A NEW study has shed doubt on the effectiveness of prescribed burns in reducing the threat of bushfires to homes.
Research from Australian and American scientists into Victoria's Black Saturday fires found that clearing vegetation around houses was twice as effective as prescribed burns.
The study is expected to provide an insight for WA, where the debate over prescribed burns and landowner clearing is intensifying after November's Margaret River fires, which was started from a prescribed burn.
The research team found that reducing trees and shrubs from 90 per cent cover to 5 per cent cover within 40 metres of houses could potentially reduce house loss by an average of 43 per cent.
Dr Philip Gibbons from The Australian National University said the Victorian fires, which killed 173 people, provided an unprecedented opportunity to learn about the effects of land management on house loss.
"Clearing trees and shrubs within 40 metres of houses was the most effective form of fuel reduction on Black Saturday," said Dr Gibbons.
"However, there was less risk to houses from vegetation in planted gardens compared with vegetation in remnant native bushland."
The researchers found that protection afforded to houses by prescribed burning on Black Saturday was only modest.
Dr Gibbons said the actions of private landholders, who managed fuel close to houses, were extremely important when reducing risks to houses.
But Dr Gibbons said reducing fuel close to houses was not always an appropriate strategy.
"Intensive fuel reduction close to houses can be expensive, can have significant environmental and aesthetic impacts and can be risky in some circumstances," said Dr Gibbons.
"Many of these issues can be avoided if new housing is not permitted adjacent to forests."
"No amount of fuel reduction will guarantee that a house is safe on extreme weather days like Black Saturday, so it is critical that other measures, such as early evacuation, safer places and architectural solutions are considered by every resident in fire-prone areas in addition to, or instead of, fuel reduction."
Dr Gibbons warned the next major bushfire to hit Australia would be even worse than Black Saturday, because housing density in many bushfire-prone regions was increasing.
He said the lessons from the bushfire must be learnt.
Mick Keelty is currently preparing a report into the Margaret River bushfires, which destroyed 32 homes.
His previous report into the Perth Hills fires supported the prescribed burning program, saying it was the most effective way of managing fuel loads.
Lobby group the Bushfire Front used their submission to the current inquiry to warn about the lack of preparedness by homeowners, particularly those in the South-West.
Bushfire Front chairman Roger Underwood, a former Department of Conservation and Land Management general manager, accused the Fire and Emergency Services Authority and the Augusta-Margaret River Shire of failing to insist on high standards of bushfire safety, preparedness and damage mitigation on private property and shire lands.
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