Bushfires don't stop at the city limits
16/11/2018
The Fire Danger Season for the Mount Lofty Ranges and Adelaide Metro districts starts tomorrow.
SA Country Fire Service (CFS) has brought the season forward two weeks due to high fuel loads throughout the hills drying quickly said CFS Chief Officer, Greg Nettleton.
"The urban interface between the Adelaide foothills and the suburbs are a perfect place to get a mixture of nature and city-living, but the vegetation that provides Adelaide's iconic hills backdrop also provides ample fuel for bushfires," Mr Nettleton said.
"It is up to us all to do our part now and assist our emergency services this Fire Danger Season," Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services Corey Wingard said.
"With the Fire Danger Season starting tomorrow for the Mount Lofty Ranges and Adelaide Metropolitan districts, bushfire preparation should be at the forefront of everyone's mind in the Adelaide Hills," Minister Wingard said.
In 2015 suburbs in Adelaide's northeast were exposed to the threat of bushfire.
"During the Sampson Flat bushfire we saw embers getting as far into the suburbs as Tea Tree Gully and Golden Grove," Mr Nettleton said.
"That was the first time many of the residents in that urban interface area experienced the threat of a large fire and many were caught unprepared."
"We encourage people to ensure they have a written plan in place so they know what action they will take should a fire start near them."
SA Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) Chief Officer Michael Morgan said cleaning up around your home can help prevent ember attack from taking hold if bushfire hits the urban interface.
"Acts such as clearing your gutters of leaves and trimming back vegetation from your house and fencing can help firefighters to save your home - and your neighbour's - in a bushfire.
"During a large-scale bushfire, the fire services won't be able to send a truck to every house. That's why the preventative measures you take now, combined with a Bushfire Survival Plan, can make all the difference."
Eleven of South Australia's 15 Fire Ban Districts are already in their Fire Danger Seasons, with six of those starting two weeks earlier than normal. A full list can be found at www.cfs.sa.gov.au
