The City of Hobart is urging residents to prepare their homes and gardens for this year's bushfire season as its fire crews gear up for the hotter months.
Over the coming weeks the City's fire crews plan to carry out fuel reduction burns to reduce the bushfire risk and protect houses near the Queens Domain, Bicentennial Park and Knocklofty Reserve.
The City is urging Hobart residents to prepare their homes for bushfire, and to ensure they have a bushfire plan in place for their family.
To prepare a bushfire plan for you and your household visit bushfire.tas.gov.au and download the Bushfire Safety Guide.
You should also download the TasAlert app, which is now available for Apple and Android phones.
Quotes to be attributed to Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds:
"We fund a team of experts who work hard during the year to reduce bushfire risks in our public bushland.
"We need everyone in Hobart to join us in this battle by reducing flammable materials from around their properties.
"Hobart is susceptible to bushfires, and unfortunately climate change is increasing this risk with more extreme fire weather days becoming much more common.
"This means more of us need to be aware of the bushfire risks to our homes even if we don't live right next to bushland.
"Because of climate change we'll all need to increase our efforts to prepare for bushfire seasons.
"Embers can travel kilometres ahead of a fire front and ignite flammable materials deep into Hobart's suburbs.
"By keeping grass short, cleaning gutters, removing wood and any flammable plants growing right next to your house, you can reduce the risk of a bushfire impacting you."
