By JESSE GRAHAM
RESIDENTS are being warned to prepare immediately for the bushfire season, with the annual Fire Danger Period starting early and emergency services enforcing a zero-tolerance approach.
The Fire Danger Period, which places blanket restrictions on burning off without a permit, will begin for the Yarra Ranges area as of 1am on Monday 8 December.
Yarra Ranges mayor Fiona McAllister said the beginning of the fire ban period was six weeks earlier than last year, meaning residents had a small window of time in which to burn off excess vegetation.
Open-air burning will be banned from next Monday without a written permit, and emergency services have issued firm warnings that offences will be met with zero-tolerance.
CFA District 13 Operations Manager David Renkin said that out-of-control and unregistered burn-offs were a “major headache” for brigades, and that emergency services would be cracking down on any illegal burn-offs.
“Expect any fire you start to be fully investigated by police,” he said.
“Even if you have a permit to use fire over the Fire Danger Period, make sure you read the conditions carefully – failing to follow just one of those conditions can leave you open to prosecution.”
Mr Renkin said that fire bans would starting over a month earlier than usual due to warm and dry conditions, along with a rapid rate of grass curing.
He said these indicators, along with others, pointed to a “challenging” fire season for crews, and crews around the Yarra Ranges had been training for the worst-case scenario – a repeat of the catastrophic Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
Cr McAllister urged all residents to ensure their fire preparation works were done before the fire ban began, and to be fire-ready with a bushfire survival plan along with a cleared property.
“I’m urging all property owners to not wait for a fire inspection notice, to start cleaning out their gutters and their ground fuel,” she said.
“Do it now – don’t think that because we’ve had a little bit of rain lately that it’s reducing the risk – it’s still looking like it has the potential to be a hot, risky season.”
Meanwhile, Victoria Police will be re-activating its Operation Firesetter over the summer months, in an aim to prevent bushfire arson in high-risk areas, such as the Yarra Ranges.
The operation will run from November to April next year and police will be monitoring persons of interest and Acting Deputy Commissioner Jack Blayney said that the penalties for breaking the law would be severe.
“Any person responsible for starting an uncontrolled open air fire, no matter how small or large, will face the maximum penalty,” he said.
Mr Blayney said that bushfires could start from simple behaviours such as flicking cigarette butts, not properly extinguishing a campfire or using power-tools such as angle grinders.
He said that preventing bushfires was “everyone’s responsibility”, and that police would be rigorously investigating any arson incidents.
One intentionally-lit bushfire was started in the Yarra Ranges in the last bushfire season.
The maximum penalty for intentionally or recklessly causing a bushfire is 15 years in jail and a fine of over $35,000, while the maximum penalty for arson causing death is 25 years in jail.
For more information about preparing properties for the fire ban period, visit www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/firerisk.
For details of what is legal during the ban visit cfa.vic.gov.au/can or call 1800 240 667.
All burn-offs should be registered with the VicFire Burn-off notification line on 1800 668 511.
