An official assessment from fire authorities and the Bureau of Meteorology, co-ordinated by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities (AFAC) and released on Wednesday morning, points to a likely early start to the fire season in Victoria.
This is even as reports suggest that large parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory, the south-west of Victoria and south-east corner of South Australia have continued to face an increased risk of bushfires this spring.
The BoM forecasts an increased chance of higher than average temperatures across many parts of the country from August to October, which raises the risk of bushfires. Fire authorities warned people to prepare for the coming fire season and have survival plans in place.
Rob Webb, who is the chief executive of AFAC, said the areas showing an increased risk of fire were liable to either see more fire activity or fires that were harder to extinguish because of the high amount of fuel such as dried grass, leaves, twigs and dead branches.
Read also: Report: Australia may delay release of 2035 climate target
He said: “That increased risk comes from there being more fuel available that can hold a fire that, if it starts under the right conditions, are harder to control.”
The report said the potential for fires through spring in New South Wales was normal, but the grass fuel loads were high in many areas which, if it dried out, could pose a risk.
Total fire bans were in place in Illawarra and greater Sydney on Monday, and a grassfire near Newcastle this week burnt through more than 200 hectares of bushland before coming under control.
In Queensland, central and southern parts had experienced a “significant curing event” in late winter where frosts and winds had dried out grasslands and open forested areas, the bushfire outlook report said.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
