TARGETS for backburning in Victoria's forests have no scientific basis and could realistically be more than doubled, the Black Saturday inquiry has heard.
But stretched resources at the Department of Sustainability and Environment were hampering efforts to carry out more extensive fuel-reduction burns, The Herald Sun reported.
The head of Victoria's fuel reduction program, DSE assistant chief officers Liam Fogarty, yesterday told the bushfires royal commission the current target of 130,000 hectares could realistically be increased to 275,000ha. He could not say why it was set at 130,000ha.
Asked by the counsel assisting the commission, Jack Rush, QC, if there was any scientific basis for the target, he said: "Not that I'm aware of."
But he rejected suggestions that backburning cold increase to as much as 450,000ha, which had been achieved in the 1980's.
Mr Fogarty told the commission the DSE would struggle to double fuel reduction burns, as the state fire agency was already "running at capacity".
Extra funding of $10 million would help, he said, but "it would take us some major time to really gear up for a major increase in our burning program".
He told the commission controlled burns were the only way to significantly reduce fuel loads across the state's 7.7 million ha of public land.
For full story, see The Herald Sun.
