General News
1 May, 2023
Local fire one of the “biggest in the state” for season
As Victoria’s fire restrictions come to an end, local authorities are taking stock of the season — with around 300 incidents in the area, illegal burn-offs continue to be “disappointing”. The state’s Fire Danger Period (FDP) officially...
As Victoria’s fire restrictions come to an end, local authorities are taking stock of the season — with around 300 incidents in the area, illegal burn-offs continue to be “disappointing”.
The state’s Fire Danger Period (FDP) officially ended last week with the Mornington Peninsula Shire the final municipality to remove restrictions on April 24, 12 days after the Central Goldfields Shire.
According to the CFA, the 2022-23 season was marked by intermittent rainfall and grassfires, with crews across Victoria responding to over 12,800 incidents between December and March.
Back home, a serious fire that burned through around 350 acres at Mount Glasgow near Dunach on February 4 underscored the season — the fire received support from 20 brigades.
“The major burn out of Dunach was probably our biggest fire and one of the biggest in the state for the fire season,” Goldfields group of brigades group officer Peter Higgins said.
“We’ve had approximately 300 turnouts in the region this year and that’s not all grass, that includes structures and other fires as well but this season, there were some good saves all around.
“The brigades worked well, helicopters worked well and the system we put in place this year, I was more than happy with the way that worked. We’ve had a couple of incidents but apart from that it hasn’t been too bad and the ones that we’ve had, I’m really happy with the way our captains and deputy group officers have performed. Our firefighters, as well, they’re volunteers and they do a splendid job.”
Apart from the Mount Glasgow incident, Mr Higgins said the brigades were occupied with smaller fires — he also expressed frustration with burn-offs that took place despite restrictions.
“This season was busy without being major. We had lots of little fires and a couple that burnt about 20 to 30 hectares,” he said.
“The disappointing thing once again is the attitude during the FDP — certain people continually burn in the danger period and we’ve got to be able to change that culture.
“During the FDP, you can’t light fires because it’s too dangerous to do so but some people press the limits. They’ve got to understand that we are volunteers and have families, the last thing we need to be doing is, when someone is being careless, turning out to a fire that they know they shouldn’t have lit. It puts our resources under unnecessary pressure.”
Looking into the future, with El Niño expected to form over the next couple of months bringing with it warmer and drier conditions, Mr Higgins said that the next fire season could be bigger.
“Predictions this time around suggest it will be drier and there’s also been so much growth this year so we have to see if we have a dry summer — the fire season you miss just puts you closer to the next big one you’re going to have,” he said.
“We’ve got some pretty good structures into place now that we know work at this level. If things escalate greatly we have that strategy and that structure in place and I think we should be able to handle it.
“El Niño normally indicates that there is going to be a fair fire season at this stage for the next one so people should prepare early because it’s a 12-month job to prepare yourself. Don’t let your property be the cause of a major fire, that’s what I always say.”
Alongside asking residents to start tidying up before a fire season comes around, there are steps to be taken in preparation of Winter as well.
“We’re going to come into a reasonably cold winter in the next couple of months so be careful,” Mr Higgins said.
“Everyone should make sure that their gas heaters have been professionally cleaned and the chimneys have been cleaned out.
“Carbon monoxide is a silent killer so stay vigilant, that’s the main thing.”