A Total Fire Ban (TFB) has been declared for the North Central and Central fire weather district today, Friday 17 February 2023.
Today’s conditions in the North Central and Central fire weather districts, which include the South East municipalities of Cardinia, Casey, and Greater Dandenong, will be hot and windy with temperatures reaching high 30s to low 40s.
Northerly easterly winds up to 30km/h are predicted with a gusty south westerly change in the evening.
A Fire Danger Rating of Extreme is forecast for the North Central and Central district tomorrow, with a High rating across the rest of the state except in East Gippsland which is Moderate.
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said the TFB has been declared due to the expected conditions across the North Central and Central fire weather district.
“Conditions could make it difficult for firefighters to supress a fire should one start; therefore, we are asking people to take heed of the Total Fire Ban conditions,” CO Heffernan said.
“People need to be aware of the increased fire danger and ensure your fire plan covers all possible contingencies.”
A Total Fire Ban means no fire can be lit in the open air or allowed to remain alight from 12.01am to 11.59pm on the day of the Total Fire Ban.
Victorians can find out if it is a Total Fire Ban on the CFA website www.cfa.vic.gov.au, where it is usually published by 5pm the day before a Total Fire Ban.
For more information on what you can and can’t do visit the Can I or Can’t I page on the CFA website.
Victorians should also make sure they have access to more than one source of information.
They include:
– ABC local radio, commercial and designated radio stations of Sky News
– The VicEmergency App
– The VicEmergency website emergency.vic.gov.au
– The VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226
– CFA or VicEmergency Twitter or Facebook
