Why is smoke management important?

Smoke management is important as it helps reduce the impact of smoke exposure on people and primary production, most notably wine grapes.

Country Fire Service SA released its Smoke Management Policy in February 2023 to help mitigate the impact of smoke on the South Australian community and its economic activities.

The aim is to help build community and industry understanding on smoke management with prescribed burning.

The policy, which NPWS abides by, makes clear that with careful planning and effective engagement, prescribed burning can be undertaken alongside community and industry activities using the following principles:

• Act in good faith to avoid or reduce the impact of smoke on economic and community activities.
• Utilise best available information to conduct burns under forecast favourable weather conditions.
• Encourage communication between stakeholders to consider and plan to avoid or manage impacts of burning on sensitive sites.
• Support continuous improvement to understand the impact of smoke on economic and community activities.

NPWS Fire Management Officers work hard to reduce the risk of smoke impacts from prescribed burns, along with balancing the need to reduce the risk of bushfire on the community. As a result, smoke taint has not been known to occur on wine grapes because of the NPWS prescribed burn program.

Smoke and your wellbeing

Sometimes smoke travelling over homes is unavoidable. To reduce the impact of smoke on your health or around your home, it is recommended adequate precautions are taken to ensure your well-being. Please sign up to our prescribed burn notifications so you will know when we will be burning near you.

If there is any smoke in your area, remove washing from your line and ensure all doors and windows remain closed until it passes. Smoke could also be present from burns on farms or forestry lands as well as domestic heating.

Smoke can be a trigger for people with asthma and other respiratory conditions. It’s important to be prepared and know how to respond when you are exposed to smoke. To speak to someone call Asthma Australia on 1800 ASTHMA (1800 278 462), or visit the National Asthma Council for information on bushfires and asthma.