NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has scheduled a hazard reduction burn on
Thursday 17 September in Arakoola Nature Reserve, south-east of the township of Coolatai.
The NPWS hazard reduction program for 2020 focusses on essential burns to protect park
neighbours, assets or significant habitat to ensure ongoing recovery of the wildlife impacted by the
summer bushfires.
Arakoola Nature Reserve has a total area of 3,180 hectares. This burn is planned to cover an area
of around 160 hectares in the north west corner of the reserve. Burning will take place during
Thursday, with some smoke likely beyond that time.
The objectives of the burn include the reduction of available fuels to mitigate the risks posed by
wildfire, and to maintain a healthy landscape providing suitable habitat for a range of native plants
and wildlife.
All burns across NSW continue to be coordinated with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) to ensure
the impact on the community, including from smoke, are assessed at a regional level. Details on
specific burns will be made available in advance on the Rural Fire Service website, ‘Fires Near Me’
app, and on NPWS Alerts website.
All hazard reduction burns over 50 hectares will be assessed by the NSW RFS in conjunction with
NSW Health as required to ensure smoke impacts are minimised.
For health information relating to smoke from bush fires and hazard reduction burning, visit NSW Health or the Asthma Foundation.
For up to date information on these, and other, planned hazard reduction activities, visit the Rural Fire Service.
