– Bendigo Bushfire Mitigation Plan 2021 April 2021 – DRAFT V4.0 OFFICIAL-Sensitive Bendigo Bushfire Mitigation Plan 2021 (Draft version 4.0) Contents Contents ..............................................................................................................................................2 Document control ...............................................................................................................................5 Distribution schedule ..........................................................................................................................5 Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................7 Executive summary .......................................................................................................................... 10 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 11 1.1 Aim ................................................................................................................................... 11 1.2 Purpose............................................................................................................................. 11 1.3 Implementation ................................................................................................................ 11 1.4 Project area ...................................................................................................................... 12 1.5 Relationship to existing plans and programs ................................................................... 13 1.6 Project control .................................................................................................................. 14 1.7 Intended benefits ............................................................................................................. 14 1.8 Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 15 2 Bendigo/Castlemaine Bushfire Management Project .............................................................. 16 2.1 Black Saturday fires .......................................................................................................... 16 Bracewell Street fire ..................................................................................................... 16 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission ......................................................................... 17 Victorian bushfire safety policy and shared responsibility .......................................... 17 2.2 Pilot project ...................................................................................................................... 18 2.3 Common operating principles for the project ................................................................. 20 3 Planning framework ................................................................................................................. 21 3.1 Emergency and fire management plans........................................................................... 21 3.2 Bushfire risk mitigation plans ........................................................................................... 22 Safer Together program ............................................................................................... 22 Strategic plans .............................................................................................................. 23 Operational plans ......................................................................................................... 23 Tactical plans ................................................................................................................ 24 4 Stakeholder engagement and communications ...................................................................... 25 4.1 Guidance .......................................................................................................................... 25 4.2 Stakeholder interests ....................................................................................................... 26 Summary of legislation and related stakeholder interests .......................................... 26 Public land management .............................................................................................. 27 Privately managed land ................................................................................................ 30 4.3 Balancing fire prevention and environmental protection on public land ........................ 33 2 | P a g e O F F I C I A L - S e n s i t i v e Bendigo Bushfire Mitigation Plan 2021 (Draft version 4.0) 4.4 General community engagement .................................................................................... 36 5 The Bendigo bushfire threat .................................................................................................... 37 5.1 Bushfire modelling ........................................................................................................... 37 5.2 Bushfire behaviour ........................................................................................................... 38 5.3 Fire history ........................................................................................................................ 40 Ignitions ........................................................................................................................ 40 Fire history mapping..................................................................................................... 41 6 Values and assets ..................................................................................................................... 43 6.1 State Emergency Management Priorities ........................................................................ 43 6.2 Human landscape ............................................................................................................. 43 The Bendigo community .............................................................................................. 43 Critical and community infrastructure ......................................................................... 44 Livelihood and economy .............................................................................................. 44 European cultural heritage ........................................................................................... 45 Recreation .................................................................................................................... 46 6.3 Aboriginal cultural heritage .............................................................................................. 46 6.4 Natural landscape............................................................................................................. 46 7 Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 48 7.1 General methodology....................................................................................................... 48 7.2 Science informing the assessment of bushfire risk .......................................................... 49 7.3 Bushfire risk assessment standards ................................................................................. 50 National Emergency Risk Assessment Guidelines ........................................................ 50 Australian Standard 3959 - 2018 .................................................................................. 51 7.4 Assessment ....................................................................................................................... 52 Phoenix RapidFire Bushfire modelling ......................................................................... 52 Field validation ............................................................................................................. 54 Private property assessment ........................................................................................ 54 Scoring matrix ............................................................................................................... 55 Identification of priorities............................................................................................. 55 8 Guidance on recommended works .......................................................................................... 56 8.1 Extension of Asset Protection Breaks and Landscape Fuel Breaks .................................. 57 8.2 Planned burning ............................................................................................................... 58 8.3 Fire track network upgrade – access and egress ............................................................. 59 8.4 Maintenance .................................................................................................................... 59 9 APB Guideline (including the methodology for Landscape Fuel Breaks) ................................. 60 10 Mapping – Recommendations to reduce bushfire risk (refer to attached maps) ................... 66 10.1 B1 ...................................................................................................................................... 66 10.2 B2 .....................................................................................................................................