NEW South Wales and Victorian fire fighters remain vigilant on small grassfires, hoping to prevent larger blazes that have ravaged areas further north and south.
Total Fire Bans were announced for both states last week, with Wakool Shire recording an ‘extreme’ fire danger rating on Friday.
NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Southern Riverina incident controller Lindsay Lashbrook said fire-fighters were called out to a grass fire on Moulamein Road near Swan Hill at about 2.30pm last Wednesday.
“It was only a small fire — about four hectares,” Mr Lashbrook said.
“The fire was situated in an old stubble paddock.”
Mr Lashbrook also said brigades from across the Wakool local government area had been requested to join about 125 other fire-fighters in battling a blaze north east of Jerilderie.
Meanwhile, Swan Hill CFA brigade captain Nipper Turner said some Kerang fire fighters were called to Portland, but otherwise it had been relatively quiet over the Christmas/New Year period while the heat has skyrocketed during a week-long heatwave, peaking at 45C.
But Mr Turner said without a lot of wind, and good behaviour from visitors and residents, fire activity was low.
“It’s normal that we don’t see many problems until some weather comes across later in January,” he said.
Mr Turner said Swan Hill fire fighters had been watching their Tasmanian counterparts, taking some interesting lessons on fire activity.
“You would think this time of year it would be pretty wet in Tasmania.
“People think, ‘because it’s a hot day there’s a huge fire risk’, but the wind did the damage in Tasmania,” he said.
“You can’t fight fires in 50, 60km/h winds.
“A 30C day with 30,40 or 50km/h winds can be just as bad as a 40C day.”
The captain said the river country and campfires were still a concern, but there were other risks to consider.
“One of the recent fires in Ballarat was caused by a vehicle driving across dry grass, and that could happen anywhere,” he said.
“Having your exhaust in good nick, spark arrestors on your tractor will help.
“And if you don’t need to be in a hot paddock on a hot day, don’t be.”
Residents should ensure they have a fire safety plan in place and are prepared to act on it in case of an emergency.
If there is a fire in your region, you should monitor local radio, RFS and CFA websites for futher information.
