South Australians are being urged to 'Be Bushfire Ready' with the Fire Danger Season brought forward in three more districts – Adelaide Metropolitan, Mount Lofty Ranges and Kangaroo Island – heading into a predicted hotter and drier summer.
Fire bans will start two weeks early, on Friday November 15, demonstrating the high-risk bushfire season facing landowners and residents and need to prepare now.
The CFS today launches its Be Bushfire Ready campaign to educate and support communities, with a focus on having a Bushfire Survival Plan to stay safe.
Dates have also been brought forward for the Lower South East, Eastern Eyre and Upper South East, meaning nearly half (6) of the state's 15 fire ban districts will start their Fire Danger Season early.
Forecast higher temperatures, dry conditions, below average rainfall and landscapes curing faster than usual during spring are key factors behind the decision.
This season's heightened bushfire risk, as well as below-average fire activity in South Australia over the past few years, have prompted warnings against a rise in complacency after recent fire danger seasons.
Latest CFS research shows more than half of residents living in a bushfire risk area are aware they are underprepared for the bushfire season but have not taken active steps to address this – reinforcing the significant risk that complacency poses.
CFS volunteers are central to the Be Bushfire Ready campaign, which features new videos and materials outlining steps South Australians need to take ahead of the bushfire season including preparing their properties, creating their Bushfire Survival Plans, packing their emergency kits and checking the fire danger ratings daily.
Messaging will target those living, working and travelling through bushfire risk areas, using digital, broadcast, print and social media to reach a wide audience.
Greater awareness of warnings through the CFS website and downloading the Alert SA app to stay informed will be another important part of the campaign. More information is available at cfs.sa.gov.au/bushfire-ready.
Earlier this month the State and Federal Governments announced the stationing of a new Blackhawk helicopter at Parafield Airport, significantly boosting the CFS' firefighting capabilities ahead of the Fire Danger Season.
It follows a record $26.7 million investment by the South Australian Government last season to deliver the State's largest ever aerial firefighting fleet, with five new aircraft added totalling more than 30 aircraft in place.
As put by Dan Cregan
This campaign is about cutting through the complacency that threatens lives and property leading into the bushfire season.
With dates brought forward in metropolitan areas and large parts of our regions, South Australians must prepare now to ensure they have a plan in place.
Conditions are particularly concerning and steps taken will help avoid further devastation in communities still recovering from past events.
As put by Catherine Hutchesson
We are grateful that our firefighters are training hard to be ready for the fire season, but they need your help.
When you clean up around your property and work with your whole family on your Bushfire Survival Plans then should the need arise, you will be ready and you will be assisting our firefighters.
Whilst doing your plan, if you can, think about who lives on your street, if they are vulnerable, elderly or mobility impaired – they may need your help.
Looking around our community the vegetation is already very dry and I ask all community members to understand the risks, make comprehensive plans to address any situation and leave early if you can.
As put by CFS Chief Officer Brett Loughlin
Whether you live, work, or travel through a bushfire risk area, it is critical that all South Australians are prepared for the upcoming Fire Danger Season and know what to do if a bushfire starts near them.
Preparing for the bushfire season is a shared responsibility – CFS staff and volunteers dedicate months of training to be ready to protect their communities and are urging everyone to do their bit by getting their properties and bushfire plans ready.
As put by MFS Chief Officer Jeff Swann
South Australians living in the outskirts of Adelaide often wrongly assume they do not live in a bushfire risk area, when in fact they can have devastating impacts on these areas.
During a bushfire, embers can travel kilometers ahead of the fire and can cause most houses to catch fire when sparks or burning embers settle on or around your home.
It is essential that people living on outskirts of Adelaide, Adelaide Hills and larger country towns plan what they will do when a bad fire day approaches – including where they will go, when they will leave, what they will take.
