Every year, hundreds of thousands of hectares in WA are burned in bushfires.
Over recent years summers have become drier and hotter, increasing the risk of bushfire. Typically, when a hot and dry period follows a season of good rain, the dangerous combination of heat and fuel increases the threat to private property and life.
Emergency services authorities say it is vital that people living in a bushfire risk area prepare their homes and property in advance and have a bushfire survival plan.
How do you know if you are at risk?
There are thousands of fires every year in WA, many near the metropolitan area. The vast majority are caused by deliberate or accidental human activity.1
A fire can occur whenever the conditions are right, so it's important to be aware of your surroundings.
- Do you live in or near bush?
- Do you live in a local area that has a history of bushfires?
- Do you have trees or shrubs within 20 metres of your house?
- Do you live on a slope or hill?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, FESA says that bushfire is a real risk to you and your family. FESA advises that you have a bushfire survival plan that is updated every year. You should know the Fire Danger Rating for your area and take steps to reduce the risk to your life and property in a fire.
What role do weather conditions play?
Weather conditions play a big role in determining how easily fire can spread. The Bureau of Meteorology warns that days where temperatures are high, humidity is low and winds are strong are the most dangerous, although fires can also be started by lightning from summer thunderstorms that produce little rain.
What are the fire seasons in WA?
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Reproduced from Bureau of Meteorology map,
2011 2 |
Summer and autumn In the Perth metropolitan area and the southern half of Western Australia, the bushfire season typically starts in November and runs through to April. The most susceptible areas for fire in Perth are the Perth Hills and forested area along the Darling Scarp, where strong easterly winds early in the day can fan fires.
Winter and spring
In the north of Western Australia, different conditions mean a different fire risk period. The Kimberley fire season usually occurs in the hot, dry winter and spring months when grasses have dried, from June to the end of October. Further south in the Pilbara, the greatest risk is between August and November. In the Mid West and Gascoyne, it is between September and December.
What should you do to prepare?
Fire needs fuel to burn, so the most important step you can take to prepare your house is to reduce material that can feed the flames. FESA recommends you:
- Clear a wide circle around your home and other buildings at least 20m wide, removing trees, dead leaves, twigs and branches, long grass and material that may catch fire
- Clear vegetation around the boundary of your property to create a firebreak and make sure you meet your local government's firebreak requirements
- Prune lower tree branches (below 2m) to stop fires catching into the tree canopy
- Plan your garden so you have a barrier between your house and any bush, such as a swimming pool, vegetable garden, patio or lawn
- Store petrol, kerosene and firewood or other flammable material away from your home in a cleared area
- Maintain gutters and keep the roof clear of leaves
- Install metal fly screens on your windows and vents, and stainless steel open weave mesh over your evaporative air conditioner to help keep sparks and embers out
- Ensure hoses reach all corners of your house
- Have a sufficient independent water supply of at least 20,000 litres and a petrol, diesel or generator powered pump capable of pumping 400 litres per minute
FESA has a series of bushfire preparation factsheets with additional information to help you prepare your home. You can also join or start a residents' Bushfire Ready group, which helps people connect with others in their community to ensure their local area is prepared for fire season. You can contact FESA on 9323 9300 or visit fesa.wa.gov.au for more information.
Do you have the right level of cover?
Losing your house in a fire is devastating but having the right level of building and contents insurance can help you begin to rebuild your life.
Following the recent fires at Kelmscott and Roleystone in 2011, which destroyed 72 homes and damaged another 37, it was found one in six people living in the area did not have enough insurance to replace their property.3
RAC Insurance recommends that you review your building and contents insurance regularly to make sure you have the right level of cover to suit your needs.
Use our home and contents insurance calculators to estimate the value of your home and its contents.
What are you covered for with RAC?
RAC Home and Contents Insurance offers 4
- Fire cover (natural and accidental)
- Flood, earthquake and storm cover
- New for old cover on home contents, regardless of age
- Cover for furniture, carpets, household goods, appliances and gardening tools
- Cover for clothing, jewellery and precious items
- Cover for tools of trade
- Cover for fences
1 Bryant, C. 2008. Understanding bushfire: Trends in deliberate vegetation fires in Australia: Australian Institute of Criminology. Canberra.
2 2011. "Bushfire Weather." Disaster Mitigation Services Bureau of Meteorology, www.bom.gov.au
3Heath, J., Nulsen, C., Dunlop, P., Clarke, P., Burgelt, P., and Morrison, D. 2011. The February 2011 Fires in Roleystone, Kelmscott and RedHill: School of Psychology, University of Western Australia
4Cover is subject to policy terms and underwriting criteria. Sum insurance limits apply to certain items. Check our PDS to see if the policy is right for you.