The Country Fire Authority has announced the Fire Danger Period (FDP) will begin in Whittlesea and Hume from 1am, Monday January 9.
While some restrictions already apply across parts of Victoria, CFA will be introducing further FDPs for the municipalities in the coming weeks based on assessments of the amount of rain, grassland curing rate and specific conditions in Whittlesea and Hume.
CFA district 14 assistant chief fire officer Tim Holland said the crops and grass in the paddocks and the grass along the roadsides are still green now, but will eventually dry out.
“Widespread rainfall in winter and spring has led to high fuel loads across the district and we can expect to see grassfires start this fire season,” he said.
“It has been a few years now since we have seen so much spring grass growth through the paddocks and grasslands which will provide that higher fuel loads right through summer.
“As we experience more warmer weather, we will see this grass dry out over the next few weeks. This dry grass will burn, fire will spread which means we could see larger grass fires around the outer suburbs of Melbourne.”
The potential for increased grassfire conditions for the 2022/23 fire season has been identified, due to significant grass growth and delayed harvest activities.
While CFA firefighters are preparing for the bushfire season, residents are being urged to do their part to help prevent fires.
Whittlesea and Hume homeowners have been advised to reduce the fuel loads around their home by cutting and maintaining their grass and cleaning up their property.
A written permit is required for any resident wanting to burn off grass, undergrowth, weeds or vegetation during the Fire Danger Period.
Based on the latest outlook, the CFA says fire season is expected to be normal in Victoria, except for parts of central, north east and eastern Victoria where the potential is below normal.
Details: www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/fire-danger-period-restrictions.
