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Council & Business

13 August, 2024

Shire secures bushfire funding

The Central Goldfields and Pyrenees Shire councils have received funding from a nearly $1.7 million initiative to protect residents in the event of a bushfire.

By Jonathan Peck

After the Pyrenees region faced the devastating Bayindeen fire earlier this year, a new grant is now helping communities reduce their bushfire risk.
After the Pyrenees region faced the devastating Bayindeen fire earlier this year, a new grant is now helping communities reduce their bushfire risk.

The Safer Together Strengthening Local Government Partnerships program, jointly led by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and the CFA, will assist nine councils over the next two years to reduce bushfire risk in local communities.

The Central Goldfields Shire Council will use the $58,000 grant to implement the Preparing People, Properties and Pets Program which, according to mayor Liesbeth Long, will help the shire evolve to combat the ever-increasing dangers of bushfires.

“With our recent experiences of bushfire, Central Goldfields is pleased to continue its education around bushfire risk through this grant,” she said.

“The funding will support our community with a range of activities, from local risk assessments to a dedicated fire education day and the development of an emergency management plan.

“Bushfire risk is everyone’s responsibility. In a changing climate, this grant will support our communities to be better prepared.”

A part-time project officer will be employed by council to deliver funded activities including a community information day to help engage residents on how to prepare for emergencies effectively.

The program will also involve the rollout of the ‘First 72 Hours — What are you going to do?’ campaign, encouraging residents to make an emergency plan, prepare for an emergency and stay informed during the first 72 hours of an emergency.

The grant given to the Pyrenees Shire Council will provide continued support for the Pyrenees Bushfire Resilience Project, with the intention to develop resistance plans for Lexton, Redback and Snake Valley as well as provide tools for fire wise landscaping and climate adaptation.

The resistance plans aim to improve the community’s ability to prepare and rebuild from emergencies, with three major bushfires in the Pyrenees over the past 11 years, including the Bayindeen Bushfire last February, burning around 22,000 hectares across the shire.

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