Rangers will patrol regional parks, forests and reserves to ensure firewood is legally collected in the forthcoming season.
The autumn firewood collection season will open across Victoria on March 1 and run until June 30.
Grampians region assistant chief fire officer Peter Kambouris said interactive maps would soon be available online to advise residents of designated collection spots.
“It’s important that people only collect firewood from designated collection areas in state forests or parks where collection is allowed and to stay within collection limits,” he said.
“This includes taking a maximum of two cubic metres per person per day and a maximum of 16 cubic metres per household per financial year. This is to prevent households stockpiling large volumes of firewood from public land and denying others a supply.”
Mr Kambouris said that the felling of any trees for firewood by members of the public was prohibited.
“The amount of domestic firewood available across Victoria is varied and some households rely on firewood for winter energy, so consider others when taking firewood,” he said.
Collection areas may be in areas where there are planned autumn burns. Mr Kambouris urged people to check where burns were scheduled as affected areas might be closed at short notice.
