Dead dry grass still posing risk this Fire Danger Season
16/01/2017
Recent rain has provided little relief to the risks posed to the current Fire Danger Season and the SA Country Fire Service (CFS) is reminding the public to continue vigilance this summer.
Tomorrow's hot weather and high winds will likely mean Total Fire Bans are across regions throughout South Australia.
CFS State Coordinator Leigh Miller said the community may be under the false impression that recent rains have reduced the fire risk.
"The declaration of Total Fire bans are driven by the dryness of the grasslands, along with predicted winds," Mr Miller said.
"Once grass is dry, further rains don't affect the flammability of grass meaning there is still a high chance of fire similar to what we saw at Pinery in late 2015."
"Dry, warm and windy conditions mean any new growth from summer rains will soon dry out and add to the already inherent fire risk."
For people heading to watch the Tour Down Under tomorrow, Mr Miller is asking people to stay informed while travelling and be careful not to pull over into dry grass where a hot exhaust could spark a
fire.
"The Mount Lofty Ranges is a fire risk at this time of year, so we're asking the public to download the Alert SA App, monitor the CFS website or tune into ABC Radio to keep up to date with information in case a fire starts.
"When pulling your car onto the road verge, you need to be two metres from flammable material. If you're a smoker you cannot light a cigarette within two metres of flammable material either. These are simple ways to prevent a fire from starting."
Fire bans are announced after 4pm.
