Today, Tuesday 17 January, has been a hot and horrible day. Tomorrow will be much the same. The Rural Fire Service has indicated that the combination of dry grass, heat and high winds two days in a row may lead them to declare a Total Fire Ban tomorrow, Wednesday 18 January. The RFS expects to be on stand-up from this evening in preparation for a very high fire danger day tomorrow.
Under these circumstances fires can start easily and spread rapidly and be difficult to extinguish. Please make sure you have everything in place to activate your Fire Plan if that becomes necessary. There is lots of good advice on the ACTEA website at http://www.actea.asn.au/will-your-horse-stay-or-go.
There is a large fire burning out of control at Tarago. The NSW RFS is coordinating animal evacuation points at Bungendore and Queanbeyan. EPIC will be the official evacuation centre for the ACT and can be activated on the advice of the RFS if required.
At this stage there are NO fires constituting a threat to the ACT. If that changes, alerts on the Emergency Services site (http://esa.act.gov.au/) will advise. You can also access fire updates from the Rural Fire Service through Facebook, Twitter and the mobile devices app Fires Near Me which provides information on current incidents throughout the ACT and surrounding region.
Remember
Be organised, be prepared, be early – not late!