With the Meeniyan-Stony Creek Fire Brigade
Fire ready summer
Reducing the vegetation around your home is one of the most important things you can do to keep your home safe in a bushfire. Creating a defendable space of 10 metres around your home is considered the most critical preparation that you can make, preventing flames and radiant heat from reaching your house.
In practice, this means clearing flammable materials such as mulch, bark and low branches; removing trees if necessary, especially if they contact or overhang the dwelling (please follow council rules); and maintaining grass under 10 centimetres.
You can also break up the passage of a fire front by spacing out shrubs and avoiding any under tree canopies, storing firewood and gas bottles more than 10 metres from the house, away from the direction of prevailing winds, on the side of the property furthest from the house, and ensuring that gas bottle valves face away from buildings.
A second defendable space should be created of a further 10 to 30 metres. Vegetation management here helps to slow fire spread and flame intensity. This means thinning out trees and shrubs – canopies should be at least 2 – 5 m apart. You should also prune lower branches up to two metres from the ground and remove fallen leaves, branches and debris regularly.
As flame height is generally 2-3 times fuel height, it is important to keep grass short (under 10 cm). Once again, think of the fuel acting as a train track, directing a fire front towards your home. You can break its progress up by maintaining breaks between garden beds, trees and other vegetation.
The amount of clearing depends on the risk level and topography. The minimum area is lower where the major threat is from grass fires but should be increased to 50 – 100 metres in forested areas, especially where trees or scrub is dense. It is also influenced by slope. Flat terrain generally requires less clearance than slopes (because fire travels faster uphill).
Depending on where you live, the 10/30 rule or the 10/50 rule might apply. This means that trees can be cleared up to 10 metres from the house, and other vegetation up to 30 or 50 metres. Check CFA’s online Vegetation Clearing Tool or contact your local council. For more information on preparing your property and understanding local vegetation rules, visit the CFA website (www.cfa.vic.gov.au) or contact your local CFA District Office.
Fire restrictions came into force as of October 27. However, this does not stop all burning activities, but rather places tighter controls on them through the issuing of fire permits. These are available and will be granted, following an inspection, for all reasonable requests. They are available through the Fire Permits site at www.firepermits.vic.gov.au.
