By Derek Schlennstedt
Smoke will cover the Yarra Ranges over the next few days with the perfect weather window opening up for planned burns.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning has organised up to 100 planned burns in forests and parks over the coming days in order to help reduce the risk of bushfire to people, property and communities.
Forest fire management is working closely with the Bureau of Meteorology and have identified that due to predicted minimal wind forecast over the coming days, parts of Yarra Ranges will be affected by smoke.
On Friday 24 March, smoke from planned burns in the Murrindindi district may drift down to the Yarra Valley and affect the outskirts of Melbourne’s east.
Macclesfield CFA Captain Sharon Merritt spoke to the Mail while conducting a planned burn-off along Macclesfield Road, and said that the smoke would most likely hang around until Saturday afternoon.
“We have a very tight weather prescription, it has to be the right temperature, humidity, the wind has to be blowing in the right direction, and then you have to test the moisture of the fuel on the ground.”
This week all of these conditions have lined up for us to do planned-burns, and because we’re going to get rain on Sunday everyone is also going to do a lot of burns in the next few days while we have this little weather window.”
“It’s probably going to be very smokey until Saturday, and then the wind changes and the smoke should be blown away.”
Recent rainfall across Victoria has presented opportunities for several high priority burns to be ignited, and it is important that these burns are conducted while conditions are favourable.
Smoke will likely peak between now and Friday and Yarra Valley residents can expect smoke haze in the morning and evenings until Saturday.
Asthma sufferers are reminded to check their symptoms, use their preventer inhaler regularly, have a blue or grey reliever on them at all times and refer to their asthma management plan.
