South Australian Bushfire clean-up draws to a close

Monday 01 June 2020
South Australian Bushfire clean-up draws to a close

MEDIA RELEASE

Bushfire clean-up in South Australia has reached a significant milestone with the final house being cleared and ready to rebuild, helping affected communities recover as fast as possible.

More than 450 fire-affected properties across South Australia have now been cleared with over 25,000 tonnes of waste removed.

More than $12.9 million has been spent on the clean-up in South Australia with most of the work carried out by local contractors, helping keep the money in these local communities.

The majority of the bushfire waste clean-up following the devastating bushfires affecting the South East, York Peninsula, Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island is now complete.

Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said the Federal and State Government has gone dollar for dollar in funding the clean-up.

“Cleaning up after a bushfire can be a very emotional time and we wanted to make sure there was one less thing to worry about so we committed to clear sites to allow the affected communities to begin rebuilding at no cost to homeowners,” said Minister Littleproud.

“By getting the clean-up done as quickly as possible it allows our bushfire affected communities to rebuild and recover.
“The Federal Government will continue standing shoulder to shoulder with these communities.”

Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said while the clean-up of some fencing and sheds will continue, all residential homes that were affected by the summer’s bushfires have now been cleared.

“The summer’s bushfires have had devastating impact across South Australia in particular at Kangaroo Island and the Adelaide Hills,” said Minister Speirs.

“The sight of fire debris and burnt houses was a sad reminder of this devastation and so to have the final house impacted by the bushfires being cleared at Lobethal is a great relief to those affected communities.

“I want to thank the people of South Australia in these affected regions for their patience and for their resilience in such tough times.
“Since this funding was announced, Green Industries SA has been on the ground working closely with local contractors and the community to quickly remove the debris and hazardous materials so that South Australian householders, farmers and businesses can start the journey to recovery.”

Kangaroo Island
220 properties cleared
More than 20,100 tonnes of waste removed
More than $9.2 million committed

Adelaide Hills
227 properties cleared
More than 4,300 tonnes of waste removed
More than $3.4 million committed

South East
2 properties cleared
More than 106 tonnes of waste removed
More than $25,000 committed

Yorke Peninsula
6 properties cleared
More than 700 tonnes of waste removed
More than $190,000 committed.