The bushfire danger period has started and Canberrans are being strongly encouraged to take action and be bushfire ready ahead of a hot and dry summer.
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The official bushfire season began on Thursday and emergency services have stepped up their preparations to match the forecasted higher than average bushfire risk for the ACT.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr stressed the importance of increasing public awareness and community engagement to work alongside emergency services.
"There's no doubt that we can all learn more, understand more, do more as individuals to assist in preparation and particularly during periods of high bushfire danger," Mr Barr said.
ACT Rural Fire Service chief officer Andrew Stark said residents in the "bush capital" needed to stay alert and be ready in the event of a bushfire.
"People need to be aware that bushfires can occur at any time over summer and can develop into a dangerous property or life threatening situation very quickly."
Mr Stark said preparing for the bushfire season would make a big difference when it counted.
Emergency Services Agency acting commissioner Mark Brown said it was now a good time to make preparations for the fire season.
"It's really too late if a bushfire is in their area and is heading towards their property, it's really too late to do that planning."
Despite the warnings, fire services continually came across complacent and ill-prepared residents.
"You see people on their roofs with a garden hose, wearing shorts and thongs. It's really unsafe behaviour. All of those preparations should have been done well in advance of the fire and that's not the time to take those sort of risks," Mr Brown said.
Guises Creek Rural Fire Brigade captain Dave Wassall warned residents to plan ahead even when they were away from home.
"Even if you're in the bush having a picnic, going out for the day and a fire starts, you've got to have a plan on what you're going to do, how you're going to get out of it, where you're going to go."
Paul Walshe from ActewAGL said residents should remove vegetation close to powerlines and be prepared for power outages.
"It's a good idea to have a home safety kit in case there's a power outage. The kit should include a torch, batteries and first aid supplies," he said.
For more information about being bushfire ready, visit: esa.act.gov.au/.
Photographers are invited to share their best seasonal weather images and have the chance to see their photos published and share in $1000 of prizes.
To enter, send a maximum of three photos to photocomp@canberratimes.com.au as attached JPEG files and include your name, address, phone number, photo title, a description of the photo and the date it was taken.
The competition closes on November 30.
