Skip to main content

Planned burns and smoke

Link copied

Find information about planned burns. Learn how you can protect yourself and your family from smoke.

Planned burns in Brisbane

Council conducts planned burns to maintain the health of our bushland and lessen the risk of bushfires. 

Burns reduce the amount of materials that can fuel fires, such as dead wood. They are sometimes called hazard reduction burns.

Most planned burns in Brisbane take place between February and August, in line with air quality forecasts. 

Video: How and why Council conducts planned burns

Watch our video to learn more about how and why we do planned burns.

This is a video transcript of the Planned burns video hosted on Brisbane City Council's YouTube channel. This video is 1 minute and 57 seconds long.

>> Female voice: Brisbane City Council is one of the largest councils in the Southern Hemisphere.

Home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, from forests to hills to wetlands.

Every year, Council undertakes planned burns to protect homes to maintain healthy forests, healthy habitats and to decrease the impact of wildfires.

Planned burning aims to reduce the amount of fuel by 75 per cent across 60 to 80 percent of the land being burnt.

Over 100 Council personnel are trained to undertake planned burns.

Dedicating thousands of staff hours onsite each year and hundreds of hours of planning.

To protect wildlife during burns, Council creates smaller, slower, less intense burns with lower flames, exclude zones where sensitive wildlife habitats exist and provides safe movement corridors for wildlife to exit burns.

To find out where Council is conducting planned burns next, and how you can prepare your property, visit brisbane.qld.gov.au.

Looking for something else

Air quality in Brisbane

Prepare for an emergency

Check your risk

Stay updated about planned burns and fires

Properties next to a burn area will receive information about a planned burn in their letterboxes.

We also post notices on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) on the day of a burn.

You can use the following resources to stay up-to-date with information about fires and burning activities happening near you.

Protect yourself from smoke 

Air pollutants and smoke from bushfires and planned burns can impact our health and safety. 

Smoke presents a higher health risk to young children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with existing respiratory or cardiovascular conditions.

You can take the following steps to protect yourself and your family from smoke.  

mdi information outline1

Note

The following advice has been provided by the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania and the Centre for Safe Air.

To find out more about what to do before, during and after a smoke event, download the Centre for Safe Air's bushfire smoke fact sheet.

Preparing for a smoke event

  • Monitor the air quality in Brisbane.
  • Fill in any gaps around windows, door frames and eaves.
  • Make an action plan with your healthcare provider to manage your health when smoke occurs. If you have a chronic medical condition, ask your doctor about how you can help control your symptoms.
  • Have a supply of P2/N95 face masks at home. Make sure they fit your face well.
  • Identify shelters or other safe locations to go to, if necessary.
  • Stay up-to-date with information about bushfires and planned burns.

During a smoke event

    mdi alert Red

    If a medical emergency is happening now, call Triple Zero (000).

    • Follow the medical action plan you developed with your doctor. If you experience trouble breathing or chest pain, seek medical advice immediately.
    • Monitor changes in air quality where you live.
    • Reduce the amount of smoke you breathe in by staying indoors and wearing your mask.
    • Move to a shelter or safer location, if safe to do so.

    • Keep indoor air as clean as possible by:

      • closing windows and doors 
      • turning on your air-conditioner to 're-circulate'
      • using a clean filter for the air-conditioner 
      • using a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to help reduce fine particles in the home
      • avoiding smoking, burning candles, frying food or vacuuming.
    mdi alert yellow

    Are you bushfire ready?

    Make sure you understand your area’s bushfire risk.

    You must also ensure you're prepared for bushfires and other severe weather events.