Bush fire risk in the Riverina

This is your opportunity to provide feedback on how the risk of bush fire is managed across our area.

Fire agencies, land managers and other stakeholders have been working to identify ways of reducing the impact of fires on our area – protecting lives, homes, businesses, agriculture, the environment and other assets that are important to the Riverina.

The local Bush Fire Management Committee has developed a draft Bush Fire Risk Management Plan, which identifies the risks and the plans to protect them.

The draft plan identifies the risk to communities and the assets we all value. Using feedback from fire agencies, land managers and other stakeholders, the plan identifies ways of reducing the impact of fires across our area.

Your input is important – and by planning together, we will help shape the Bush Fire Risk Management Plan for our area for the next five years.

Note: As this is a pilot of a new approach to bush fire risk management plans, the initial 'Have your say' stage did not take place for this plan and community members can now provide feedback on the draft plan.

How the Riverina Bush Fire Risk Management Committee have assessed the risk

Fire is a part of living in the Riverina. It has been a part of this landscape for millions of years.

As our population and region changes, the risk of fires impacting on our community has changed.

To understand the bush fire risk in the Riverina, and help inform the best ways of managing and reducing the risk, we’ve looked at what’s important to local communities – including where people live, as well as environmental, economic and cultural assets.

We look at the assets across the landscape, and using computer modelling, we have tested scenarios for possible fire conditions to understand the impact on the community.

 
Residential: The residential risk map shows the modelled risk to homes and properties from bush fires. Each coloured square on the map represents the risk to a home or a group of homes. The map displays the comparative risk across the local Bush Fire Management Committee area. If your home is in the lowest risk category it can still be damaged in a bush fire, it is just less likely to be damaged compared to other areas.
Economic: The economic risk map shows the modelled risk to economic assets from bush fires. The risk is calculated based on the economic loss of the modelled damage assessment and how long it is expected that the asset will return to the pre-fire condition. These are important considerations because if they are destroyed during a fire, they can have long lasting impacts on employment and population in the area.
Environmental: This map shows the environmental assets that have been modelled as being at highest risk from bush fire in the area. This includes areas at risk because they contain threatened species vulnerable to fire, vegetation types sensitive to fire e.g. rainforests or land managed for conservation or environmental outcomes that does not include fire.
Cultural Predicted Aboriginal Assets: This map shows the predicted Aboriginal cultural assets that have been modelled as being at the highest risk from bush fire in the area.
Historic Heritage Sites: This map shows the modelled risk to historic heritage assets from bush fires. The risk is based on the significance of sites, the vulnerability of sites and the likelihood that sites will be exposed to a fire that will cause damage.
Fuel Management Register and Focus Areas: This map shows the Fuel Management Register – a list of hazard reduction activities identified as strategic treatments in the risk plan. The Fuel Management treatments include prescribed burns, BFMC managed Asset Protection Zones and the development or maintenance of Fire Breaks. This map also displays the areas identified by the Bush Fire Management Committee as Focus Areas.

Managing the risk in the Riverina

We have considered the risk to people and assets across the area to determine the most appropriate and effective way of managing that risk.

Some areas of the Riverina were impacted by the 2019/20 bush fire season, and these areas may have a reduced potential for fires spreading until vegetation fully recovers.

There are some measures which apply broadly – such as vegetation management, development controls, bush fire education, and fire suppression activities. These activities reduce the bush fire risk to assets and communities throughout the area.

Where an unacceptable risk exists for a particular area or assets, additional targeted treatment strategies are planned during the next five-year period. These treatment options include:

  • Fuel management – the reduction or modification of bush fire fuel with the intent of slowing the spread of bush fire and aiding firefighting operations. This may be identified as:
    • Asset protection zones – these are typically close to homes, and provide a separation from the bushland to reduce the impact of fires, and give firefighters a safe place to work if protecting homes in a fire;
    • Ignition management zones – areas in the landscape maintained at  a reduced fuel level to minimise the propagation of ignitions and limit the rapid escalation of fires;
    • Strategic fire advantage zones – these are areas across the broad landscape which, when treated, can help slow the spread of a fire across the landscape;
    • Land management zones – areas managed to maintain and enhance the natural and cultural values of the landscape and reduce the likelihood of bush fire spread through the use of mosaic fire regimes;
    • Transport corridor fire breaks – areas along roadsides and rail corridors in which bush fire fuel is reduced to lower ignition potential and to provide areas from which fire can be suppressed;
    • Other fire breaks – linear areas in which fuel is managed to provide areas from which a fire can be suppressed.
  • Ignition prevention – activities to prevent or reduce bush fire ignitions whether they be accidental or deliberate. This includes community preparedness programs, fuel management and specific actions in the Ignition Prevention Plan.
  • Community preparedness – activities such as working with residents to improve their level of planning and preparation for a fire, to increase the survivability of their home and families in the event of a fire.
  • Response – specific response requirements for a particular area or value in addition to standard procedures. This may include specific actions in the BFMC Plan of Operations or Fire Access and Fire Trail plan.
Read the draft plan in full
A detailed version of Riverina Draft Bush Fire Risk Management Plan is available to view.
Download PDF
The draft is also on public exhibition at local council offices and at:
Riverina Zone Fire Control Centre
208 Fernleigh Rd,
Wagga Wagga NSW 2650
Have your say
You can provide feedback on the draft plan until 5pm on 6 March 2025. Feedback can be provided in multiple ways:
Provide feedback online via our simple form Give feedback
Email your feedback to RFS at Riverina.Zone@rfs.nsw.gov.au
Please include your name and contact details in the email.
Post written feedback to:
Riverina Zone Fire Control Centre
208 Fernleigh Rd,
Wagga Wagga NSW 2650
Please include your name and contact details in your written submission.
Riverina Bush Fire Management Committee

The Riverina Bush Fire Management Committee is made up of a range of stakeholders from the area including emergency services, land management agencies, local government and local Aboriginal land services, and local community groups. This ensures key community stakeholders have a say on bush fire management activities for the benefit of their communities.

The Riverina Bush Fire Management Committee is made up representatives from the following agencies and organisations:

  • NSW Rural Fire Service
  • NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (Crown Lands)
  • Department of Defence
  • Essential Energy
  • Transgrid
  • NSW Farmers' Association
  • Fire and Rescue NSW
  • Forestry Corporation of NSW
  • City of Wagga Wagga
  • Junee Shire Council
  • Lockhart Shire Council
  • Coolamon Shire Council
  • Australian Rail Track Corporation
  • UGL Regional Linx
  • Riverina Local Land Services
  • Wagga Wagga Local Aboriginal Land Council
  • Nature Conservation Council of NSW
  • NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
  • NSW Police Force
  • Transport for NSW
About Riverina

The Riverina Bush Fire Management Committee (BFMC) area spans 1,218,263 hectares (ha). The area covers the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Wagga Wagga, Coolamon, Junee and Lockhart. The area features the Murrumbidgee River, six National Parks and Nature Reserves comprising 8,249ha (0.68% of BFMC area) and 22 State Forests comprising 13,901ha (1.14% of BFMC area).

The Riverina area has approximately 13% bushland and 85% grassland with the balance being the built environment or water bodies. The average climate in the Riverina BFMC area is temperate, with warm to hot dry summers and cool winters. Rainfall is predominantly in autumn and winter, and the bush fire season generally runs from October to March.

  • According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census Community Profile there are 32,350 residential dwellings in the Riverina BFMC area with an approximate population of 74,073. The major population centres are Wagga Wagga, Junee, Coolamon, Ganmain, Ardlethan, The Rock and Lockhart. Another 18 urban and village centres are distributed throughout the BFMC area.
  • According to the ABS data on the counts of Australian businesses, there were 3,718 businesses in the Riverina BFMC area. The top three industries include Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services; and Construction. The Riverina BFMC has seen recent expansion in large-scale solar generation as well as considerable investment in the Wagga Wagga Special Activation Precinct, which includes the Inland Rail project. The Department of Defence has two nationally significant defence installations within the Riverina Zone - the Kapooka Military Area and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Wagga.
  • The last major bush fire happened in the 2019/20 bush fire season with 9,218 hectares burned.
  • There are several valuable community assets across the area along with a number of culturally significant sites and environmentally important sites.
Plan and Prepare

Bush fire survival plan

Getting ready for a bush fire is easier than you think. Make a bush fire survival plan so you know what you will do if there’s a fire near you.

Prepare your home

A well-prepared home is more likely to survive a bush fire. Even if your plan is to leave early, the more you prepare your home, the more likely it will survive a bush fire or ember attack.

Prepare yourself and your family

Preparation isn’t just about cleaning up around the house and having a plan. It’s also about making sure you consider your physical, mental and emotional preparedness.