Wet weather pushes back start of fire season for the region

The Goulburn Valley is set to experience a late fire season with wet weather expected to continue this month.

CFA district 22 assistant chief officer Tony Owen said the rain predicted for this month pushed the ignition date back to mid-November, pending a weather change.

‘‘For us, here in the Goulburn Valley, we’re probably a little bit behind,’’ he said.

‘‘Aim for mid-November to be prepared.’’

Planning what to take during an evacuation, where to go and who to notify can help during an emergency, Mr Owen said.

‘‘Start to think now about what your plan will be if something happens,’’ he said.

For those living on lifestyle blocks and small properties, take the opportunity to spray and slash paddocks and clear any treefall around your block, he said.

While this fire season was predicted to be normal, the risk of grass fires was expected to be higher than other years due to the rain.

Mr Owen advised everyone to be vigilant around large grass fuel loads, especially when parking cars on the sides of country roads.

‘‘The general public should watch for pulling up to grassy roadsides,’’ he said.

Farmers have also been advised to take extra precautions when harvesting their bumper crops this season, with extra potential for the large yields to go up in flames.

Keep machinery clean to avoid material build up on hot parts of the engine and postpone harvesting when the conditions are too dangerous.

‘‘We’re blessed with a good farming community that’s very fire savvy,’’ Mr Owen said.

‘‘They’re always an industry that’s very fire vigilant.’’

Mr Owen said the CFA was well into preparations for fire season despite current coronavirus restrictions.

‘‘We’re still training and getting ourselves ready,’’ he said.