The Fire Danger Period will begin at 01.00am on Monday, 30 November 2020 for the following municipality in District 5 in CFA’s South West Region:
- Southern Grampians Shire Council (northern part)
- Southern Grampians Shire Council (central part)
The Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for Victoria released on 31 August identified potential for reduced risk of campaign bushfires in East Gippsland for the 2020/21 season.
Over the past six months, Victoria has recorded close to average rainfall.
While areas in the far south-west received rainfall well above average in recent weeks, there are pockets of Victoria that still received below-average rainfall.
For example, in eastern parts of the state September rainfall ranged from ‘much below average’ to ‘lowest on record’.
From November to December, we can expect above-average rainfall across Victoria due to the influence of La Niña, particularly across the northern parts and mountain regions.
Considering the outlook and current conditions, the fire season has the potential to be a grassfire-dominated season, with shorter-duration fires in grass and dry forests during hotter and windier days.
CFA reminds Victorians not to be complacent as an average fire season in this state can still be a bad one.
CFA District 5 Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) Richard Bourke said the grassland in areas north of the Wannon River are curing rapidly with the onset of warmer weather.
“Substantial rainfall across the South West over the past few months means the grass growth has been abundant and with the onset of summer and the natural growth cycle of the grass, we will see a higher than average fuel loads this fire season,” ACFO Bourke said.
“While CFA and our partner agencies Fire Rescue Victoria and Forest Fire Management Victoria are doing everything we can to prepare for the bushfire season, we look to the community to use common sense and take responsibility for preventing fires.”
He said there was still a short window of opportunity to clean up your property if you haven’t already done so.
“People need to be aware that if using fire to clean up around their properties they need to register these on 1800 668 511. So far this year, out-of-control burn-offs and unregistered burn-offs have already caused unnecessary callouts to brigades,” ACFO Bourke said.
“You should not burn-off when winds are high or high winds are forecast – not only on the day of your burn but for the days afterwards.
