When is bushfire season in Sydney?
In NSW the statutory Bush Fire Danger Period runs from 1 October to 31 March, and some local government areas start it earlier, on 1 September. During the period you need a permit to light a fire in the open, which includes burning off garden waste.
The garden work is best done in late winter and early spring, before the weather warms up. Start with homes that back onto bushland, which on the North Shore and Northern Beaches means a great many streets, from the gullies of Ku-ring-gai to the edges of Garigal and Ku-ring-gai Chase national parks.
What should be on a bushfire garden checklist?
Embers can be carried well ahead of a fire front, and they settle wherever dry, fine fuel collects: gutters, doormats, mulch, leaf litter and woodpiles. Most of the preparation is about removing those places close to the house.
| Where | What to do |
|---|---|
| Gutters and roof | Clear leaves, bark and twigs from gutters and roof valleys, and trim branches that hang over the roof. |
| Against the house | Move anything that can burn away from the walls, including doormats, woodpiles, stacked timber, leaf litter and bark mulch. Gravel or pebbles are a safer surface right beside the house. |
| Lawns | Keep the grass short, and rake up and remove the cuttings rather than leaving them to dry. |
| Shrubs | Trim shrubs back from walls, windows and decks, and avoid dense planting directly under windows. |
| Trees | Remove dead branches, and lift low branches so a fire in grass or leaf litter has no easy path into the canopy. |
| Hoses | Check that your hoses reach all the way around the house, and that taps and fittings work. |
| Green waste | Take clippings and branches away or put them in the green bin, rather than leaving piles to dry out. |
The NSW Rural Fire Service has a fuller guide to preparing your home, and encourages every household to make a bush fire survival plan.
What can you clear under the NSW 10/50 rules?
The 10/50 vegetation clearing rules let people in designated areas clear some vegetation near their home without asking council. If your property is in a 10/50 vegetation entitlement clearing area, you can:
- Remove trees within 10 metres of your home, measured from its external walls.
- Clear vegetation other than trees, such as shrubs and undergrowth, within 50 metres of your home.
The distances are measured from a habitable building, so a shed or detached garage does not count. The rules do not cover clearing close to rivers and lakes, and if the 10 or 50 metres reaches onto a neighbour’s land, you need their consent and their land must also be in an entitlement area. Check your address with the RFS 10/50 online tool before anything is cut.
Which plants are safer close to the house?
No plant is fireproof, but some catch fire less easily than others, and where a plant sits matters as much as what it is.
- Close to the house, favour plants with soft, moist leaves, keep them well watered, and leave space between them.
- Keep plants that shed bark, drop lots of dry leaves or carry aromatic oils, such as many eucalypts, paperbarks and tea trees, further from the house.
- Break up the garden with lawn, paths and gaps between beds, so a fire cannot run easily from one plant to the next.
- Keep climbers off timber fences, pergolas and walls near the house.
If a garden near bushland is being replanted, it is worth planning the layout with fire in mind from the start. A garden advice visit looks at each part of the garden before anything is bought.
How do you keep the garden ready through summer?
Preparation is not one weekend in September. Leaves keep falling and grass keeps growing, and a gutter cleared in spring can fill again after a few windy weeks. Through the danger period, check the gutters regularly, keep the lawn short and clear leaf litter as it builds up, especially before a hot, windy day is forecast.
Regular visits make this easier to keep on top of. A garden maintenance visit takes leaves, clippings and green waste away, and gutter cleaning before the season, and again after heavy leaf fall, keeps the roof line clear.
