Planned prescribed burns for the Plenty Gorge have been brought forward following a $21 million cash injection to Parks Victoria by the State Government.

The burns are scheduled to be done from late this month through to November but are subject to favourable weather conditions and fuel moisture levels.

The burns are to take place at the back of Yellow Gum Park in Plenty and along Mernda’s Bringe Inn Rd.

Plenty Gorge Park ranger-in-charge Jeremy Tscharke said the burn-offs were part of a wider program to protect the gorge.

“Fire protection plans in the greater Melbourne area have been reviewed and we are stepping up the fire protection program in identified high-risk areas such as Plenty Gorge,” he said.

Whittlesea Council officers, Parks Victoria staff, CFA members and Friends of Apollo Parkways inspected the gorge on Saturday to develop safety strategies in the lead-up to summer.

The news has been welcomed by Greensborough mother-of-three Maria Wilson, whose Karriboo Grove home backs on to the gorge.

“My home is a fire-fuel deathtrap,” she said. “It’s really terrifying to ... see all these dead trees in the gorge. They have to be removed quickly.”

Mr Tscharke said the burn-offs would help protect Karriboo Grove from bushfires.

Source: Whittlesea Leader