Do you live in a bushfire-prone area?
If you live near forest, bushland, coastal scrub, grasslands, paddocks, or even parks and reserves, then you need to consider the bushfire risk and appropriate preparations. Don’t leave it until the last minute; get prepared early. The planning and maintenance you do now can make all the difference if the worst were to happen.
How can you tell if your property is at risk of bushfires?
You are probably already aware of whether you are living in an at-risk area. The important factors to consider are:
Elevation. Fire burns faster uphill. If you live on or near steep hills, you are more at risk.
Vegetation. Fire needs fuel. If your property is surrounded by dried-out or flammable vegetation, you are more at risk.
History of the area. If your area has a history of bushfires, you are more at risk.
Roads / Access. Roads can be easily blocked by fallen trees. If your property can only be accessed by one or a few roads, you are more at risk.
You can also refer to the Map of Bushfire Prone Areas on the DFES (Department of Fire and Emergency Services) website: https://www.dfes.wa.gov.au/bushfire/bushfireproneareas/
When is ‘bushfire season’?
For Southern WA, October to April is considered the bushfire season. Although bushfires can happen at any time if the conditions are hot, dry and windy.
How can you prepare your property for a bushfire?
There are many things which can be done to protect your property. For example, Gardening Australia recommends:
Trim overhanging tree branches and mow surrounding grass, leaving the perimeter of your house free of flammable plant matter.
Remove other flammable material, such as gas bottles and mulch piles from around the house.
Clean out the gutters to prevent embers starting fires on the roofline.
Be prepared with sturdy hoses that reach around your home’s perimeter.
Be sure you have a water source with at least 10,000 litres available.
And the DFES has created this short video:
Along with that, the DFES also provides this ‘Bushfire Preparation Toolkit’, which contains important information and useful checklists for preparing an emergency kit (water, first aid, clothing, etc.) and for ongoing property upkeep (mowing, pruning, cleaning gutters, etc.)
Cleaning gutters for bushfire prevention.
Embers from fire fronts can be carried for long distances on the wind, starting spot fires where they land. A gutter full of dried leaves and twigs is a disaster waiting to happen.
Cleaning your gutters is a difficult and unpleasant job. This is where Chockers comes in. We’re fast and efficient and will have them done in no time.
How do we do it?
Some other professional gutter cleaning services flush your gutters and downpipes with high pressure hoses, leaving your soakwells full of all the debris from your roof.
We do things a little differently. Our industrial vacuum completely removes any and all flammable material from your gutters, taking it with us when we go. No mess is left behind.
If you’re interested in having your gutters cleaned you can give us a call, send us an email, or fill in our online Quote Form. Or for more information about what we do, check out the rest of our website.
With Sam, Daniel and Michael in Safety Bay and Lance in Donnybrook, we provide gutter cleaning services from Perth Metro to Bunbury; that's Rockingham, Mandurah, Kwinana, Baldivis, Busselton, Dunsborough, Bunbury, as far north as Joondalup and as far south as Pemberton.
All information in this post has been sourced from the DFES website. For all bushfire-related enquiries, visit their Contact Page.
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