While much of eastern Australia is experiencing wetter than average conditions, the national bushfire outlook remains problematic in many areas.
Releasing its Spring Seasonal Bushfire Outlook this week, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC said there was an above-normal fire potential for south-east Queensland as well as the state’s central coast extending north.
Dry conditions in much of South Australia and Western Australia also remain cause for concern.
“With a La Nina alert now active … the rainfall outlook for September to November shows wetter than average conditions are very likely for most of the eastern two-thirds of mainland Australia,” the BNH-CRC says, “while conditions are likely to be drier than average around the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia, as well as south-western Tasmania.
“Most of the remainder of the country has roughly equal chances of wetter or drier than average conditions.”
Federal Minister for Emergency Management David Littleproud said all Australians, especially in the high-risk areas outlined in the report, should now be preparing “for the risks facing us over the coming summer”.