Cabonne Council Draft Bush Fire Mapping

No longer on display. Expired on 05 November 2021, 05:00 PM

Cabonne Council in conjunction with the Rural Fire Service (RFS) has prepared revised draft Bush Fire Mapping to identify areas with elevated bush fire risk within the Cabonne Local Government Area. The draft mapping has been prepared in accordance with the latest mapping guidelines, and will update the current mapping which was implemented in 2003.

The mapping is now required to be reviewed every 5 years to ensure that changes in the landscape, as well as changes because of development are captured in the mapping.

The identification of Bush Fire Prone Land is a trigger to consider the bushfire risk as part of a proposed development. Any development within these areas is required to demonstrate compliance with the RFS guidelines, ‘Planning for Bushfire Protection’, pursuant to clause 4.14 of the EP&A Act with the current version of the document being adopted in 2019 (https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/130667/Planning-for-Bush-Fire-Protection-2019.pdf ). These guidelines generally result in Bush Fire Protection Measures being implemented to mitigate the bush fire risk associated with the development. These measures may include:

  • Asset Protection Zone (APZ): Managed area around the site to protect the dwelling from the fire source.
  • Bushfire Attack Level (BAL): Sets the construction standard of a dwelling based on the potential exposure to ember attack, radiant heat and direct flame contact.
  • Access: Ensuring suitable access for people to leave as well as for RFS to arrive.
  • Water Supply and Utilities: Ensuring sufficient water supply is available on site and that utilities provided would not exacerbate the fire hazard (electricity, gas, water).

 

The draft mapping has been prepared in accordance with the RFS document ‘Guide for Bush Fire Prone Land Mapping’. The guide groups vegetation into 3 categories based on the type of bushfire that the vegetation could sustain:

Category 1: Highest Risk (Red)

This vegetation is considered to have the highest combustibility and the highest likelihood of forming fully developed fires as well as heavy ember production. This category includes; Forest, Woodlands, Heaths (tall and short). Due to the high risk, this category is given a buffer of 100m (land within 100m of the edge of this category is also mapped as bushfire prone land).

Category 2: Lowest Risk (Light Orange)

This vegetation is considered to have the lowest risk due to it having a lower combustibility and producing limited fire sizes due to the vegetation size and shape. This category includes; Rainforests and remnant vegetation and has a buffer of 30m. The draft mapping has not indicated any category 2 vegetation within Cabonne.

Category 3: Medium Risk (Dark Orange)

This vegetation category was introduced by RFS in 2015 and is considered a medium risk. This category includes grasslands and has a buffer of 30m.

Due to the introduction of the category 3 mapping, there has been a significant increase in the amount of land identified as being bush fire prone land on the draft Bush Fire Prone Land map.

The draft mapping has been broken down into area specific maps for download and review. The mapping is exhibited for 28 days seeking public comment and feedback closing 5pm Friday, 5 November 2021. Should you have any questions during the exhibition period, please contact Council’s Development Services team on 6392 3265 or leave a comment below. Submissions can be provided below, emailed to council@cabonne.nsw.gov.au or dropped into Council’s Molong or Cudal offices during the exhibition period.

Canowindra(PDF, 4MB)
Cargo(PDF, 4MB)
Cudal(PDF, 4MB)
Cumnock(PDF, 3MB)
Eugowra(PDF, 3MB)
Manildra(PDF, 4MB)
Molong(PDF, 4MB)
Mullion Creek(PDF, 3MB)
Yeoval(PDF, 4MB)
North-East Cabonne(PDF, 4MB)
North-West Cabonne(PDF, 3MB)
South-East Cabonne(PDF, 2MB)
South-West Cabonne(PDF, 2MB)
West Cabonne(PDF, 4MB)