Fire season set for early finish cool weather douses danger

Andrew Mathieson
UNSEASONAL cool weather could end the region’s fire season six weeks early this year despite ongoing warnings of bushfire.
Acting CFA region seven Geelong operations manager Gerry Verdoorn said authorities would soon be in a position to decide whether to wind the annual high alert status for fires.
State Government had moved to extend the fire danger period to April 30 in the aftermath of last year’s record high temperatures.
“If the weather patterns come like predicted, which is rain earlier in March, we could see it end by maybe mid-March,” Mr Verdoorn said.
“By the end of February or start of March we are over the hump, for want of a better word, and after that we might only get odd days that could pose a risk.”
Fire experts had expressed as late as December their fears of another horrific fire season.
A Lara CFA captain told the Independent he feared that a fire could rip through the rural township after a wet winter produced more grass and a heavier fuel load.
Mr Verdoorn was surprised that command had placed fire management teams on stand-by three times compared to about 15 days last summer.
“We had that real blast of hot weather in November. We honestly thought we were going to have another season from hell,” he said.
“Then the weather and patterns turned, we got the rain and moister weather – that has been a significant contributor.”
Mr Verdoorn warned that several consecutive days of hot, dry weather with strong winds could still “cause us a great deal of angst”.
Grasslands and crops with stubble residue were still a concern, he said.
Risk areas included the eastern Otway Ranges, which were still “quite dry”, while significant growth could fuel grassfires at Lara.
Mr Verdoorn said a wodespread publicity campaign to caution residents about the dangers of bushfire had minimised the risks.
“I think the hangover from Black Saturday is still in people’s minds,” he said.
“Our public is now a lot more aware of the dangers of fire.”