MALLEE, VIC. — Today’s conditions in parts of the Mallee will be dry and windy with northerly winds 25 to 35 km/h shifting west to southwesterly 25 to 35 gusting to 50 km/h in the early afternoon.
A Total Fire Ban means no fire can be lit in the open air or allowed to remain alight from 12.01am to 11.59pm.
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said the TFB has been declared due to the expected conditions across the Mallee region today.
“Harvesting has commenced and we have already seen harvest fires occurring in the last two weeks. With the anticipated very low humidity and high wind speeds there is significant risk for fires tomorrow,” Mr Heffernan said.
“I am very cognisant of the consequences of Total Fire Bans on harvest operations however our farmers have had enough challenges with recent drought conditions to risk been burnt out with what sparing crops they may have.
“We’re asking people to follow the strict conditions associated with the Total Fire Ban declaration.
“Understand how the increased fire risk will impact you and ensure your fire plan covers all possible contingencies,” Mr Heffernan said.
Victorians can find out if it is a Total Fire Ban on the CFA website www.cfa.vic.gov.au, where it is usually published by 5pm the day before a Total Fire Ban.
For more information on what you can and can’t do visit the Can I or Can’t I page on the CFA website.
Victorians should also make sure they have access to more than one source of information.
They include:
- ABC local radio, commercial and designated radio stations of Sky News
- The VicEmergency App
- The VicEmergency website www.emergency.vic.gov.au;
- The VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226;
- CFA or VicEmergency Twitter or Facebook.
