Thousands of hectares missed in South Australian prescribed burn-offs, leaving state vulnerable DEWNR firefighter Andrew Rettig ready for the burn-off season. MORE than a third of the proposed public burn-offs in South Australia were unable to be completed last season, leaving sections of the state more exposed in the event of bushfire. On the eve of this year's burn-off season, Environment Department statistics obtained by The Advertiser show that of the 95 burn-offs proposed in the 2012 spring-2013 autumn burning season, only 59 were completed. Of the total 14,971ha scheduled to be burned statewide, only 11,050ha were blackened. Last season's shortfall followed a similar shortfall in the 2011 spring-2012 autumn season, where 80 per cent of the proposed area to be burned ended up being blackened. Statistics show the department was able to burn 60ha more than was proposed in the spring 2012 window but they were severely hampered by adverse conditions in autumn this year, when they fell almost 4000ha short of the target. Environment Department fire manager Shane Wiseman said the dry autumn was a hindrance. "We had a prolonged, dry autumn where fuels were typically too dry to burn safely and I think this was evidenced by the Cherryville fire in May, which just was an example of how dry the fuels were," he said. In conjunction with that, we had a number of fairly major bushfire incidents ... where our resources were tied up in support of CFS. Mr Wiseman said the missed burns were rolled in to the next available period and prioritised to minimise risk. He denied there was an increased risk associated with the cumulative missed burn-offs over the past two seasons. "Our focus is on prioritising them and hopefully we will get the weather patterns where we will pick up a few of the burns that have been delayed," he said. Those in the high risk areas, they take priority over the lower risk burns. The biggest shortfalls were on Eyre Peninsula (1516ha), the South East (835ha), and Yorke Peninsula/Mid North (605ha). In the Mount Lofty Ranges, 472ha or the proposed 659ha was burned. Country Fire Service state co-ordinator David Pearce said the missed burns were unlikely to have a major impact this season and encouraged private landholders to keep checks on their property and survival plans. "Yes, there will be high fuel loads, but that's part of what we deal with every year in South Australia," he said. They (the Environment Department) do the best that they can but the community still needs to make sure that they plan for every fire season. A lot of people are looking for a silver bullet for what is going to prevent the next major fire but when we get those extremely bad days ... we are pretty much in the lap of the weather gods. Sustainability, Environment and Conservation Minister Ian Hunter yesterday launched this spring's prescribed burning season. The Environment Department plans to burn 2881ha of public land statewide before bushfire risks grip the state through summer. A further 11,218ha is planned to be burned in autumn next year. Three prescribed burns - two in the Mount Lofty Ranges and one in the Mid North - are planned for today, weather permitting. "The prescribed burn program is strategically aimed at reducing fuel loads in high risk areas, to contain the spread of bushfire and reduce its impact on communities," Mr Hunter said.