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More than 60 leaders in Victoria’s Barwon South West emergency services recently gathered in Portland in preparedness for the increased risk of bushfire across the region this Spring.
The group consisted of key Incident Management Team leaders from CFA, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic), Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), VICSES, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and Local Government.
CFA Assistant Chief Fire Officer Regional Commander Barwon South West Peter Creak said the day was invaluable to hear the latest insights from a state and local perspective, but also to understand what we have learned from last summer that is being implemented this year.
“In an emergency we all need to work together to get good outcomes, so coming together in preparation and receiving the same briefing and participating in an exercise really puts us on the same page coming into the season,” Peter said.
“The AFAC Seasonal Outlook for Spring was released in August and that indicated that we’ve got an above average risk in a couple of pockets of our region.
“One of those pockets is the far southwest corner of the state and that indicates that we’re likely to get potentially an earlier fire season than we would normally get.”
Held at the Portland Golf Club, the day kicked off with an update from Emergency Management Victoria Deputy Commissioner Brett Boatman about the state’s key messages, before an overarching look at the Seasonal Outlook and what that means for agency planning.
Prior to the workshop mock emergency exercise that concluded the day, agencies provided in-depth readiness updates, and broader presentations touching on forest industries, cultural heritage, embedding local knowledge into operations, hazardous trees and aviation resources.
Identified in the higher risk zone, Portland Fire Brigade Captain Ian Hamley said the dynamics of the region can make it complex for firefighters during a fire season with elevated conditions.
“When you look at CFA’s District 4 and out here in the Glenelg Shire, it is sort of broken up into thirds. We’ve got a third of plantation, agriculture and national forests,” Ian said.
“Each of those are quite different to manage, so it can be challenging to navigate.”
Peter said the forecast stems from underlying long-term dryness across the area.
“Particularly in the northern part of the district around Casterton, and north of Heywood, we’ve had multiple years with below average rainfall and some of those fuels have dried out,” Peter said.
“We’ve also got dry fuels left over from previous years that are still available, and if you mix that with a drying cycle, that makes things even more susceptible to fire, and that’s possible, even in Spring.
“However, it will depend on rainfall over coming weeks. This district often gets good rainfall in Spring, but if that doesn’t eventuate, or dries off quicker than usual then we could see fire activity early.”
While local firefighters and leaders continue to prepare themselves, residents and landowners are urged to take the time to prepare their properties in Spring and have situational awareness.
“We encourage people to understand their level of bushfire risk heading into the warmer conditions, either on their farm or house, and to make sure that they have a bushfire plan in place,” Peter said.
“It’s critical to reinforce our readiness to the local communities but we also ask that they are vigilant, remain aware, and keep up to date with the VicEmergency App.”
