The CFA has asked people to be vigilant for the outbreak of fires tomorrow and ring 000 should they spot any.
THIS summer’s run of high fire danger days is continuing with tomorrow shaping up as a day of severe fire danger.
CFA district five operations officer Henry Barton said temperatures in the mid-30s were predicted for Warrnambool, with warmer temperatures inland.
North-west winds would add to the volatility with a wind change predicted later in the day.
The CFA has asked people to be vigilant for the outbreak of fires tomorrow and ring 000 should they spot any.
Mr Barton said if a fire broke out, a wind change could have a significant impact on the fire front.
Tomorrow’s day of extreme fire danger follows a total fire ban day last Friday and the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast there will be days of high or higher fire danger every four days to a week for the rest of summer.
Mr Barton said people should also avoid doing activities such as harvesting or slashing tomorrow to reduce the fire risk.
“Only do things involving long grass that are absolutely necessary,” Mr Barton said.
“If it’s not absolutely necessary, leave it to a cool day.”
He said the frequent occurrence this summer of days of high fire danger made it prudent for people to review their bushfire plan to make sure they were comfortable it was adequate.
If people did not have a bushfire plan, they should go to the CFA website and follow the links to develop one.
Mr Barton said tomorrow’s severe fire danger rating was likely to prompt some CFA brigades to staff their brigade sheds to give them the ability to respond promptly if a fire broke out.
“Possibly some brigades will be able to do that.
“It depends on what they are doing on the day.” He said CFA brigades had been busy in recent weeks both fighting fires and being ready for fire outbreaks.
The heavy workload had prompted CFA authorities to ask brigades to make sure crews were rotated to allow them some rest.
Mr Barton said the Bureau of Meteorology had forecast there might be a few millimetres of rain at the end of this week but it was only likely to settle the dust and not reduce the continuing fire danger.
A Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) spokesman said the 12,000-hectare Kentbruck Heath fire near Portland was still under control as were more recent fires at Narrawong and at Bolwarra.
The Narrawong fire started on Saturday afternoon and burnt about 1.1 hectares of the Mount Clay state forest.
The Bolwarra fire started on January 16 and burnt about five hectares of farmland.
ehimmelreich@fairfaxmedia.com.au
