Northam residents are being warned to be prepared for a long fire season, with the number of reported bush fires for December being double that of the year before.
In December 2018 there were 10 reported bush fires in the Shire compared to just five in 2017, according to a Shire of Northam quarterly report for October to December 2018.
Shire of Northam manager of community emergency services Brendon Rutter said it has been a slow start to the fire season.
“History is telling us that yes, it will ramp up later this year,” he said.
“Generally, between February and coming into April it will be very busy.
“The season is starting later but it is also lasting longer.
“A lot of it does hinge around temperatures, especially when you see the heat that we’ve had over the past few days.”
Mr Rutter said many of the fires that crews have been attending have been caused by harvesting.
“That’s predominately the causes, particularly before Christmas,” he said.
“It’s fairly common unfortunately, especially for the poor farmers.
“A lot of fires are based around the highway; your cigarette butts outside the car window which is a very big one, even something like a truck bursting a tyre can start a fire as well.”
In the last quarter of 2017 there was 15 fires reported within the Shire of Northam, while 27 fires were recorded during that same time in 2018.
Mr Rutter said it is important for residents to remain up to date with bush fire activity, but to be hesitant with the avenues they use to gather and report that information.
He said if someone observes a fire their first port of call should be to triple zero.
“We are getting a lot of people who have friends who are a fire officer, and they call them first,” Mr Rutter said.
“Unfortunately, by the time the call comes through it is third or fourth hand information and is not always accurate.
“We have had incidents where the trucks have been sent to the wrong location because that was where the person thought the fire was.
“We encourage anyone, if you see it, call it through that way they’ve got that first hand information.”
Mr Rutter said social media is not the most reliable form of information in emergency situations.
“I err of the side of caution when it comes to Facebook unless it is from an official source,” he said.
“Unfortunately, there is an element in the community that if they don’t know the answer they will make an assumption on what they think is happening, and that can lead to false information being put out there.
“It’s not a bad idea to keep up to date with what is going on but they should be making sure they are going to the official sources.”
Emergency service crews within the Shire are in the process of looking for additional recruits to join the ranks.
Mr Rutter said the inclusion of youth is important in maintaining the future of the fire management.
“The average age for the Shire of Northam volunteers is over 55, closer to 60, which is a concern as we move further forward so we’d love to see some younger people,” he said.
“We would love to see anyone that is interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter join one of our seven brigades.
“There is a possibility to start another one in the not too distant future.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to sign up a few more members.”
For more information on joining a bush fire service contact the Shire of Northam on 9622 6100.
