MORE THAN 12,000 hectares of bush was torched as part of hazard-reduction burns this winter to keep Canberrans safe.
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The burns were just one part of the capital's brush-fire operation plan to manage potentially fatal blazes in the summer months.
ACT Rural Fire Service chief Andrew Stark said the service always planned for the worst and hoped for the best.
The head of the capital's volunteer force, who has held the position since 2009, said last summer's conditions were the worst he had seen.
''The record-breaking heatwave, where records tumbled one after the next, was the worst I've seen it,'' Mr Stark said.
Recent rain had helped push back the arrival of two firefighting helicopters from Canada, he said.
''It's my decision when I call in the helicopters. It will be some time at the end of November or early December.''
But the arrival of the aerial water-bombing support is dependent on the weather. ''A few 30 [degree]-plus days and everything will dry out quickly.''
In the 2011-12 financial year, the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate worked with the fire service to reduce fuel loads on more than 22,000 hectares in the ACT.
This winter, the figure jumped to more than 27,000 hectares.
Mr Stark said the firefighters were going into the bushfire season prepared. ''But you can't predict the weather - no one saw the heatwaves last year coming.''
