By Lilly O’Gorman
COMPLACENCY and a lack of local knowledge are the biggest risks to Cardinia Shire residents during the coming bushfire season.
At a bushfires, floods and emergency briefing last week, council officers explained the coming dangers and necessary preparations being undertaken across the municipality in the lead up to the bush fire season.
Myles O’Reilly heads the council’s new risk, emergency and community safety unit which has been established to cope better with the response to and recovery from local emergency situations.
He said that Cardinia Shire had a long history of bushfires, but with the rapid population growth bringing new residents into the municipality, the threat of a natural disaster could be forgotten or simply unknown.
“It’s not that long since the tragic events of Black Saturday, which came close to us here and affected neighbouring municipalities,” Mr O’Reilly said.
“The message needs to be put out there that we live in an issue rich environment. We see a lot of people doing ‘tree changes’ and those people need to understand where they live, the land and the environment.
“Make sure you have a plan and understand if you can’t defend your home you need to leave.
“People have a lot of attachment to their homes, which is understandable. But a home is just a house and it’s not worth a life. That’s the message we will be putting out this year.”
Cardinia Shire also has a long history of floods, and Mr O’Reilly said the current weather patterns indicated flash flooding would be an problem over the next couple of months.
Mr O’Reilly said the wetter than usual conditions at this time of year meant the fire season would be delayed, however more grass was growing, so management was important.
He said close to 3000 letters had been sent to landowners about the importance of keeping blocks clear and this year there would be more rigorous policing of overgrown privately owned land.
Open space co-ordinator Mark Reynolds said roadside slashing started on 1 November, and was set to be completed by mid-January before the fire season was declared.
He said works in Gembrook and Cockatoo were almost complete and would begin in Emerald and Bunyip early next month.
Strategic fire breaks in bushland reserves were being cut and were set to be completed by the end of January.
Mr Reynolds said this year’s weather conditions had increased fuel loads significantly, with fast-growing grass proving difficult to maintain.
“We’re going to have a wet and warm summer, which causes the grass to grow extremely quickly with the retained moisture in the soil.
“You could almost watch the grass grow,” Mr Reynolds said.
“The grass can dry out within a 24-hour period, that’s why it’s an issue.
“It is important that residents help out where they can through reducing fuel loads on nature strips.”
Mr O’Reilly added that because of the retained moisture in the soil, a lot of low lying areas were difficult to mow.
“We get a lot of requests and calls that the grass is too high but it is important to note that we are on a schedule,” he said.
“It is a good idea for land owners to chip in where they can.”
The effect of heatwaves during the bushfire season was also highlighted as “a significantly underrated emergency”. Mr O’Reilly said that 374 Victorians died during the 2009 heatwave.
He said heatwaves, when the temperature remained between 38 and 48 degrees Celsius for two days or more, was a major problem for those aged 75 and over.
“Be conscious of the bushfire threat, but also be conscious of the heatwave issue as well,” he said.
“Stay out of the sun and look after your neighbours, particularly the elderly.”
Cardinia Council spokesman Paul Dunlop, encouraged residents to follow the council’s Twitter feed (@CardiniaShire) and Facebook www.facebook.com/cardinia#!/CardiniaShireCouncil pages for updates on what is happening during emergencies.
