‘Hard, fast running’ fires predicted for looming bushfire season
Just weeks out from the start of bushfire season a senior firefighter has warned that the window for mitigation is closing. Here’s how to prepare.
Toowoomba
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Planned preventive burns are being conducted across the Darling Downs and southwest region in preparation for the looming bushfire season, with just a few weeks left for mitigation plans.
Rural Fire Service Superintendent Shaune Toohey said it was the “pivot point” of the year for mitigation as bushfire season started on August 1.
“We are starting to see some of those grass fires take effect, and that’s where we are really asking property owners to remain cautious and vigilant,” he said.
“We’re expecting it to be a grass fire season, just with the amount of grass growth that’s occurred in the last 12 months.
“Particularly in a grassfire type of year, they are hard and fast running in the late afternoons, so they do catch people by surprise and they happen very quickly.”
Growth in vegetation creates more fuel for bushfires once weather conditions become dry, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Supt. Toohey said Rural Fire Services had deployed a number of strike teams into the Bollon and Maranoa regions over the past few weeks.
“The Darling Downs and the southwest region, the landscape we have is very susceptible to fire,” he said.
“We’ll be focusing heavily on those hazard reduction programs, working with our other land management agencies like Queensland Parks and Wildlife and local governments to really get those preparations in.
“A lot of hazard reduction burns are taking place on some of the fragile properties in and around the Stanthorpe and Warwick area.”
Hazard reduction burns are reliant on the right weather conditions including wind direction and speed, and humidity levels.
“We’re taking advantage of the conditions we’ve got while we’ve got them,” Supt. Toohey said.
“We’ve still got some moisture in our soil, which is really good for this time of year.”
As temperatures have dropped over the last few weeks Supt. Toohey said the frost was already sucking some of the moisture out of the soil.
He said households and communities needed to be well prepared ahead of the season.
“They’ve got to take measures to prepare their properties,” he said.
“It’s also working with your neighbours to actually build up a community profile, to allow good containment on properties along with reducing the fuel to stop those fires spreading.
“We can do all the work possible to get ready but unless households don’t take that action to actually prepare.”
The Toowoomba Regional Council is involved in mitigation activities alongside Queensland Fire and Emergency Services to reduce fire risk, including planned burns on Council Land.
Keep up to date with your local council Disaster Management Dashboards and the Queensland Fire Department website for bushfire warnings.
Originally published as ‘Hard, fast running’ fires predicted for looming bushfire season
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