Central Coast Council is urging community members to be vigilant in their preparation for bush fires with the official bush fire season set to start one month early on the Central Coast.

Council Director Environment and Planning, Scott Cox said ongoing warm and dry conditions had prompted the NSW Rural Fire Service to start the Central Coast bush fire season on 1 September instead of 1 October.

“We have over 128,500 hectares of bushland on the Central Coast, we are in drought and we are moving into the warmer months – all cues that we need to be on high alert for bush fires,” Mr Cox said.

“At Council, we’ve completed our largest bush fire preparation program to date and we encourage each household on the Coast to be as bush fire ready as possible.

“We have been working hard to enhance our fire trail network, constructing new fire trails, upgrading a significant number of existing strategic fire trails and protecting our bushland assets through fencing and security measures”.

To help the Central Coast community be better prepared for emergencies, Council has joined the NSW Government’s ‘Get Ready’ initiative and is delivering targeted resilience workshops.

Mayor Jane Smith said the Central Coast’s unique characteristics make emergency preparedness particularly important for the region.

“We are all aware of how dry it has been not just here on the Coast but across NSW and this move by the NSW Rural Fire Service to get ready earlier is welcome,” Mayor Smith said.

“Council is doing our part in providing crucial infrastructure and in ensuring our community is resilient too through education and community workshops.

“Now is the time to ‘Get Ready’ for the long bushfire season ahead.”

The five ‘Get Ready’ steps to prepare for any emergency are:

1. Know your risk
2. Plan now for what you will do
3. Get your home ready
4. Be aware
5. Look out for each other

Community members can find more useful emergency preparation information by visiting centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/emergencies.

The NSW Rural Fire Service provides the latest information on fires currently burning and outlines simple steps to prepare for bush fires, including how to develop a bush fire survival plan. Community members can find more information by visiting rfs.nsw.gov.au.