Bushfires
The coast’s bushfire season starts in the dry season at the beginning of August.
The season runs through until the beginning of the wet season over summer. However, there may be a bushfire risk at other times, depending on local conditions.
If you live in or near bushland, you need to prepare for the possibility of fire.
Use the tips on the Prepare.Act.Survive. website (published by Queensland Fire and Rescue Service) to help you prepare your home and family from bushfire.
It can guide you through an emergency and will help you to decide whether to stay or to leave in the event of a fire. It also outlines the steps you need to take if you decide to leave.
Additional information is available on the Red Cross website.
Bushfire factsheets
- Bushfire smoke and your health (PDF, 397KB)
- Bushfires and roof-harvested rainwater (PDF, 372KB)
- Fire retardants and health (PDF, 393KB)
- After a fire: returning home safely (PDF, 519KB)
- After a fire: cleaning up a smoke affected home (PDF, 517KB)
- After a fire: using your personal protective kit (PDF, 552KB)
- After a fire: asbestos hazards (PDF, 520KB)
- Power outages: using alternative fuel and electricity generation safely (PDF, 526KB)
- Airborne dust and health effects (PDF, 394KB)
- Ash from copper chrome arsenate (PDF, 396KB).
Permits
You need a permit all year round to light a fire. This includes burning off or when an open fire is bigger than 2 metres in any direction. There is no charge for these permits.
In Queensland, the Rural Fire Service controls the use of fire by not allowing fires to be lit without a specific permit. A permit to light a fire is available on the Queensland Rural Fire Service website.
Bushfire management plans
The Sunshine Coast has around 5500 hectares of bushland reserves. To help protect and maintain the ecosystems of the reserves, council uses its bushfire management plans.