While the recent seasonal outlook for spring, released in August by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC), revealed parts of Victoria were forecast to experience a wet spring, warm and windy days could bring increased fire risk.

The outlook predicted the rainfall would result in strong grass growth and therefore the potential for increased grassfire conditions once the vegetation dries out.

While it is still quite wet across the wider Ballarat region and an average fire season has been predicted, the Wimmera and Mallee fire districts were predicted to have a higher likelihood of fire potential during spring.

The strong winter rainfall means the fire season activity is expected to be below-normal across the eastern, north-east, central - which includes the wider Ballarat area - and Otway Ranges, and a reduced risk of campaign bushfires in forests across the state.

Read more: What the upcoming fire season will look like in Ballarat

However, CFA Chief Officer, Jason Heffernan, warned that property owners in some forested areas still had a lot of work to do to clear debris following the winter storms.

These storms in June severely impacted some parts of the state, including the Hepburn Shire.

He said Victoria was one of the world's most bushfire-prone areas in the world and even a normal fire season could present a high risk to communities. He urged people to prepare their properties for the fire season.

"Preparing your property means you minimise the chance of property damage during a fire, even if you plan to leave early," he said.

"A big clean-up before the fire season can make a huge difference to the safety and survival of your home in a bushfire."

Tips for preparing your property for the fire season include pruning tree branches so they do not hang over the roof or touch walls, keep grass shorter than 10cm and regularly remove leaves and twigs from around the house.

Large shrubs in front of windows and glass doors can pose a risk so should consider being removed while mulch near the house can be replaced with less flammable alternatives, such as pebbles.

"If burning off as part of preparing your property, make sure you check for local restrictions, monitor weather conditions - particularly wind - and always register your burn-offs," he said.

Weather conditions should be monitored on the day of the burn as well as the days afterwards, as fires can flare up again several days after a burn-off in windy conditions.

To keep a burn-off safe, a three-metre fire break which is free from flammable materials, should be maintained and sufficient equipment and water should be close at hand so it can be extinguished quickly if it does escape.

A burn-off should never be left unattended, but if it does get out of control 000 should be called immediately.

Registering a burn-off and notifying neighbours is important to avoid unnecessary calls to emergency services.

People with a fire plan to 'leave early' - that is the night before or morning of a high-fire risk day - should also prepare their property.

It should be ensured that all flammable materials around the house are removed - including the doormat - are removed before leaving.

"Houses have been lost from things as simple as embers landing on a doormat left out," he said.

Last month Deputy Chief Fire Officer for the west region, Michael Boatman, said that with the forecast conditions and average temperatures in the Ballarat region, it was expected the fire danger period would most likely come into effect around mid-December.

Once it comes into effect, a fire permit needs to be issued before burning off.

Visit cfa.vic.gov.au for more information about bushfire planning and preparation.

Register your burn-off online via the Fire Permits Victoria website.

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