Large parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory, the south-west of Victoria and south-east corner of South Australia face an increased risk of bushfires this spring.
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.
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, 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.
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.
Expected higher than average temperatures across the state, combined with high fuel loads, were increasing the fire risk. This winter drying could see grassland fires spread into exposed forested areas.
The Rural Fire Service Queensland chief officer, Ben Millington, said a relatively wet summer followed by a warm and dry winter had seen grass growth accelerate, and unseasonably warm temperatures of recent weeks had already seen fires in parts of the state.
Some 420 hazard reduction burns had been carried out in the last couple of months to reduce fuel loads, he said.
He said whether people were inside or outside “those red areas on our map” they should be preparing for fires by clearing gutters and yards, removing overhanging branches and and making sure the household had a bushfire survival plan.
“That is: plan where to go, what to do and what to take. People need to heed these warnings and prepare now,” he said.
In south-west Victoria and south-east South Australia, a very dry autumn and winter had seen an increase in dead and dry plant material. Warmer temperatures expected in spring would see this drying continue, increasing the fire risk.
In the NT, a combination of high vegetation growth and then dry conditions, with forecasts of above-average temperatures, was pushing fire risk up for spring. Fire risk was considered at normal levels for Western Australia.
No complacency
Even in areas where fire activity was expected to be normal, “destructive and deadly fires can still occur during normal bushfire seasons”, the outlook said.
The federal emergency management minister, Senator Jenny McAllister, said “it’s important that all communities prepare for the fire season”, even though increased risk has been flagged for the NT, Queensland and Victoria.
“The outlook predicts an increased likelihood of unusually high maximum temperatures across Australia this Spring. I encourage Australians to be aware of the current fire risk in their own areas and make sure their bushfire plans are up to date.”
Webb said “the message is not one of complacency”.
People living in fire-prone areas should be making plans now and using times without fire to prepare, he said.
The BoM said in the outlook report that since the 1950s, there had been an increase in extreme fire weather and the fire season had lengthened across large parts of the country.
“Seasons are starting earlier and the intensity [of fires] are in the stronger end,” Webb added.
