Terry,
I understand the "dummies" comment is off the cuff, and I know you mean no harm, but I just cant let any negativity be directed towards the RFS
still <3 u
not just to Terry -
I work closely with the RFS both in my weekday job and weekend job, and I see what and who they battle every single day of the year.
Sydney is surrounded by bush and it's one of the worst cities on the planet for bush surroundings. despite that, they lose a minuscule amount of private property each year. They are statistically 3-4 fold the greatest fire fighting service in the world. and they are 90%+ volunteers.
Dont hate on them... ever... You wont like what i have to say if you do.
On the note of hazard reduction over winter / other months....
what a lot of people don't realise is that It is very much not about the heat / sun. If anything it is the least concerning element.
They plan around hundreds of factors such as things like air / ground moisture, wind, rain, lightning storms, all sorts of weather conditions(air pressure etc. ) and absolutely the most important factor, flora and fauna.
If you burn down the bush in winter and you will kill thousands of wildlife that are less active in winter.
Burn in winter and you damage the tree, they get no regrowth in spring you end up with acres of dry semi recovered wood come summer.
Burn in winter and the ground moisture stops the undergrowth from burning. This leaves it open to the elements in summer to dry out and become fuel. (Undergrowth is what fuels fires)
the major reasons why they do hazard reduction now is because this is the time of year that you get regrowth as well as and many animals are becoming much more active and can flee easier.
They burn it off now so that the tree's have regrowth for the summer. Regrowth is healthier and much more fire resistant and this protects the tree over summer. This also provides better living conditions for animals over the hotter months.
Please of all things, don't question what they do, and when they do it. There is 100 reasons for every action they take.
TLDR: Many people just don't understand Fire.