“Wildfires can move incredibly quickly and change in size incredibly quickly so ring 111, report that fire to make sure we’re well aware of it and then move away from it, keep well away.
“Let others know around you if they haven’t seen the fire or aren’t aware of it as well to make sure they are aware so they can also evacuate,” Mitchell said.
Forest Lodge manager Margie Grant recently had to help evacuate a school of 40 students and seven teachers staying at the lodge from the Castle Hill wildfire.
On the morning of December 5, she became wary of smoke and helicopters with monsoon buckets flying ahead of them and didn’t want to assume Fire and Emergency would get in touch.
She, along with the teachers, decided to prepare the students to evacuate and got them to pack their bags and leave them in vehicles in case they had to get away quickly.
An hour and a half later they were asked to evacuate by Fire and Emergency.
She said the best thing for people to do is be proactive.
“Be very aware of what your fire restrictions are, and be very sensible about any activities that you’re doing this summer... be hugely responsible and not self-entitled.
“Find out what the conditions are in your area... always have an escape route in the back of your thinking, just be aware about what’s happening around you.”
There are around 4000 wildfires in the country a year and 98% of them are started by people.
Mitchell agreed it is important for holidaymakers to know what the level of fire risk is because the conditions change over summer.
“If you’re going to a different locality, before you undertake an activity like have a cooker or do something like a campfire, always go on the Checkitsalright website.
“That will give you really good guidance around whether that’s an activity you can do and any safety requirements or conditions around the use of that fire.”
Mitchell said it is hard to tell how much time someone has to gather their belongings because of the speed fire can travel.
“Even small fires are wildfires, especially if it’s your livelihood, your home, your environmental community that’s been impacted by that. Small fires can be as consequential as some of the larger ones.”
He also said spotting from a blaze can prove problematic.
“This is where embers of burning vegetation gets carried up into the atmosphere and then the winds push that downwind of where the fire is. Where those embers land, they start other fires.
“So often with wildfires it’s not just the main fire itself, it’s all of these other little fires.
“As they grow, they all merge together to help contribute to the overall size of the fire.”
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