Bushfire Fuel Reduction and APZ Maintenance
Taking care of ladder fuels, helping prevent crown fires.
- Asset protection zones
- Boundary breaks
- Steep ground
- Ladder fuels
- No machinery
Ladder fuels
Ladder fuels are the shrubs, vines, and low branches that carry fire from the ground up into the tree canopy.
It's very important to control ladder fuels to prevent grass fires from climbing into the canopy and becoming extremely dangerous crown fires.
Free on-site look before you commit.
Why goats
Goats aren't so interested in short grass, instead opting for taller, woodier plants. They'll tackle everything they can reach (sometimes up to 2m).
Not only will they tackle the ladder fuels, they turn them into fertilizer. All this helps lower fire risk, and creates an environment that can help native species thrive.
Disclaimer
Grazing complements your bushfire planning. It is not a substitute for advice from your local RFS, and it is not an approved hazard reduction where one is required. What it does well is hold fuel loads down on country that’s difficult to treat any other way, and keep an APZ from getting away from you in between.
If your fire break is urgent, say so when you get in touch - use the Urgent Firebreak tab on the form below and it goes to the top of the pile.
Where we work
Out of Port Macquarie, across Port Macquarie, Wauchope, Kempsey, the Camden Haven, Taree and Forster. More on the method: goats for weed control.
Questions about fuel reduction
What is an asset protection zone?
An APZ is a fuel-reduced buffer between a bush fire hazard and a building - a house, a shed, a farm building. It's there to reduce radiant heat and direct flame contact, give firefighters somewhere defendable to work, and let emergency vehicles get in. The area closest to the building is the inner protection area, where fuel is kept lowest.
Whose job is it to maintain an APZ?
The owner or occupier of the land. It isn't a one-off - an APZ needs ongoing maintenance to stay compliant with council orders and RFS requirements, and the work needs doing before summer rather than during it.
What are ladder fuels?
The shrub, vine and low-branch layer sitting between the grass and the tree canopy. It's the rung system that lets a fire climb - a grass fire that would otherwise stay on the ground uses ladder fuels to reach the canopy and become a crown fire, which is far harder to stop and far more dangerous.
How do goats help with fuel reduction?
They eat exactly the layer that matters. Goats browse from ground level to roughly two metres, which is the ladder fuel band, and they'll take woody, tougher growth that other livestock walk past. On slopes where a mulcher can't safely operate and a burn is too risky, grazing is often the only practical option.
When should I book fuel reduction grazing?
Late winter or early spring, so you go into summer with the understorey already grazed out.
Does goat grazing replace a hazard reduction burn?
No. Grazing complements your bushfire planning, it doesn't substitute for advice from your local RFS or for an approved hazard reduction where one is required. What it does is manage fuel loads on ground that's difficult to treat any other way, and keep an APZ from getting away from you between burns.
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