More than 50 Erskine residents have raised their concerns about dangerous fuel loads at Len Howard Conservation Park with the fire management team from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
At the meeting, which was organised by Dawesville MP Zak Kirkup, the residents said the fire risk at the reserve had not been properly managed for almost a decade.
Mr Kirkup said residents whose homes border onto the bushland were worried about the fire risk in the coming summer.
“I asked the fire management team from biodeversity to the meeting so we could discuss ways to address the the issue,” he said.
“It’s clear to me that more work needs to be done to remove some of the fuel load that’s been sitting there for years.
“In some cases trees have been chopped down and left sitting there, which in summer would be good fuel for a fire.”
Mr Kirkup said the biodiversity department had agreed to help residents organise a busy bee to be scheduled sometime over the next few weeks to help clean up the area and remove some of the excess fuel load.
“The department has acknowledged there were issues with respect to the way the reserve has been managed,” he said.
“While they were pointed out, and I agree, there are plenty of good fire responders in the area, such as the Falcon volunteer brigade, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the fuel load hasn’t been properly managed for over a decade.
“Bushfire mitigation is everyone’s responsibility and the City of Mandaurah is a high risk area, so I’m glad we’re all going to work together to help mitigate that risk.”