Donnybrook-Balingup and Nannup Shires receive more than $556,000 in fire risk funding

More than $500,000 has been allocated to two Lower South West shires to help manage their fire risk as part of the State Government’s Mitigation Activity Fund. The Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup has been granted $315,180 and the Shire of Nannup $241,790 from the funding pool reserved for local governments in “high-risk areas of the State”. Warren-Blackwood MLA Jane Kelsbie said solid preparation was the best measure to deal with bushfires and that the funding could be used to establish fire breaks and carry out prescribed burns. “We know that to keep communities safe, especially high-risk towns like ours surrounded by beautiful bushland, everyone needs to work together on a range of mitigation activities to protect property but also preserve our natural environments,” she said. “We all have a role to play when it comes to staying safe this bushfire season.” The area has seen a number of serious bushfires in recent times, including one earlier this year that burned through 6000ha and destroyed a property while damaging three others and a 2019 blaze that scorched more than 3000ha. 24 local governments have received a total of $4.45 million through the program.