Bushfire Risk Report
The documents on this page is aimed to share information and keep you updated about the Bushfire Risk Assessment project commissioned by the Mount Nebo Residents Association (MNRA) in Jan 2024.
Independent fire analyst and consultants, Firesight, have completed their modelling of potential bushfire behaviour around Mt Nebo village and the final report is available for community members.
A limited number of hardcopies are available for short-term loan from MNRA – please contact to arrange pick-up and return.
Principal Firesight analyst Andrew Sturgess will be returning to Mt Nebo Hall on Wed 20 November 2024 to deliver a second presentation on the results of the Fire Risk Assessment and also to answer any questions that residents may have about the final report.
The MNRA Fire Subcommittee is looking for community feedback on the report. Feedback will help inform the next steps we take as a community to become more bushfire resilient. In conjunction with MGCA, and facilitated by Fire Futures, this feedback will also be used in communications with the relevant agencies eg City of Moreton Bay, Queensland National Parks and other stakeholders. Please email any feedback to:
FireSight Bushfire Risk Analysis
FireSight has delivered a landscape risk assessment of Mt Nebo (and Mount Glorious) based on a range of factors including fuel loads, weather, vegetation, soil moisture etc using data modelling to give us detail on the likelihood and impacts of bushfires.
This is very valuable information because it gives us an indication of how fire might behave in certain conditions eg: low, high and moderate conditions. It will also helps us identify areas of high risk. This means we now have a source of accurate, independent data that we can use to inform community education and advocacy with agencies. The assessment helps identify areas that should be prioritised for mitigation work and will hopefully help in the development of a local fire management plan.
At a City of Moreton Bay Fire Information day held at Mt Glorious, Scott Bell, a resident of Happy Valley township on K’gari/Fraser Is, presented on how their community developed a fire management plan which was instrumental in saving their community from recent bushfires on K’gari.
The fact that our community has proactively commissioned research on the local risk, which can be used to inform and develop a community driven fire management plan, demonstrates that we are determined to be partners in managing the bushfire risks to this area.
The overriding goal is to improve bushfire resilience of mountain communities. We want a healthier landscape and we want a more-fire literate community. This report will give us an independent evidence base to work from.
Background to the project
Fire is one of the major risks to our mountain communities and there has always been strong interest in preventing a fire disaster for our communities and surrounding bushland.
Fire Futures group – established 2022
The Fire Futures (FF) reference group formed out of the Fire Futures UQ research project in 2022. It is comprised of 14 residents from Mt Glorious and Mt Nebo, many with expertise in fire and the environment, or related fields, but meeting as residents.
The general aim of the group is to support community action in relation to bushfire resilience.
One of the group’s key initiatives is the Bushfire Risk Assessment proposal. Mt Glorious Community Association (MGCA) commissioned an expert consultant in this field, Firesight, to do an assessment on the bushland around Mt Glorious, ahead of the 2024/25 fire season.
Mt Nebo Residents Association (MNRA) was offered the opportunity to be included in this Bushfire Risk Assessment by paying extra fees to enlarge the scope of the project to include areas in and around Mt Nebo – see MNRA Firesight proposal documents: Quote letter from Firesight
In December 2023 the Mount Glorious Community Association (MGCA) approved $11,000 to start the project and survey work commenced, so that results would be available prior to the 2024 fire season.
At a Special General meeting on 24th January 2024 MNRA members voted to join in the MGCA project and have the area covered by Bushfire Risk Assessment extended to cover the area around Mt Nebo at a very reasonable additional fee of $5,500- 7,150 (includes 30% contingency). This map indicates the additional area surveyed.
To assist in communicating information about this proposal, a Mt Nebo Fire Subcommittee was established at the December 2023 MNRA meeting.
The Fire subcommittee members currently are Neville Bradford, Jenny Leask, Andrea Mitchell, Kylie Bickle and Bill and Michelle Zuber.
The Fire Subcommittee remit is to prepare information about the proposal to inform the members, fundraise for the project payment, facilitate the fire proposal project and help coordinate feedback to MNRA.
Funds were raised to pay for the Bushfire Risk Assessment through many generous community donations on a GoFundMe page specifically set up for this purpose. Funds were also raised through enthusiastic community support of a Bunya Feast and the efforts of local musicians Sabrina Lawrie and James Lees who organised Firesongs – a music night fundraiser where they, and other musicians including Paddy Dempsey donated their time and talent.