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This year’s fire danger period could start up to a month earlier than usual.
The Country Fire Authority’s District 17 operations manager Craig Brittain says due to the ongoing dry weather, officials were preparing for an early and difficult season.
The consultative phase with group officers, Forest Fire Management Victoria and municipal fire officers was still in process looking at a variety of factors such as soil moisture, fuel load and weather forecasts, before a date was set, he said.
Farmer and Grampians Group officer, Robert Kelm, agreed that the Wimmera was facing “one of those years” this fire season.
Mr Kelm, who lives at Green Lake, said because it was so dry, any fire that started this season would burn very fast.
Mr Kelm and Mr Brittain urged everyone to tidy up their properties now before it got too late, and to be ready for what was shaping up to be a potentially volatile season across the region.
With below average rain for the past months, away from channels and lakes, it was very dry; even some of the trees had no moisture in them.
Mr Kelm said lightning strikes could be a problem in the dry bush.
He welcomed a code of practice for harvesting recently put in place so that on “real dirty days” the word was put out to stop harvesting until the risk of sparking a fire was lower.
“It’s been working really well. We only had one header fire in the area last season,” Mr Kelm said.
Mr Brittain said that this season, for the first time, the fire authority would introduce a zero tolerance for illegal fires.
The fire authority will work in co-operation with police and other organisations.
Mr Brittain said illegal fires were defined as any fire that was lit or allowed to remain alight, unless within the prescription of a permit.
This could include an accidental spark from a grinder or welder that started a fire, campfires not properly extinguished or burn-offs that got away.
Any illegal fire – particularly on a Total Fire Ban Day – could attract a charge and penalties up to $36,400 or two years in jail.
Mr Brittain said every year had a summer period, so every year there were high risk periods and people needed to be aware of those risks.
He said he had been speaking on the radio about three weeks ago, urging people to start cleaning up blocks and preparing because it was going to be an early season.
“We know it will be early, hotter, longer and drier and the community needs to take that on board. Mitigate all risks or take the consequences,” he said.
Mr Brittain said if anyone has any doubts about what they could or couldn’t do around cleaning up, or preparing for fires, they could visit a CFA office or go to the website www.cfa.vic.gov.au and check the ‘Can I or Can’t I?’ brochure.