Favourable weather conditions have enabled Parks and Wildlife Service firefighters to progress prescribed burns today, Tuesday 14 April, which may result in smoke impacts across the Perth metropolitan area.

Current conditions are also suitable for private property burn-offs, with rural and agricultural burns underway by landowners across the south-west.

The prescribed burns are being undertaken 30-50 kilometres east of the Perth metro area to reduce fuels loads and protect homes and communities from the threat of large-scale and high intensity bushfires in summer.

Smoke is expected to move into the metropolitan areas later this evening and overnight under southerly and easterly winds. Light winds and a moderately strong inversion will cause the smoke to sit closer to the ground, making it more noticeable. Conditions are forecast to improve, with smoke expected to clear by mid-morning Wednesday. 

DBCA carefully considers when prescribed burns are undertaken, often working within very narrow weather windows. While it’s not always possible to avoid winds that carry smoke over populated areas - particularly from burns in the Perth Hills - the Bureau of Meteorology advises that further smoke impacts in the coming days are less likely.

We continue to take a proactive approach to providing smoke alerts, giving people as much advance notice as possible about where smoke is likely to impact. People with health conditions which are impacted by smoke are advised to keep up to date with smoke messaging, as well as follow advice from health care professionals.                

Keep up to date by checking www.emergency.wa.gov.au for smoke alerts, and dbca.wa.gov.au/todaysburns after 10am each day to view the daily burn schedule.