SW burn-off program has 'serious backlog'

The head of an influential bushfire prevention group has welcomed a funding boost for prescribed burning of bush but remains critical of money being "wasted" in the past.

An extra $20 million is being set aside for burn-offs during the next four years in an effort to reduce the bushfire risk in the South West.

The increase will be announced in today's State Budget and tops up the Department of Parks and Wildlife's annual budget of $10 million.

Bush Fire Front chairman Roger Underwood said the extra money was a good start to the Government's acknowledgement that the prescribed burning program needed bolstering.

"However, money alone is not going to be enough to overcome the serious backlog in the burning program in South West forests," he said.

In a recent submission to the Government, Mr Underwood identified 13 constraints to the program.

"The most serious problem we see, apart from lack of money, is a lack of capacity - with DPaW desperately short of experienced bushfire managers," he said.

"A huge amount of good money is wasted by WA bushfire authorities - massively expensive helicopters and water bombers are incapable of suppressing high-intensity forest fires, as we saw at Northcliffe.

"Money spent on preparedness and damage mitigation would save multi-millions in the cost of fires."

Mr Underwood also warned the funding injection could not be a "one-off."

The $20 million boost for prescribed burns, being bankrolled by the Royalties for Regions program, includes an initial allocation of $3.5 million for the coming financial year.

Environmental Minister Albert Jacob said the money would allow DPaW to introduce more flexibility into its burn-off program.

"Fire crews will be moved around the South West on short notice to take advantage of every opportunity to safely undertake prescribed burning," he said.

"It will fund extra Parks and Wildlife fire crew positions and extended employment contracts for seasonal land management officers."

The funding follows the Government's failure to reach its annual burn-off target of 200,000ha in 2012/13, when 23,468ha were burnt.

A DPaW spokeswoman said about 116,000ha had already been burnt this financial year and that was "still increasing."