Tens of thousands of Canberra households have been urged to prepare for the almost certainty of bushfire threats over the next few months.
Wednesday marked the official start of the bushfire season in the ACT, with Emergency Services Minister Simon Corbell warning there was already a risk of fire almost two months out from summer.
"We've certainly seen that trend starting to emerge over the past couple of years, fires starting earlier in the year and the fire season lasting a lot longer… You only have to look back 12 months to remember the devastating fires that occurred in the Blue Mountains in October," the minister said.
As a result the Rural Fire Service has bolstered its arsenal of firefighting utilities with new staff, equipment and initiatives to tackle the fire threat.
Already there has been a sharp increase in the number of community volunteers to help fight this year's fire season, with more than 1100 volunteers serving in Community Fire Units across the ACT.
But Rural Fire Service Chief Officer Andrew Stark has urged all members of the community take necessary precautions immediately in and around their own homes to prevent the risk of fire danger.
"It's important the community gets out and moves around their properties and thinks about the things that might be minor risks this summer, little practical things they can be doing around their properties; clearing away dry vegetation and clearing gutters," Chief Officer Stark said.
To help combat the threat of fire danger this season, the Rural Fire Service has increased its offensive capabilities, with the addition of two new fire tankers to join the ranks.
"We received a new heavy tanker to replace one of the older vehicles, as well as a medium tanker with upgraded equipment and safety features," Chief Officer Stark said.
ESA staff will also be briefing residents by door-to-door visits suggesting how to prepare their homes for possible bushfires, particularly targeting those living in high risk fire danger areas.
"For the first time we are designating a range of suburbs as being vulnerable to bushfire… There are tens of thousands of homes in these new zones," Minister Corbell said.
All residents in bushfire prone areas are being asked to make sure they have devised a bushfire survival plan for their family. It can be downloaded from the Emergency Services Agency website. This year will also see the introduction of the ACT Emergency Services ``MyFirePlan", a smartphone app that can help devise a specific bushfire plan unqiue to a person's situation.
"Not having a plan or planning to make a plan is simply not good enough, you need to have a bushfire plan in place," the Minister said.
The risk of grassfires igniting around Canberra is also of great concern to the RFS, which has been performing control burns around the area, as well as slashing and grazing, to prepare the ACT for this year's bushfire season.
"We're seeing a lot of grass growth in certain areas… As we move into the height of summer, that grass fire risk will certainly increase," Chief Officer Stark said.
"We live here in the bush capital, bushfires will occur in Canberra every summer."
Minister Corbell believes climate change could also be having a devastating impact on the severity of each annual bushfire season and that conditions are likely to get even worse in the coming years.
"The number of severe and catastrophic fire danger days could double over the coming one to two decades as a result of climate change and that results in longer and more severe fire seasons," the minister said.
To find out more about this year's fire season and how to make a plan visit the ESA website at www.esa.act.gov.au
