By Eleanor Wilson
A concerned Endeavour Hills resident said grassfires surrounding his property are an accident waiting to happen, after claims the City of Casey failed to maintain grass heights in the area.
Garrick Williams said the grass around his property, near Churchill National Park, exceeded half a metre in height before it was mowed by council contractors last Friday 13 January.
He said the grass maintenance in the area had been “a bit hit and miss” in recent months, possibly due to wet weather.
“Generally they keep it at a level that’s acceptable, but where it was last week was ridiculous,” Mr Williams said.
Mr Williams said he was so concerned about the risk of a grassfire starting because of the unmowed areas, that he contacted his home insurance company to hold the council to account if a fire were to damage his property.
“We are in a bushfire prone area and with the grass at the level it [was], while I hope it doesn’t start a fire, it’s definitely a possibility.”
Fellow Endeavour Hills resident Michael Quaremba said he too was concerned about the risk of long grass proliferating the fire risk.
He said the council displayed “a complete lack of duty of care” in their maintenance of public lawns and reserves.
“As a property owner you would be fined in the thousands by the council for posing a fire risk to other properties. Endeavour Hills residents deserve better than this,” he said.
In January 2009, a car fire on Power Road in Endeavour Hills spread into Churchill National Park, threatening homes in Lysterfield South and Endeavour Hills.
Mr Quaremba, who witnessed the fire that day, said he feared a similar incident could be imminent.
“I’m surprised we haven’t seen another fire like it, anything can trigger a grassfire, even a discarded cigarette butt could start something.
“The other thing that gets to me is the burden it puts on the firies.
“Australia is prone to bushfires and the fire brigades have enough on their plates dealing with rural bushfires, but why should we have to be dealing with suburban fires when the council should be proactive and maintain the grass?”
Mr Quaremba confirmed grass surrounding his home had also recently been mowed by the council after reaching almost one metre.
In a statement, City of Casey city presentation manager Mardi Cuthbert said recent rain prevented contractors from mowing lawns in the municipality.
“Due to the significant rain that occurred in October and November 2022, there were a number of parks, reserves and roadside areas that were too wet for some of council’s contractors to safely use mowing equipment on before Christmas,” Ms Cuthbert said.
“With the recent weeks of dry weather, contractors have been working through the backlog and expect to be up-to-date by the end of January.”
The City of Casey will enter a Fire Danger Period (FDP) on Monday 30 January, restricting the use of fires in the community, to prevent grassfires from occuring.
It comes as The Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for summer identified potential for increased grassfire conditions for the 2022/23 fire season, due to significant grass growth and delayed harvest activities, according to the CFA.
CFA District 8 Acting Assistant Chief Fire Officer John Francis said while rainfall over recent months saturated grassland and forests, wind conditions has dried these fuels out considerably.
“Widespread rainfall in winter and spring has led to high fuel loads across the region and we can expect to see significant grassfires this season,” he said.
