MELBOURNE (AAP)

Satellite imagery and aerial photography will be used in a $1.26 million investigation into the impact of the more than 1,000 bushfires that raged across Victoria over summer.State Environment Minister John Thwaites said the mapping study would reveal the areas of bushland in need of re-seeding, water catchments at risk of contamination and tracks, roads and bridges that were lost or damaged.

The bushfires, which burned mainly in the Great Dividing Range in Victoria's east, claimed just over one million hectares."We're committed to using the latest technology not only in fighting fires but also in recovering from fires," Mr Thwaites said."We'll be relying on very sophisticated maps to determine exactly where the fire has burned the most, the effect on vegetation and the effect on assets.

."Mr Thwaites said it would also allow a fine-point study of the estimated 7,500km of roads and walking trails thought damaged by the fires.More than 1,000 bushfires were sparked in Victoria over the 2006-07 summer, up on the 30-year average of about 490 fires.
(06/03/2007 03:11:07 PM)