Regional South Australians are being warned not to let their guard down about bushfires despite the wet and cool spring so far.

Key points:

  • The BOM says more wet and cool conditions are likely for SA
  • The CFS says there is a lot of fuel on the ground due to so much rain
  • West coast farmer Jake Hull says the fire danger in his area looks more serious than he’s seen before

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) recently issued its long-range forecast for Australia’s upcoming severe weather season, with many parts of regional SA looking to be wetter than normal. 

However, that has prompted warnings from the Country Fire Service (CFS) and the BOM that the fire risk could increase significantly in summer due to the amount of grass growth.

Bureau forecaster Jonathan How said there was a good chance the next few months would be cool and wet for many parts of the state. 

“Heading into November and December it is looking like 60 to 70 per cent chance of above-average rainfall,” he said. 

“The temperature expectation for the rest of spring and summer across the Mid-North is that we will below-average temperatures … but will rebound across [the summer months].”

However, all that vegetation growth has some worried, including west coast farmer Jake Hull.

While the wet conditions have helped crops, it has Jake Hull concerned about summer fires.(ABC Rural: Jo Prendergast)

He and others are becoming worried about fuel loads.

“The level of grasses is really high, so our fire danger has the potential to be the worst we’ve ever seen it,” Mr Hull said.

“When you’ve got wild oats up to your shoulders in some places you can see that fire will carry very, very quickly on a bad day.”

CFS region four duty officer Andrew Stewart says the fire risk will be high in outback areas of SA because of abundant of grass growth. 

“Due to the rain at the moment, we are concerned about the APY Lands in the far-north areas … with invasive species like buffel grass,” he said.

“We are expecting a significant fire year in the next year or two.”

The likelihood of more rain means the chance of waters entering Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is increased.(ABC News: Gary-Jon Lysaght)

Looking at other regions, Mr How says there is a 50 to 60 per cent chance of above-average rain over the next few months and a 50 per cent chance of higher-than-average rain in the outback. 

Meanwhile, BOM forecaster Simon Timke says there is a 70 to 75 per cent chance of above-median rainfall across the state’s Eyre Peninsula.

Mr How said with the increased rainfall in the outback and Queensland, the chances of Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre filling up also increased.