Decent spring rainfall across the state could have pushed back the onset of the dangerous fire period for Tasmania, according to the Emergency Management Minister.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
While the mainland suffered a catastrophic fire season in 2019/20, Tasmania was largely spared the worst despite having an early onset for the fire season, with blazes at Fingal and elsewhere on the East Coast causing the most concern.
It was a far cry from the 2018/19 fire season when about 3 per cent of Tasmania's land mass was burnt, including 95,000 hectares in the Wilderness World Heritage Area.
But the upcoming fire season is unlikely to be as dangerous - although Emergency Management Minister Mark Shelton said it was no reason to become complacent.
MORE ON TASMANIA'S FIREFIGHTING CAPACITY:
He said "significant rains" since the end of winter had "dampened grass down" and could delay the fire season.
"At this stage the chief officer has advised that the fire season for this summer is going to be recognised as a normal fire season," Mr Shelton said.
Acting district officer for air operations, Matt Lowe, said the rainfall and improved preparations throughout the year had put fire services in a strong position ahead of the summer.
"[It] should be a later onset to the fire season, so we've got plenty of time to prepare, so it looks promising at this stage," he said.
"With that 'wave of attack' mantra, hopefully we can get on those fires early and they won't cause issues."
Tasmania will have a volunteer remote area firefighting cohort of 30 available by summer to provide support to the 100 TFS remote firefighters and 80 from Parks and Wildlife.
The state also has five additional firefighting aircraft and a stronger ability to monitor fires in wilderness areas, with a focus on attacking them rapidly and repeatedly to avoid issues encountered during the last serious wilderness fire season, caused by dry lightning strikes.
Key recommendations from a review of the 2018/19 fire season have been adopted.