Hamish Heard
FLAMES could lick the outskirts of Torquay and Jan Juc this summer as the region’s fire chief warned of the worst bushfire season on record.
Country Fire Authority Region 7 chief Bob Barry said early warning indicators suggested bigger fires than the Ash Wednesday outbreak of 1983 threatened the region this summer.
And bush and farmland surrounding Torquay and Anglesea could be the first to go, he said.
“We saw 70 people lose their lives on Ash Wednesday and if (CFA) and the community don’t prepare for a disastrous summer, we’re staring down the barrel of a similar catastrophe,” Mr Barry said.
“The coastal heathlands around Torquay and Anglesea are ready to burn today with the right weather conditions, there’s no doubt about the risks we’re facing.”
CFA testing had revealed unusually warm temperatures and below average rainfall had left the region more susceptible to fire than it was in the lead-up to the 1983 disaster, he said.
“Soil and fuel moisture content is extremely low, we’ve been experiencing some strong north-westerly winds and, when you put all those factors together, it’s a recipe for disaster,” Mr Barry said.
“We’re experiencing this in September but in a normal year we won’t bring on fire restrictions until a week before Christmas so in terms of fire danger we’re at least eight weeks ahead of the normal danger period.”
He said the entire Otway National Park was identified as a particular danger area.
Residents close to areas burnt out in the Australia Day fires which devoured 7000 hectares in the Brisbane Ranges near Anakie, were not exempt from the CFA’s warning either.
Mr Barry also predicted a severe water shortage affecting the region would hamper firefighters’ efforts this summer.
“I was talking to the Anakie captain and he has 27 dams but not one has water in it.”
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