By Michael Doran
In a timely reminder that summer and bushfire season has a long way to go, Healesville Community Bushfire Group is holding its next meeting on 20 February and invites anyone interested in bushfire awareness to come along.
Living in an area that is at extreme risk of bushfire means that residents of townships like Badger Creek, Chum Creek and Healesville need to be bushfire fire aware and connected in order to better prepare for, respond to and recover when a bushfire occurs.
DELWP officer and Chum Creek resident, Joy Harte is a Community Partnerships Support Officer for Yarra District. “Having lived in Chum creek for 44 years I have a personal interest in bushfire preparedness in the area,” she said. “Our aim is to empower communities to be actively involved in decision making that directly affects their community.”
The Healesville Community Bushfire Group consists of both community and fire agency members and comes together to complement existing programs and initiatives already being undertaken by fire agencies, as well as exploring and implementing new initiatives where appropriate.
So far, the group has organised a successful event called ‘Living with Fire’ that saw 200 locals learn from CSIRO scientist Justin Leonard about the vulnerability of houses during bushfires and the best way of increasing the chances of a house still standing after a bushfire by householder improvements to the house and the immediate surrounds.
Other current and potential actions that are being considered by the group include a fuel management plan for Chum Creek, a community networking event and working with traders about planning, should a bushfire impact the township.
“We encourage any residents from the greater Healesville area to join us and share their knowledge and ideas about Living with Fire in our area,” Ms Harte said.
The next meeting is on Wednesday 20 February at the Darron Honey Centre, 286 Maroondah Hwy Healesville from 7-9pm. All are welcome and for more information contact Joy on 5965 9923 or email joy.harte@delwp.vic.gov.au
