Victorian Firefighters brace for a sweltering summer and deadly fires

High in the sky crews water bomb the bush practising and prepping ahead of this year's fire season. “You can expect to see the CFA ready, willing and able and en masse.” More than 250 CFA volunteers gathered today in Victoria’s Mornington peninsula to take part in training drills. From pumping water between trucks to mock evacuations “we always hope that we don't have a fire season, and that we're not needed, but days like today train people up so when we are needed, we can respond in a moment's notice.” While there's no fire to put out today everything's getting a test run These portable dip tanks can hold up to 1200 litres of water and are a vital tool in remote areas “We're running three in the state - we've got three based in the eastern half of the state, they're mobile and we can load them on the truck and move them around.” Almost 30-thousand volunteers are ready to tackle blazes, but numbers are down since the covid-19 pandemic. “we know that climate change is impacting, we know that our summers are happening sooner, quicker and they're also longer (cut out middle) so we're needing more members to join this great organisation.” The CFA has declared the fire danger period will begin on Monday for parts of Victoria including Hindmarsh, Horsham, Mildura, west Wimmera and Yarriambiack while some neighbouring areas will follow in early November. “The bushfire season in Victoria’s west is starting now thanks to a dry winter and autumn, but over in the state's east, the threat there should be delayed until regrowth dries up.” “For all parts of Victoria, they need to be preparing for the bushfire season.” By mowing lawns, cleaning out gutters, and having a fire plan.