'Burning more easily and more intently': Busy fire season fuelled by drought
Published Date: 06 Oct 2019
Summary
While they might not be as hard hit as their compatriots to the north, Central West firefighters are set for a busy summer thanks to the drought which has crippled the state.
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While the summer's fire season officially kicked off on October 1, Rural Fire Service Canobolas Zone operations manager Brett Bowden said the line was becoming blurred as to when fire season began.
"There's no real start and end to them these days," Mr Bowden said.
"Ours officially started on October 1 but Chifley and plenty of the eastern districts brought theirs forward to September 1."
Punters will need permits to burn off during fire season, to be gained either from local captains or from RFS regional headquarters.
Mr Bowden expects a "busy" fire season, and said the reason was simple: drought.
"While there's not a lot of fuel for [fires] to burn ... what is there is extremely dry and will burn easily."
"Fires will start more easily and will start more intensely."
"Even paddocks with not much grass, being that dry for that long has made a lot of fires up north spread more easily."
Fires near Armidale last month - to which the Canobolas Zone sent firefighters - have given people across the state a look at just how easily dry fuel can burn, no matter how small.
Lightning strikes will again pose a bushfire threat, especially if strikes are as numerous as they were last summer.
Mr Bowden said people needed to be aware of the fire danger rating each day, especially if they were doing outdoor work on the land.
"People to be aware of every fire danger rating, every alert level and keep watching," he said.
"We need to be aware of the things we do which can start fires."
"Using machinery - anything that can warm up - can be dangerous on a high-danger day. You get people on the windiest, hottest day, they'll be out slashing their back paddock.
"Do it early morning, late afternoon, not the middle of the day."
He said angle grinders were potentially "one of the greatest fire starters on earth".
"People using angle grinders in their shed with muffs and visors on and with all the things happening, they can forget those sparks can escape the shed and before you know it, there's a fire going."
