NPWS hazard reduction burn at Shoal Bay on Tuesday

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), with support from the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Fire and Rescue NSW, is planning a hazard reduction burn at Shoal Bay in Tomaree National Park on Tuesday 28 July, weather permitting.

The 5-hectare burn near Joleen Crescent, Ronald Avenue, Lionel Avenue and Verona Roads will reduce fuel within the Park to help suppress bushfire.

The burn will help protect the local environment, the Shoal Bay community and natural assets along the Tomaree Coastal Walk.

During the burn, public access to the Wreck Beach area will be closed.

The Tomaree Coastal Walk will also be closed from Zenith Beach carpark to Box Beach Road, with an alternative route available along Tomaree Road in Shoal Bay.

These areas will be reopened to visitors as soon as they are deemed safe. Please see the NPWS alerts web page for updates. More stages of the burn may be undertaken in the coming weeks depending on weather conditions.

Burn timing and intensity is being managed to protect important local threatened species such as koalas, New Holland Mouse, and Melaleuca groveana.

Hazard reduction burns are essential to reduce bushfire fuel loads, promote growth of fire-dependent species and to help protect parks, neighbours and communities from future bushfires.

All burns around the state are coordinated with the NSW Rural Fire Service. People with known health conditions can sign up to receive air quality reports, forecasts and alerts via email or SMS from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

For health information relating to smoke from bushfires and hazard reduction burns, visit NSW Health or Asthma Australia.

More information on hazard reduction activities is available at NSW Rural Fire Service and the NSW Government's Hazards Near Me website and app.