Now is the perfect time to prepare your property with firebreaks prior to the hot summer months when fire warnings are high. Bushfires have a devastating impact on homes, properties, livestock, wildlife and even human life or beloved pets. Out of control fires move at a ferocious speed with immense intensity. The trail of destruction left behind, as we have seen countless times before, is without mercy. It’s this impact that highlights the need that everyone within these rural settings has a responsibility to ensure they maintain their property for both the sake of their own welfare and that of the community in which they live.
Firebreaks are used to help minimise or stop the rapid spread of bushfires by having a gap in the vegetation down to soil level, in which fire is unable to easily leap over or creep across. Effective firebreaks help reduce the risk of fires entering or leaving your property. Firebreaks can take many forms; they may be created by ploughing the soil in strips and removing vegetation, or in the form of established roads and paths or natural landscape such as rivers and lakes. This creates a fuel break to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire.
The management of fire fuel loads includes; moving the winter woodpile and other flammables away from house, removing any dry or dead vegetation such as grass, leaves and bark, keep grass short, cutting long grass along fence lines and poisoning grass or vegetation in hard to reach areas. There should be no flammable mulch in gardens, gutters and roofing kept clear of any leaf litter and lawns, trees and shrubs near the house are watered and kept green.
Mature trees need to be well maintained. Ideally there should be no trees or shrubs within 20m of the house, and definitely no shrubs near or under windows of the home or close to branches of mature trees. Any low or overhanging tree branches need to be cut back and heavily prune lower branches of shrubs. Any such overgrowth or trees and shrubs are a major hazard.
It’s important to prepare your property before fire season starts. Australian Tree Services can expertly assist you with the maintenance of your trees and shrubs in preparation. Fire safety is your responsibility and as such fines for not maintaining your property may be enforced. Act now to prepare your property or contact the professionals at Australian Tree Services, click here.
