The Fire Danger Period: what you can and can't do on your property

Most people know about Total Fire Bans. Far fewer know about the Fire Danger Period, and that's the one that catches property owners out. It runs for months, it's declared shire by shire, and it quietly shuts down a lot of the work people leave until the last minute.

How it works

The CFA declares the Fire Danger Period for each municipality based on how dry the grass and bush have got. Around Bendigo and Central Victoria that's often somewhere from late spring through to autumn, but the dates move every year with the season. Loddon and Campaspe can go in weeks before Macedon Ranges, so don't assume your neighbour's shire is the same as yours.

Once it's declared, you cannot light a fire in the open air without a written permit from your council's Municipal Fire Prevention Officer. That includes burn piles, heaps of cleared scrub and stubble. A Total Fire Ban is a separate, stricter thing declared on individual days, and on those days permits do not apply at all.

The part that gets missed: machinery

During the Fire Danger Period, and especially on Total Fire Ban days, there are rules around anything that throws a spark. Slashing, mulching, grinding, welding, angle grinders and chainsaws all sit in that category. On a Total Fire Ban day a lot of that work either stops or only proceeds with specific precautions and firefighting equipment on hand.

That's why we push people to get the work done in winter and early spring. In the middle of summer we're watching grassland fire danger ratings every morning, and if the day is too hot and too windy, we're not running a mulcher through dry scrub. No job is worth starting a fire.

What you can still do

Slashing, mowing and mulching are all still legal during the Fire Danger Period outside a Total Fire Ban, as long as it's done sensibly and the conditions allow. Mulching has a real advantage here because there's no pile and no burn permit to chase. The material stays on the ground as mulch instead of sitting in a heap you can't light for four months.

• Fire Danger Period declarations, CFA

  Current Fire Danger Period dates for every Victorian municipality and the restrictions that apply.

• Can I or can't I? CFA restrictions tool

  Checks a specific activity against today's restrictions in your area.

• Total Fire Bans and ratings, CFA

  Today's fire danger rating and any declared Total Fire Ban districts.

The practical advice

Work out your shire's declaration date, then work backwards. Anything involving a burn pile has to be done and gone before it starts. Anything involving machinery gets a lot harder once the grass cures off. If you're planning on clearing this season, the window is now, not November.

Rules, overlays and mapping change. We check the links in this article regularly, but always confirm the current requirements with your council or the relevant Victorian department before you clear anything.

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