The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is conducting a hazard reduction burn in the Merimbula Creek area of Bournda Nature Reserve, between Merimbula and Wolumla, starting Wednesday 12 April 2023.
This area of the reserve will be closed to visitors during burning operations.
About 325 hectares will be treated in this section of Bournda Nature Reserve in a Strategic Fire Management Zone (SFAZ).
This area was not directly impacted by the fires of 2019–20 and this burn will help protect residents from future fire events, maintain biodiversity and reduce fuel loads in the area.
This work also provides firefighters safe zones and access where they can defend properties should a bushfire occur.
Local residents may notice smoke adjacent to Merimbula Tip on Sapphire Coast Drive.
Drivers on the Princes Highway, south of Yellow Pinch, may see some smoke on the hills as they approach Merimbula Drive from either the north or south.
People vulnerable to smoke are encouraged to remain indoors and keep their doors and windows closed to reduce exposure.
Hazard reduction burns are essential to reduce bushfire fuel loads to help protect parks, neighbours and communities from future bushfires.
This burn is one of many hazard reduction operations undertaken by National Parks and Wildlife Service across New South Wales each year, many with assistance from the Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW.
All burns around the state will continue being coordinated with the NSW Rural Fire Service to ensure the impact on the community is assessed at a regional level.
