Preparing for Summer Bushfires

Has your household prepared a bushfire plan?

A safe property + many safe properties
= a safer area for fire fighters to defend
= more chance of homes (and people) surviving.

Since the Victorian fires in February many people have simply decided to leave their homes, but realistically, you may not always get the chance to leave in time.

To leave safely, you need to go well in advance, and that literally means that if a severe fire danger warning is given – even if there are no fires in the vicinity – you need to leave as soon as you are aware of the warning. Once a fire is on the horizon – as for Victoria – it can be too late. In many cases, people won’t do this, they will wait until a fire is visible, or is reported in the area – and therefore need to be prepared to not be able to leave. It’s a very complicated issue.

Whether people want to stay or go, we all need to do what we can to prepare – for everyone’s benefit.

A safe property
+ many safe properties
= a safer area for fire fighters to defend
= more chance of homes (and people) surviving.

The conditions in Victoria were extreme. (I was aware of the risk, and I live in Tassie!). We could do a lot in the valley – and I don’t mean chopping down all the trees! Organising working bees is difficult, and possibly wouldn’t help – but if every property owner had a plan and did as much as they could to get rid of fine fuels and dry litter and rubbish, we as a community would be a lot safer.

Watch this space for more on bushfire planning.

[End note: Several homes in WW valley were incinerated in the 1967 bushfires.]

Ruth @ 187