Harvest and Vehicle Movement ban put in place for City of Busselton with new notification system on trial

A Harvest and Vehicle Movement ban has been put in place for the City of Busselton on Tuesday afternoon, as the City rolls out a new trial SMS notification system for the alerts.

The ban, set to take place between 12 and 6pm, with the possibility to extend into the evening, is issued by the City and put in place when the local Chief Bush Fire Control Officer identifies the use of engines, vehicles, plant or machinery as high bushfire risk activities, during particular times of the day.

This bushfire season, the City of Busselton are trialling a new SMS notification system to alert the community of upcoming bans, with locals encouraged to sign up for the free mobile alerts via the City website to ensure they do not miss any upcoming bans.

Machine operators are responsible for checking if any restrictions are in place before undertaking harvesting on a property, to make sure equipment is not likely to start a fire during a ban.

If it does, a fine may be issued due to the serious risk it poses to the property and surrounding community.

The bans, which differ to Total Fire Bans issued by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, are likely to be imposed during the ‘heat of the day’ but can be extended or cancelled at any time if weather conditions change.

Alert notifications will also be distributed via the City’s website landing and Facebook pages.

Community members are reminder to stay bushfire ready this summer, with information related to any bushfire events in the area available through ABC South West radio, emergency.wa.gov.au and via the DFES information line on 13 33 37.