BRILLIANT TIMING!!!
Mass back-burning planned for
Easter
April 3, 2007 - 1:22PM
Victorian fire authorities will conduct a mass burn-off of bushland across the state during the
Easter long weekend to take advantage of the current mild weather conditions.
Kevin Monk from the Department Sustainability and Management, told theage.com.au that fires will burn Victoria-wide in the coming days as firefighters hope to use the "window of opportunity" provided by cool conditions.
"We've got a window of opportunity at this time of year. With the weather conditions that we've got we're going to be doing significant burning in various parts of the state," Mr Monk said.
"Milder conditions across the state give us an opportunity to do our prescribed burning program, after the hot summer and before the wet winter that we hope we're going to get."
The effects of the fires are likely to be seen throughout Victoria over the long weekend but are, at this stage, are unlikely to disrupt the plans of holiday makers.
Possible holidaying areas that may be affected by back-burning include the
Grampians, East Gippsland and the alpine regions bordering NSW.
"We want to let the community know they're not wildfires and there will be a fair bit of smoke around.
"A lot people will be travelling around the state over the
Easter period and might see smoke depending on where they go from East Gippsland from north of the state to south of the state.
"There's lots of burns planed from east to west across," Mr Monk said.
The bushfires that swept through Victoria over the summer were among the worst on record.
One man died, several people were injured, and homes were lost.
More than 20,000 firefighters and support staff were called into action - including 14,000 Country Fire Authority volunteers - and more than 31,000 people attended community meetings in fire-affected areas.
theage.com.au