It is the season for hazard reduction burns with agencies including National Parks stepping up controlled burning in the last week including in forests west of Narooma and south of Bermagui.

It was a controlled burn instigated by Forests NSW that allegedly started the serious Gulaga fire in August 2009 that burned 3000 hectares and about two thirds of Gulaga National Park.

South East Forest Rescue spokeswoman Lisa Stone alleged there was an increased fire risk due to the thinning and drying out of once-wet forests due to logging, and there were now plans to drop incendiary devices from helicopters in sensitive areas near Gulaga, a mountain sacred to Aborigines.

The Tinpot Road and areas north-west of Gulaga Mountain contained sacred Aboriginal places and core koala habitat which should be gazetted to National Park.

“The fire hazard reduction policy is itself ill-advised and based on bad science,” she said. “Fuel reduction burning is considered to be a threat to koalas in the NSW Koala Recovery Plan.”

Forests NSW operations manager for the region meanwhile confirmed to conservationists that on Thursday last week helicopters dropped incendiary Ping-Pong balls out of a helicopter to complete burning of leaf litter in the Gulaga area.

He said that a check was made for threatened species and none were found.

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