Grasslands spark national bushfire warning

The Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre says recent heavy rains have contributed to dangerous bushfire conditions for summer.

The Bushfire CRC’s Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook says a thick, tall band of grass stretches from one end of the country to the other, including large areas of WA.

The report says the middle of Australia, below the Tropic of Capricorn, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean has the potential for above-normal bushfire activity this coming fire season.

Grass has flourished as a result of the very strong La Nina event at the start if 2011 with grass in some areas shoulder-high.

While the La Nina weather pattern brought drought-breaking rains, it also left a high fire risk as the fuel dries in coming months.

Gary Morgan, from the Bushfire CRC, says it’s the grasslands at risk this year, rather than the forests.

“We’ve gone from an El Nino to a La Nina. In an El Nino, the forested estate of Australia becomes very dry,” he said.

“When we go to La Nina, we have more rainfall, and that heavy rainfall means the forested environment is less likely to have average to normal fire activity.”

A Fire and Emergency Services Authority spokesperson says Southern WA is expected to have a normal bushfire season based on current vegetation and rainfall predictions.

“However, if the expected spring rainfall does not occur, the bushfire risk may move from normal to ‘above normal’.”

FESA says the next four weeks are crucial in terms of rainfall and that this could alter the seasonal outlook significantly.

FESA says residents in WA should prepare their home and surrounding areas and follow the safety information on their website titled, ‘Prepare, Act, Survive’.

The Seasonal Outlook is published as a Bushfire CRC Fire Note and is also online.

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