City of Albany and Shire of Plantagenet have received funding from the State Government to boost their bushfire mitigation strategies under the Bushfire Mitigation Activity Fund.

More than $5.1 million has been allocated by the Government for initiatives including planned burns, establishing or maintaining fire breaks and reducing fuel loads that pose a significant risk to families, businesses and infrastructure.

The City of Albany was given $502,280 and the Shire of Plantagenet handed $66,330, in the latest funding announcement, to help with their bushfire mitigation schemes.

The grants were handed out with the aim to help WA’s bushfire mitigation program that will protect communities across the State during high-threat periods.

There were 41 local governments who received funding for 752 bushfire mitigation treatments.

Emergency Services Minister David Michael said there had been numerous bushfires over the past year it was important that local governments improve their mitigation strategies.

“In the past 12 months there have been more than 5100 bushfires across WA, burning through around 7.5 million hectares — greater than the size of Tasmania,” he said.

“As more than 93 per cent of WA is bushfire prone, it is vital we work with local governments to undertake mitigation activities that will limit the impacts on our landscape.

“By reducing the scale of bushfires, we are also helping our valiant firefighters get control of incidents before they put lives, homes and businesses at risk.”