 metres of existing homes within the
south west region in the past 10 years?
(a) If yes, why and does the minister
consider this to be high risk?
(b) If yes, what
concerns have been raised by neighbours and what is the FPC doing in response?
(4) Will the FPC
consider the use of fire suppressant trees as buffer zones on plantation
boundaries located near residences, noting that these trees could also provide
alternative timber products?
(5) If yes to (4), has the FPC
planted any fire suppressant trees as buffer zones on any plantations?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the
question. The Minister for Forestry has provided the following answer.
(1) The Forest
Products Commission has commenced re-establishing pine in the area impacted by
the 2019 Lewana fire. Additional strategic firebreaks and alternative fire
tolerant species have been incorporated as part of re-establishment plans.
Consultation was undertaken with a number of landowners prior to commencement
of this work. Landowners were primarily concerned with the fire risk associated
with pine plantations.
(2) When
establishing new plantations, the FPC abides by the requirements of the
Department of Fire and Emergency Services'
''Guidelines for Plantation Fire Protection'', which establishes
setbacks of 100 metres for habitable structures and 50 metres for
non-habitable structures.
(3) The FPC has
not established new plantations within setback limits of an existing structure.
The FPC has re-established longstanding pine
plantations where landowners and local governments have built structures
within the setback limits.
(a) The risk of
building next to approved plantation land must be addressed by the landowner
and the Local Government Authority. The ''Guidelines for Plantation Fire
Protection'' state —
Buildings or structures constructed
after approval and establishment of the plantation becomes the responsibility
of the planning approvals process to ensure that those buildings are
constructed to the appropriate standard. Buildings constructed after the
establishment of the plantation should not adversely affect the plantation.
Compliance with separation distances will occur at time of plantation
development and will be appropriate for the life of the plantation until a change
in land use has been registered.
(b) Some
neighbours adjoining FPC plantation estates have expressed concern about the
associated fire risk. The FPC applies
appropriate mitigation measures in these situations, including establishment
and maintenance of fire breaks and fuel-reduced buffers.
(4) Yes. The FPC
has trials of fire tolerant softwood species in buffers which will support
prescribed fuel reduction burning as a means of managing fire risk.
(5) Yes. Trials have been implemented in the Margaret
River plantation and also in the recent Lewana plantation establishment.