THE onset of the bushfire danger period had seen a surge in landholders seeking permits to burn, but approval would only be granted if it was safe to do so, according to the Rural Fire Service (RFS) Orana team.
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From October 1, anyone wanting to carrying out burning activities needed a permit, and risked serious penalties, including fines and prison, if they lit a fire without one.
RFS Orana operations officer Laurie Douglas said he was surprised how many people already wanted permits to burn at the moment, "mainly for sticks and garden waste".
"Coming into spring, people do a bit of gardening or decide to clean up their properties, which possibly could have been considered during winter, and now the threat of a fire is much greater," he said.
"Some requests have already been knocked back because it's not safe to burn.
"With a permit, a landholder must be on the site for the duration of the burn, and if you've got stacked timber that could burn for days or weeks the landholder's possibly not going to be there the whole time for that, and we know how the weather can change fairly quickly over the space of a few days.
"The landholder could find himself with a fire he finds difficult to extinguish on a total fire ban day."
The first weekend of the fire season had brought few dramas locally, Inspector Douglas said.
"There was a small fire halfway between Wongarbon and Geurie started by a farmer using welder, it wasn't too threatening but it is just the start of the fire season, and the fuel that is around now is starting to dry off fairly quickly," he said.
While their fire season had begun in a rather uneventful fashion, Inspector Douglas said, Orana residents should not be complacent.
"We are among just a few areas that did not have a very high fire danger today (Tuesday), so the fire season has come with a vengeance," he said.
Inspector Douglas appealed for "commonsense" during the fire season.
"Generally the public is pretty good and understands the dangers, but it's useful to remind people one of the biggest causes of fires over the past four to five years has been machinery and tools, particularly sparks from angle grinders and welders, along with slashers and mowers," he said.
"Conditions are not too bad yet but they will be in a month or six weeks' time, so keep in mind that if you are slashing for instance, do it early in the morning while the dew is still on the grass and the threat is not as great, and have a knapsack or water and pump with you.
"Bear in mind also that you could be asked on extreme days to halt harvesting activities.
"We understand it's a livelihood, we don't take these decisions lightly, but it's potentially dangerous if you do, and the liability if you cause a fire on those days can be significant."
