The Pierces Creek fire was a stark warning for residents on the western edge of Canberra. File photo.
With the memory of the Pierces Creek bushfire still fresh and the start of summer only days away, the Weston Creek Community Council is holding a special meeting to raise awareness of the current fire threat and how to prepare for it.
Speakers at the meeting at Chapman Primary School on Wednesday night will include a Rural Fire Service representative and bushfire expert Jason Sharples from the University of NSW.
Dr Sharples is Project Leader for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC’s ‘Spot Fire’ Project, examining various aspects of extreme and dynamic bushfire propagation, the development of large conflagrations and bushfire risk management.
He will present information on how fire behaves and its unpredictability, such as how fire does not always spread at a steady rate or in one direction only. He will relate this information to the particular geographic area adjacent to Weston Creek.
The RFS representative will outline how to prepare and plan for a fire event including:
- Preparing your personal plan – do you stay or do you go?
- Preparing your home – making your house safer
- Bushfire alert levels
- Emergency contacts
- Your community – how can you get involved or volunteer.
The WCCC says that while many Weston Creek residents experienced the 2003 bushfires first hand, newer residents may not be fully aware of the local bushfire threat. There are also many new residents in the new Molonglo Valley suburbs.
“Last month’s Pierces Creek fire serves as a stark reminder of the threat that dry, crisp conditions pose. It is very important to have a good understanding of what might happen in the event of a bushfire and how to deal with it,” the WCCC said.
The meeting at Chapman Primary School, Perry Drive, Chapman starts at 7:30 pm on Wednesday (28 November).
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