The Cool Burn Squad has wrapped up the 2026 fire season with some big numbers. This season the team burned 103.65 hectares, built 19.68 kilometres of fire breaks, and wrote cool burn management plans covering 16,966 hectares of land across the region.
At the heart of the program is protecting the Burnett Mary's prime agricultural land. A hot, uncontrolled wildfire can wipe out pasture, fencing, infrastructure and stock in a single afternoon, and the soil and ground cover can take years to recover. By reducing fuel loads ahead of the fire season, the Squad helps landholders keep productive farmland productive.
One moment from this season stood out. While the Doughboy wildfire was burning out of control about 30 kilometres away, the Squad was carrying out a planned cool burn, low and slow and under control. Cool burns are lit at the right time of year and in the right conditions. They creep through the understorey and clear out built-up fuel, while the canopy, habitat and soil stay healthy. The fire burning down the road showed why that matters: less fuel on the ground means less chance a wildfire reaches farms, homes and grazing country.
The team's work also made it onto ABC News, in a story on how cultural burning is helping protect Australia from catastrophic fires. You can watch it here.
Good burns start with good preparation. The Squad's tracked mulcher cuts clean, reliable fire breaks through dense regrowth, keeping each burn inside its boundaries and giving crews safe access across the property.
Interest in the program has been huge this year, and the team is still working through the list and getting back to every landholder who has registered. If you've already put your hand up, thank you for your patience. We'll be in touch soon.
The Squad is already planning next season and is still taking expressions of interest from landholders in the Burnett Mary region. If you manage agricultural land and want to reduce your wildfire risk, or you'd like a fire management plan for your property, register your interest here.