Residents living in rural areas of Melton and Moorabool are being
urged to remove fire fuel by mid-October, with increased danger expected
in summer.
Speaking at a national emergency management conference in
Melbourne, CFA chief officer Euan Ferguson said early predictions for
the fire season suggested an above-average fire threat.
Fire agencies the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service
Authorities Council and the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre issued a
seasonal bushfire outlook for 2013-14 fire season at the conference.
Mr Ferguson said the severity of the fire risk would depend on spring rainfall.
“We’ve seen above-average rainfall over the last couple months that has led to a lot of grass growth,” he said.
“We’re going to see above-average rainfall forecast for Victoria
for the next three months. Our message is that grass will grow very
quickly from now on.
“People need to work out their fire- prevention plans and farmers
need to identify where their fuel breaks will be, and they need to start
preparing those now.”
Melton CFA senior station officer Jayson Hirt said firefighters prepared for the worst-case scenario each year.
“We have commenced operational planning, fire-prevention planning
and training programs to deal with higher-than-normal grass growth
around the urban area,” he said.
“The most significant time for fire danger in Melton is usually between the months of January and March.
‘‘This year has seen record temperatures and may lead to an
earlier-than-normal fire season, with potentially high fire danger in
December.”
Mr Hirt said the biggest concerns in the Melton area were fast-moving grass fires that could impact residential areas, including Caroline Springs, Diggers Rest and Toolern Vale.
