Maggie fires appear to be an unnecessary risk

THE Bureau of Meteorology on the internet forecast a strong wind warning for this week.

Yet in the Townsville Bulletin (9/6) the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service announced plans to conduct a burn on Magnetic Island.

Under these conditions this will certainly turn into a wildfire, and there will be no predicting where the fire will go, or how much of the island will be burnt.

The question that has to be asked, is whether this service takes weather conditions into account when planning these fires, and if not, why not?

There are other questions to consider with regard to burning the island.

Has an environmental audit been done on the planned area to be burnt? Is there a post-fire audit planned to see what they have achieved with the burn and to pick up burnt koalas and other injured wildlife?

How many bushfires have occurred on Magnetic Island that the Queensland Parks and

Wildlife Service haven’t lit?

What is the frequency of the planned burns on the island, given that research has shown that many of the trees and plants and animals cannot tolerate burns that are too frequent and will become extinct in the burnt areas.

It is understandable that people are apprehensive about bushfires given what has happened in southern parts of Australia, but Magnetic Island does not have the same weather conditions as those areas, and does not have a history of catastrophic fires.

With the best will in the world, are we damaging the island flora and fauna for nothing? LORRAINE BRISCHETTO,

North Ward.