By Margaret Maccoll
Preparations for this year’s fire season are in full swing with hazard reductions burns being conducted and new Rural Fire Service volunteers being trained.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Service officers and Rural Fire Service volunteers joined Queensland Parks and Wildlife Officers, Queensland Police and Noosa Council officers last week to conduct a reduction hazard burn across about 204 hectares of national park land from Noosa Lions Football Club to David Low Way at Castaways and Marcus beaches.
Wind conditions were ideal for the burn aimed to reduce the threat of bushfire.
A QPWS spokesman said the burn went well with officers continuing to monitor the area over the next few weeks.
A large plume of smoke seen over the region was a result of the fire reaching swamp land, he said.
RFS operations officer Ken Stockton agreed the burn went well.
Mr Stockton, who is responsible for training for training rural firefighters on the Sunshine Coast, said after the devastating fires in the region last summer there had been 300 new applications received for volunteers.
Mr Stockton said all volunteers received the same standard of training to ensure they were all on the same page when teams united to fight fires.
He said once Covid-19 restrictions eased he planned to host training sessions for groups of volunteers.
