Port Phillip

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 region over time.

Within the Port Phillip region in 2019-20, estimated bushfire risk was projected at around 85%.

Estimated risk fell sharply in 1983 following the Ash Wednesday bushfires and again in 2009 following the Black Saturday Bushfires, reaching less than 40% in 2010.

Since 2009, estimated risk has been steadily increasing due to fuel re-accumulating across the region.

Bushfire risk is projected to fall to 82% if the entire Joint Fuel Management Program is implemented but would continue to increase to a projected 90% by 2023 without any fuel management or bushfires.

Port Phillip has several major towns that adjoin land that is not treatable by planned burning. Therefore planned burning has limited effect for reducing bushfire risk to these towns, and other activities such as community education and mechanical works must play an important role.

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 Port Phillip region are available in the Fuel Management Report

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 Bushfire Management Strategy (PDF 10.8MB)

Download the Bushfire Management Strategy (Word Accessible 17MB)

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.