All indications point to a long, treacherous and early fire season, forcing preparations to be fast tracked, says Shepparton’s Country Fire Authority branch.
The authority is calling on residents to start managing properties ahead of the looming fire season, expected to start up to six weeks earlier than expected.
CFA district 22 operations manager Tony Owen said all indicators from the Bureau of Meteorology and trends from interstate pointed to an early start to the season, fast-tracking preparations.
‘‘If trends continue, it could be three to six weeks earlier than anticipated. The other factor worrying to us is a lot of our district is dry, we haven’t had the rains we usually get,’’ he said.
The CFA’s message to the public was to start their summer preparations now for a long fire danger period.
Mr Owen feared the period could stretch longer than 25 weeks and begin as early as late October. His message was to begin managing vegetation, stressing burning was not the only way to do this. ‘‘Mowing, spraying . . . If they’re going to be pruning the understory of trees, get it done now,’’ he said.
Mr Owen said while the introduction of the fire danger period usually fell late November, and while current cycles were pointing to an early start, spring rain could change things. ● For more information, visit .
This story by Thomas Moir is from The Shepparton News - “Get set for early fire season.”
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