Bushfire potential up, report says
Posted
Bushfires ... greater potential for parts of SA this summer. (ABC Local Radio: Janel Shorthouse)
South Australia's annual fire potential report predicts much of the state has above-average potential for bushfires this summer.
The Bushfire Research Centre at the Bureau of Meteorology says the area south of a line between Ceduna, Port Augusta and Renmark is most at risk of bushfires over summer.
Doctor Chris Lucas from the research centre says drought conditions have contributed to an abundance of fuel in forests.
"It's been several years of well below normal rainfall and this has dried out the forests and made them very ready to burn," he said.
"A hot dry day with some wind and an ignition trigger will burn."
Dr Lucas says areas in the far north of the state have below the usual potential for fire this season because low rainfall for several years has reduced the fuel load.
"Those are mostly grassland driven and without the rain there's no grass that grows, hence there's no fuel and nothing to burn in those cases," he said.
The report also says an early start to the fire season is likely in some areas.
