The environments directorate reached less than half of its mid-year prescribed burning target, a performance report has shown.
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ACT Parks and Conservation director Daniel Iglesias has said this is a normal occurrence but it's made harder by climate change creating hotter, drier summers which start earlier and finish later.
"We won't light if it's not safe. If the fuel is too dry or if there's not enough fuel, then we can't burn," Mr Iglesias said.
"We have a very small window of opportunity. At this time of the year ... we almost always report that we're behind."
The report said parks had a prescribed burning target of 50 per cent by December 31 but had only met 20 per cent by the New Year.
"No suitable weather window has arrived to allow prescribed burning. Weather is being reviewed twice weekly," the report said.
Mr Iglesias described the target as an "accounting target".
"They're not - if you like - the best way to measure performance against the environmental factors," he said.
He said the best conditions for prescribed burning were cooler temperatures, with dry conditions in the day and rising humidity at night.
"Climate change has squeezed those conditions out and its become more hot and dry; its become harder and harder," Mr Iglesias said.
Overall, the parks 140 firefighters were looking to do 41 prescribed burns on 6000 hectares of land across the ACT, Mr Iglesias said.
He said parks normally catches up to targets in March and April, reaching close to 100 per cent of targets.
Mr Iglesias said Canberrans shouldn't be concerned but said "the whole thing is an interesting dilemma and an interesting challenge".
The directorate has several targets including physical removal which involves chainsaws or machinery to reduce fuels, slashing, grazing, and prescribed burning.
While conditions weren't favourable for prescribed burning, Mr Iglesias said meeting these targets with physical removal and slashing wasn't possible.
It would mean expensive, extensive operation in remote parts of the bush capital.
"Where we choose physical removal over prescribed burns, it's purely due to the size," Mr Iglesias said.
In hot conditions, slashing and mowing could actually start fires.
Grazing was also proving tough, with a dry winter and spring meaning less for stock to feed on at the start of the season.
But Mr Iglesias said the benefits of previous controlled burns was accumulative.
"We are still benefiting from the controlled burns that we delivered three or four years ago," he said.
And thanks to smarter technology like infrared cameras to detect fires and laser technology that measured fuel loads, parks firefighters had a much easier job.
"Canberra is getting a lot more storm and thunderstorm activity whereas before we didn't see that," Mr Iglesias said.
Infrared technology allowed firefighters to spot fires caused by lightning strikes in remote country earlier.
But of the thousands of lightning strikes, Canberra had copped this summer, Mr Iglesias said only two or three had started fires.
