Just because the drought is over doesn't mean the danger of fire has lifted.
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That's the warning from the ACT's Chief Fire Officer as the new fire season heats up.
Rohan Scott says the nature of the danger has changed from last year's horrendous fire season but it still remains.
"Grass fires will be our biggest concern," he said.
He said this year's rains also meant a greater danger of floods.
He and his officers are keeping a close eye on swathes of grassland in and around Canberra, including with helicopter infrared surveillance.
The danger areas as city grass grows longer and starts to dry out runs from north of Gunghalin, down through the east and Mulligans Flat, and then to the north and east of the airport towards Jerrabomberra.
To the south and west of the city, the stretch along the Murrumbidgee and the Monaro Highway to the south are vulnerable.
Chief officer Scott said the fire season had started a month later than last because of the rains but that presented a new risk: the wetness promoted the growth of grass, and as the banks of it dry out, it becomes "heavy fuel".
Apart from aerial surveillance, the fire service is monitoring areas from the ground with officers just going and looking at the thickness and height of grass.
Samples are taken back to the headquarters next to the airport and analysed for moisture content.
Helping is the absence of forest fuel because so much of it burnt in the Orroral Valley fire in the last fire season.
This means that the danger has shifted nearer to the city.
Chief officer Scott said one gain from last year's bushfires is that crews built up huge experience in a short time.
He reckons they learnt in a few months what normally takes 10 years. "They are more prepared than they have ever been," he said.
Crews from the ACT were deployed to Queensland in August and were still going at it down near the Victorian border with New South Wales in February.
They were sometimes away from home for five days in a row.
Chief officer Scott praised the families who picked up the burden back home, and he praised employers who were generous in allowing staff to leave work at short notice.
"They picked up the slack which allowed the fire fighters to fight the fires," he said.
He urged Canberrans to have a survival plan for this fire season.
You can check if you're in a Bushfire Prone Area on this site: http://app.actmapi.act.gov.au/actmapi/index.html?viewer=Bushfire&runWorkflow=am_i_bpa
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
