Travellers urged to be on alert this long weekend

Crews remain active on those firegrounds, blacking out and working on hazardous trees.

CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan encouraged travellers to familiarise themselves with the fire district they were entering or basing themselves in this weekend.

“While the recent bushfires have been contained by our incredible firefighters, fire risk will continue to linger over the coming months,” he said.

“With the lack of recent rain, fuel loads in our drier forested areas will increase, and our greener grasslands will continue to dry out.

“We know there is a slightly elevated chance of a drier than usual autumn, and we’re already seeing that this weekend with temperatures set to reach high 30s and low 40s.

“Victorians simply need to be in tune to the fire and weather conditions around them.”

The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities’ Seasonal Bushfire Outlook Autumn 2024 released last week indicates Victoria had above-average summer rainfall and less-than-average bushfire activity. Little to no rainfall since mid-January shifted things significantly in the west of the state.

Mr Heffernan said he expected grassfire risk would persist throughout March and reminded all Victorians to download the VicEmergency app to remain alert to the fires in their region.

As the fire danger period is still in place across all municipalities across the state, community members are reminded to visit the CFA’s ‘Can I or Can’t I?’ webpage to understand what activities they can undertake.

Safety tips for this long weekend:

Victorians should also make sure they have access to more than one source of information in the event of an emergency, including: