Fire Management

[Sharmayne RizaldoParticipant]

Is there a specific process with how the Yirrganydji community does cultural burning?

What kind of materials are used? How many people usually conduct the fires? How long does it take? Does burning reach a certain level of cost?

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Sharmayne,

These are great questions, we’ll reach out to Dawul Wuru to get some insights and will let you know once we hear back from them. I’d just like to clarify your final question – are you asking about the financial cost a burn takes? Or are you able to clarify what you meant with that one.

I appreciate your patience while we wait for Dawul Wuru to get in touch, in the meantime if you haven’t already, I recommend taking a look at the Yirrganydji Cultural Fire Workshops videos which can be found in the Resources section, they give a good introduction to the cultural burning practice and introduce some of the stakeholders involved in that process.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Sharmayne RizaldoParticipant]

Yes, I was wondering about the financial cost of the burn as well as how often cultural burning happens.

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Thanks for clarifying, I’ll pass on your questions to Dawul Wuru and get in touch once we have an answer.

Thanks for your patience!
Rachel

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Sharmayne,

Thank you so much for your patience – Dawul Wuru were finalising their fire management booklet and wanted to ensure that the information we provided to you was correct. We’re hoping to add a PDF version of this booklet to the website resources in the next couple of days.

To answer your questions:

Q: Is there a specific process with how the Yirrganydji community does cultural burning?
A: There is no specific process – it varies depending on the fuel (plant matter) used during the burning.

Q: What kind of materials are used?
A: Typically, they will use matches used to light fires (not drip torches), fire uniforms to be worn by those performing the burning. There is also transport needed to and from the sites.

Q: How many people usually conduct the fires?
A: This depends on the area. Cultural fires are small, with approximately 2-3 elders with knowledge teaching a few others as they go about the burning process. Dawul Wuru encourages as many rangers as possible to attend these events as they like to learn from the elders.
National Parks burns however may have approximately 10 people, but again depends on the size of the burn, for example if there are hotter patches which need more people to monitor.

Q: How long does it take?
A: Again, this depends on the size of the area, but for example the Dungarra site (which you can explore in our interactives) can be done in one day. 

Q: How much does it cost?
A: It is the cost of the materials listed above and the time of people doing the burns. In general, it is quite low cost, as there is not a need to pay for processed fuel accelerants like petrol. Also as Yirrganydji Country is quite urban in many places, the areas of land being burned are relatively small so there is no need to hire equipment (for example, helicopters –  in other parts of Australia, such as Cape York, larger expanses of land and helicopters are often used to drop incendiaries).

I hope these help, and again I appreciate your patience in waiting for these responses! Please let me know if you need any further information.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Sharmayne,

Just to update you further, Dawul Wuru’s Fire Management Plan has now been added to the Resources section, under ‘Key Documents’. Hopefully this provides you with some more context and information for your project.

Thanks!
Rachel

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