The message to get ready for the fire season is relentless – and so it should be.
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There is wild weather predicted for later this week - more storms are headed our way - increasing the potential for lightning strikes.
The CFA is already battling bushfires call-outs. So far they have been mainly small. That may not always be the case.
We are lucky to have such proactive fire and emergency services.
For five days recently fire investigators honed their skills in Bendigo and the bush near Castlemaine. They were on the ground looking for clues (this time from a planned burn, next time a bushfire). They were learning about how fire starts, moves, consumes. They were fine tuning how you find out who (or what) started it.
They were also taking in lessons that could lead to change. Do we need better infrastructure? Emergency service information? Retreat points? Funding?
Read more: Storms, hail, snow and humidity on the way
We live in a country where we think about all this. Plan for it. Encourage everybody to get ready. Ask questions.
When a Code Red day is forecast where will I go? What’s the best escape route? How will I learn when it’s safe to go back? Do I have a grab-bag by the door ready to go (perhaps beside the ones you now need for your grocery shopping)?
Where people are reminded to have the essentials packed – clothes, toiletries, medicines, documents, irreplaceable momentos/photos. Where we are told not to stay and fight a blaze unless you have fire-brigade level equipment and two fit people.
Not every country is so diligent. A former central Victoria local, who now lives in California, said that grab-bags, clearing debris and plotting a course to safety before a fire storm hits is not ingrained in the US psyche. We are witnessing the horror of that as the death toll from the Camp Fire blaze in northern California grows. So far 76 people are dead and more than 1200 plus are unaccounted for.
We are on the cusp of our fire season. Let’s learn lessons from across the Pacific. Be prepared. Let’s not have a repeat of Black Saturday’s toll.
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