Fresh calls for a coordinated, science-based approach to fire management are growing across regional Victoria, as communities reflect on the devastation of recent bushfires and ongoing concerns about fuel loads left untreated since the Black Summer fires of 2019–20.
Timber Towns Victoria, which represents 11 municipal councils across the state’s north, east and west — including fire-prone regional areas similar to East Gippsland — says the scale of the latest fires reinforces long-standing warnings from forest scientists that fuel reduction must be prioritised to reduce catastrophic risk.
More than 400,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land have burned during Victoria’s most significant fire events in years, destroying hundreds of structures and claiming life during extreme fire conditions.
At one point, emergency authorities were managing more than 100 separate burnt areas simultaneously, with several major fires exceeding 100,000 hectares.
Timber Towns Victoria president Cr Karen Stephens said the fires highlighted a failure to adequately reduce fuel loads in the years following Black Summer, despite repeated inquiries and recommendations calling for increased prescribed burning and proactive land management.
“A coordinated, proactive fire management approach, guided by scientific evidence, needs to be prioritised as a key method of reducing the future risk of catastrophic fires of this intensity,” Cr Stephens said.
East Gippsland residents remain acutely aware of what can happen when extreme weather meets heavy fuel loads, with the 2019–20 Black Summer Bushfires burning more than 1.5 million hectares across the region, destroying homes, isolating communities and leaving long-term environmental and economic scars.
Many locals argue that large areas of public land in East Gippsland and across Victoria remain heavily overgrown six years on, with insufficient prescribed burning and mechanical fuel reduction undertaken since Black Summer.
Cr Stephens pointed to Forestry Australia’s Forest Fire Management Position Statement, released in June 2023, which stresses that fire is an unavoidable part of the Australian landscape and must be actively managed, not avoided.
The statement argues that effective fire management must be grounded in decades of scientific research, Traditional Owner knowledge, and coordinated action across all land tenures — public and private — rather than relying primarily on emergency response once fires have already started.
It calls for year-round vegetation management, risk-appropriate land-use planning, and the strategic use of prescribed burning, cultural burning and mechanical fuel reduction as the backbone of resilient landscapes.
It also highlights the importance of rapid detection, with shorter response times significantly increasing the chances of containing new ignitions.
The consequences of failing to act early have again become clear, with major fires destroying large areas of pine plantation, placing pressure on regional communities, agriculture and the forestry supply chain.
Victorian Forest Products Association chief executive Andrew White said plantation losses had damaged critical parts of Victoria’s housing supply chain, with softwood plantations underpinning the manufacture of framing timber, trusses, paper and packaging.
While describing the plantation sector as resilient, Mr White said the fires had once again demonstrated the need for stronger prevention strategies alongside emergency response.
Emergency services, including Forest Fire Management Victoria, the CFA and Forest Industry Brigades, have been widely praised for their efforts, with Cr Stephens acknowledging their dedication and professionalism in protecting lives and property under extreme conditions.
However, Timber Towns Victoria argues that bravery on the fireground cannot compensate for years of inadequate fuel reduction.
“Now is the time for the Victorian Government to act — to prioritise proactive fire management, strengthen support for the forestry sector, and commit to reforms that reduce risk and build resilience,” Cr Stephens said.
For communities like East Gippsland, still living with the memory of Black Summer, many say the message is clear: without meaningful fuel reduction and coordinated land management, catastrophic fire seasons will continue to repeat.
“This fire season must be a turning point,” Cr Stephens said. “We call on government to listen, learn and lead.”
