Bushfire

Bushfire is one of the most devastating threats facing our community every year.

The annual bushfire season on the Gold Coast runs from September through to December, although seasonal changes can extend or shorten this period.

For bushfire alerts, select the Fire incidents filter on our City dashboard map.

We are helping to safeguard our community by managing the risk of bushfire in Council parks and reserves and by educating residents living in high risk areas. Visit City Alerts for details of current bushfire reduction hazard burns.

Be prepared

Being prepared is everybody's responsibility.

While your house may not be threatened by a direct fire front, embers can travel tens of kilometres to affect neighbouring houses. Smoke from a bushfire also can be a threat to your family and pets.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) provides the following tips to help you prepare for this bushfire season.

Before a bushfire warning

  • Ensure your emergency plan is up-to-date and your emergency kit is ready, should you decide to 'go early'.
  • Clean gutters, trim overhanging tree branches and bushes around your home.
  • Make sure your water supply will be sufficient if there is a bushfire.
  • Clear fuel around the house such as wood piles, boxes and cans of fuel.
  • Check water systems, pumps or generators are in working order.
  • Ensure fire trucks can obtain access to your property.

During a bushfire event in your area

  • Listen to the radio for information and updates.
  • Follow instructions from local authorities.
  • Disconnect hose and fittings and bring inside.
  • Go inside for shelter.
  • Wear protective clothing.
  • Drinks lots of water.
  • Check and patrol for embers inside, particularly in the roof space.
  • Check family and pets.

Be prepared for the effects of a bushfire including heat and wind, smoke, noise, loss of power and phone lines, and loss of water pressure.

After a bushfire

  • Listen to the radio for information and updates.
  • Continue drinking lots of water.
  • Check for spot fires and embers inside and out (including roof space).

Report all fires to Triple Zero (000)

If your house is seriously damaged, contact the SES on 132 500 or the City's Disaster Hotline on 1800 606 000 for assistance.

For information on how to protect your family, property and belongings in a disaster situation download our Community Disaster Guide

How does the City manage bushfire risk?

As one of the largest natural area land holders on the Gold Coast, the City plays an important role in managing bushfire in our city.

To achieve this, we partner with the QFES and the Gold Coast Rural Fire Brigade Group to reduce the risk of bushfire in Council-owned and managed natural parks and reserves.

We even have three senior QFES officers and a team of natural area management experts on staff to ensure all our programs are best practice and integrated into the wider bushfire management network.

Together, our activities include:

  • supporting the emergency response to a bushfire in the city, directly with QFES and through our Disaster Management Centre
  • developing fire management plans, both strategic and operational
  • planning, coordinating and implementing our annual hazard reduction burn program in conjunction with the Gold Coast Rural Fire Brigade Group, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and other fire agencies
  • advising on bushfire management issues for Council policies and strategies
  • assessing development applications against Our Living City's Bushfire Management Code
  • constructing and maintaining fire trails and water tanks on Council land
  • mapping bushfire footprints and hazards
  • monitoring and reducing bushfire fuel, such as dead wood and undergrowth, on selected priority City reserves and land
  • supporting community bushfire education programs.

Providing the guidelines for all our bushfire management activities is the Gold Coast City Bushfire Management Strategy, which outlines our overall approach to preventing and managing bushfire on the Gold Coast.

We also participate in the Gold Coast Fire Management Group and the Regional Interdepartmental Committee on Bushfire, both run by QFES.

While we have a vested interest in reducing bushfire risk across the whole of the city, our activities are restricted, by law, to City-owned or managed land.

In fact, most of the medium and high potential bushfire hazard areas within the city are on private property. If you wish to report your concerns about overgrown land on private property, visit our Report a problem – Trees, plants & vegetation page where you can report your concerns online.

Although out of our control, we encourage and educate other natural landholders, public and private, to be vigilant in their bushfire preparations.

Further information

For more information, phone 07 5629 5629 or 1300 GOLDCOAST.

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