Hume

Characteristics

Mountains to flat floodplains
Forested water catchment areas which provide almost 40% of the inflows into the Murray darling system
Part of the 'food bowl' of Australia
Major settlements are along the Hume Freeway
Ecosystems include alpine forest, grassy woodlands, and floodplains

Fuel management

Intensely managing fuel on public land close to towns
Fuel management to stop fires spreading to communities in the Alpine and Greater Gippsland Region
Fuel management to protect critical assets, as well as nationally significant water catchment areas and fire-sensitive vegetation
Maintaining forest roads and river tracks for quick response to bushfires
Planned burning north and west of communities along the likely spread paths of bushfires
Fire-sensitive species and vegetation guide the frequency of burning

Bushfire risk

The estimated risk curve tells a story about how bushfires, recovering fuels after bushfires and our fuel management activities, affect the changing levels of bushfire risk across the landscape over time.

Within the Hume region in 2019–20, estimated bushfire risk is was projected at around 67%.

Over the last few decades, estimated risk has fallen sharply in response to several large bushfires close to townships. These bushfires include the Mt Buffalo Bushfire of 1985, the Alpine Bushfires of 2003, and the Great Divide Bushfires of 2006/07.

Following the Great Divide bushfires, planned burning kept estimated risk at around the 40% level for five years.

In recent years estimated risk has been increasing more rapidly as fuels re-accumulate in areas burnt by the 2006/07 bushfires.

Bushfire risk is projected to fall to 55% by 2023 if the entire Joint Fuel Management Program is implemented but would increase to 76% by 2023 without any fuel management or bushfires.

Environmental metrics

Understanding the impact of fire on ecosystems requires first being able to define and measure ecosystem resilience. Tolerable Fire Interval and Vegetation Growth Stage Structure are used as indicators of ecosystem resilience at a regional level. These allow us to better understand ecosystem resilience and the impacts of fire.

Current and historic Tolerable Fire Interval and Vegetation Growth Stage Structures for the Hume region are available in the Fuel Management Report

Strategic bushfire management planning

Strategic bushfire management planning is about bringing together land and fire managers, communities and stakeholders to develop a common understanding of bushfire risk and determine strategies and actions to reduce that risk.

This planning is informed by world-leading, bushfire behaviour modelling and research into community values that can be affected by bushfires. It brings together multiple perspectives to set agreed objectives for regional bushfire management.

The key output of strategic planning is six new Bushfire Management Strategies aligned to each of the Victorian Government Regions:

Download the Hume Bushfire Management Strategy (PDF 9,7MB)

Download the Hume Bushfire Management Strategy (Word Accessible 15MB)

The Strategic bushfire management planning process is jointly delivered by Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic), Country Fire Authority (CFA), Emergency Management Victoria (EMV), and local government in consultation with communities. For more information about the Strategic Bushfire Management Planning process, see the Strategic Bushfire Management Planning page.