IF you have any doubt about how serious the upcoming fire season will be, consider this. Since Friday, Rural Fire Service volunteers have responded to 444 bush and grass fires across the state.
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That’s an average of almost 89 fires a day, which even in summer would seem extreme.
For property owners downwind of the big log and grass fire that erupted on the corner of Greenwell Point and Millbank roads on Friday afternoon, the danger ahead was sheeted home dramatically.
That blaze is believed to have escaped from a pile burn a few days earlier that was thought to have gone out. Fanned by strong, dry westerly winds, it kept firefighters busy for hours.
Several other fires across the state were also caused by escaped private hazard reduction burns.
This has prompted a warning from NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons to property owners to conduct hazard burns in a safe manner.
That means assessing the weather not just for the day of the burn but for days ahead as well. The arrival of a gusty weather front can easily reignite fires thought to be dormant, especially in the dry conditions we face.
The run of fires should also have families giving serious thought to their bushfire survival plans.
The Worrigee blaze, the arson attacks in Bomaderry and the run of fires across NSW should sound warnings to everyone that there is no room for complacency as we head into the bushfire danger season.
