By MELISSA MEEHAN
IT’S going to be a bad fire season.
Upper Ferntree Gully CFA captain Peter Smith said local crews had been told that the upcoming fire season will be the worst one in many years.
“We’re bracing ourselves for a tough season,” Mr Smith said.
“And because of that, now is a good time for residents to start thinking about preparing – whether it be cleaning up around their homes, or having a plan for days of high risk.”
Mr Smith said it was important for people to plan early, especially those living on the mountain and relying on Burwood Highway to leave the area.
Even on busy days, traffic can be banked up all the way to Knox, or through to Belgrave.
In Upper Ferntree Gully alone, there are four retirement villages and Mr Smith said it was important for older residents to also be prepared.
He said another important issue in the lead up to the fire season was getting the message out to visitors to the 1000 steps.
“Obviously, many of the people who visit the steps aren’t locals, so we need to get the message out to them that they should stay away on days of high fire risk,” he said.
“We set up a stall last year on a very hot weekend, and it was amazing how many people still made their way up the steps, without a drop of water on them.”
He said while CFA crews had access to the National Park, their trucks had limited access near the steps.
“We’re finding that people just don’t think,” he said.
“We’ve even had visitors to the steps, who can’t find a car park, park their cars at the station blocking the doors which means we can’t get the trucks out.
“That will be a major problem come summer.”
