Fire Bans - Sever Fire Weather - Fire Permits cancelled

There is a Fire Ban in place for Thursday 14 September (from midnight last night to midnight tonight).  https://ruralfire.qld.gov.au/Bushfire_Safety/Neighbourhood-Safer-Places/lgas/Pages/Lockyer-Valley-Regional-Council.aspx and https://ruralfire.qld.gov.au/BushFire_Safety/Neighbourhood-Safer-Places/lgas/List Documents/20170914-FireBan-SER.pdf

ALL Fire Permits within ALL of West Moreton area are cancelled.  This includes ALL Permits for the Lockyer Valley Regional Council area and supports / continues the revocation of Permits to Light for Ipswich and Somerset issued on the 7th of September 2017.


From the Meterological Bureau  http://www.abc.net.au/news/emergency/state/qld/#

For the rest of Thursday 14 September:

Severe Fire Danger is forecast for the following forecast districts:
Gulf Country, North West and Southeast Coast

The Rural Fire Service Queensland advises you to:
- Action your Bushfire Survival Plan now.
- Monitor the fire and weather situation through your local radio station,
www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au and www.bom.gov.au.
- Call 000 (Triple Zero) in an emergency.
For information on preparing for bushfires go to www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au.

No further warnings will be issued for this event, but the situation will
continue to be monitored and further warnings issued if necessary.

Just received from our local Fire Warden - all fire permits are cancelled till further notice - no fires to be lit

Tuesday 12 September 2017 6.10pm

Just had a call from our local Fire Warden.  All Fire Permits are cancelled till further notice and no fires are to be lit.

when it comes to bushfires, we are all neighbours
__________________________________
Helidon Hills Smoke Spotter Coordinators:
Gordon Claridge 5462 1028 / 0401 346 036
Mike Ford 4600 9960 / 0418 732 504
KP Neilson 4697 8053 / 040 555 9812

email: smokespotters@gmail.com (not for reporting smoke)

http://www.smokespotters.blogspot.com.au/

Today's Forest Fire Danger Rating

Fire Bans

New forecasts for rainfall and temp for Sept to Nov

A new quarterly overview of weather for September to November indicates that South East Queensland is likely to have slightly above average rainfall and a 60-70% chance of above average temperatures during the period.

Have a look here for rainfall: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/outlooks/#/rainfall/summary
and here for temperature: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/outlooks/#/temperature/maximum/median/seasonal/0

You can click on each of the small maps at the above links for more detail, and follow various links  to other detailed information.   Maps below are from the above sources.  Note that the main maps at those links are zoomable down to quite local detail - as in the temperature forecast map excerpt below.

Chance of above average rainfall for September to November

Chance of above average temperature for September to November

Landscaping for Bushfire - a very useful guide

From: Landscaping for Bushfire, CFA Victoria, 2011

 It looks like we are at the beginning of a bad bushfire season.  Planning ahead is the only sensible way to help ensure that your house and other infrastructure are as safe as possible from bushfires.

 Landscaping for Bushfire was developed by the Country Fire Authority in response  to Recommendation 44 from the Victorian Bushfires Royal  Commission.

While it is a Victorian publication and the regulations and many of the species referred to are Victorian, those aspects take up only a small part of what is covered.  The document provides a very useful reference on the principles of landscaping for bushfire protection and also offers a lot of useful suggestions.

I highly recommend it for anyone in the Lockyer Valley Region, or anywhere for that matter.

Stay safe.

when it comes to bushfires, we are all neighbours