With bushfires still raging in Western Australia and other parts of the country, campers are again being reminded of their responsibilities when it comes to campfires.
Despite the risks, it seems some are still flouting the rules … and basic commonsense.
The Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning says 74 campfires were found still burning in the Hume and Murray regions last week.
Hume Region Manager, Tony Long, told the ABC that there were total fire bans in place on some of those days and several people are now facing fines.
The reasons behind the call for commonsense are obvious. New South Wales police suspect careless campers were responsible for starting a fire that recently burnt 700 hectares of the Bago State Forest.
While police are looking for the guilty parties, Detective Inspector Paul Huxtable says he does not believe their actions equate to arson.
“Perhaps they’ve started a fire, it got out of control and they may have fled purely for their own safety,” he told the ABC. “So, if you’re the person who started that fire, we’re keen to talk to you to establish the origin of the fire, how it happened and how we can prevent this in the future.”
Tony Long from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning said that even if people haven’t heard that there is a total fire ban in place, they should still follow the precautionary principle of not lighting a fire it if it’s a hot dry day.”
He says campers must make sure campfires are completely out before leaving any area.
“Fuel like red gum continues to burn for a long period of time,” he said. “You must extinguish fires with water, the general rule is if it’s safe to touch with the back of your hand then it’s safe to leave but you must spend a lot of time extinguishing the fire and around where you have been burning.”
