Why a good winter makes for a nasty grassfire season

There's a habit of looking at green paddocks in August and thinking the fire season will be quiet. It's the opposite. A wet winter and a good spring grow a heavy fuel load, and every kilo of that dries off eventually. Grassfires move faster than bush fires and they're what threatens most properties in our part of the state.

Curing, in plain terms

Curing is how much of the grass has died off and dried out. Green and growing, it won't carry fire. Once it starts to brown off it becomes available fuel, and once it's fully cured a grassfire will run through it under wind at a speed you cannot outwalk. Around Bendigo and Central Victoria that switch usually happens across late spring and early summer, and it can happen in a matter of weeks after a run of hot days.

So the risk isn't set by how dry the winter was. It's set by how much grew, then how quickly it dried.

What that means for timing

The best time to get on top of long grass is while it's still standing green or just starting to turn. It cuts cleaner, there's less spark risk, you get a second growth flush you can manage, and you're not doing it under restrictions. Leave it until it's cured and you're slashing dry fuel in hot weather, which is when the machinery rules tighten up and contractors get booked out.

Height matters more than looks. Short, sparse fuel produces a lower flame and gives a crew something they can work with. Long grass right up against a shed does the opposite.

Where to focus first

Around the house and sheds, along the driveway, on the boundary and fence lines, around water tanks and pumps, and anywhere with a slope running up to a building. Fire moves faster uphill, so a slope below the house needs more attention than flat ground on the other side.

If it's already long and you've got acreage, slashing will handle grass but not woody regrowth. Mulching deals with the scrub and saplings in the same pass so you're not doing the job twice.

• Grassland fire danger, CFA

  How grassfires behave and what to prepare on a grassland property.

• Fire danger ratings, CFA

  Today's rating for the North Central district and any Total Fire Ban.

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