Editing Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park (section)

===Fire management===
Fires have been a part of central desert land management for thousands of years and have shaped the landscape, habitats, survival of animals and patterns of vegetation. Controlled burning usually takes place during the winter months due to the cooler weather while natural fires mostly occur in the early summer months. They are usually started by the lightning strikes of dry electrical storms from the north west. When the storms arrive the weather is usually hot, dry and windy – conditions ideal for raging fires. Damage can be severe and widespread. Destructive bushfires burnt much of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and luxury accommodation at the Ayers Rock Resort was destroyed in 2002–03.

Traditional burning of the Uluru area stopped when Anangu were driven from the region during the 1930s. During the 1940s rainfall was good and vegetation flourished. The 1950 fire, fed by the fuel grown during the previous 20 years, wiped out about one third of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park's vegetation. The pattern repeated itself and in 1976 two fires burnt 76% of the park. Over the same period more species of medium-sized mammals became extinct around Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Today most fires in the park are lit following land management patterns traditionally practiced by Anangu. Traditional fire and land management skills enable Anangu to burn in a way that will give the desired result. These skills are vital for the preservation of the central Australian ecology.