The South Australian forest and timber industries welcomed state fire chiefs to Mount Gambier ahead of the 2023-24 bushfire season.

South Australian Forest Products Association chief executive Nathan Paine said it was important to host the chief officers of the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) and the South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS).

“It was a critical initiative for the forest and timber industries to invite the chiefs of the CFS and MFS to partake in SAFPA’s Seedling to Structure Tour, allowing them to witness, firsthand, the importance of our value chain and the critical need to protect the fibre in the ground and the devastation that would occur if a bushfire broke out amongst the plantations,” he said.

“With deadly wildfires wreaking havoc in Canada, Hawaii and Europe, we need to remain vigilant as we enter 2023-24 bushfire season. Already the Bureau of Meteorology remains alert and on watch as there is a 70% chance that El Nino conditions could develop later this year, leaving authorities concerned of an increased fire risk due to grass and vegetation growth.

“Our forest industries remain on the front foot, investing over $5m per year in fire prevention, detection and firefighting to ensure their forestry assets and our regional communities are protected – this includes more than 300 firefighters, a firefighting helicopter, along with our specialist firefighting tankers and associated equipment.

“In conjunction with the State Government’s $2.3m investment into landscape level fire detection network, our industry and indeed all landscape users are more bushfire ready, yet it is critical for our industry to work in collaboration with the CFS and MFS to immediately respond to any major bushfires that may threaten regional communities.

“We need to be armoured and educated to the best of our ability to protect our plantation estates and the associated manufacturing jobs and avoid any future losses.”