Chief warns of bushfire complacency

December 8, 2012, 15:09

Pilots Andy Thomas (left) and Paul Kearns at Essendon airport for the arrival of the firefighting helicopter Elvis.

COUNTRY Fire Authority boss Euan Ferguson has warned of a ''troubling level of complacency'' among residents in at-risk communities, at the beginning of a summer when the state can expect ''lots of fires''.

For the first time since the late 1990s, Mr Ferguson said Victoria was facing a fire season that could be considered ''normal'', after years of drought were followed by two wet summers. But historically, in ''normal'' Victorian fire seasons, homes could be destroyed by bushfires, he warned.

Mr Ferguson's warning comes with the state facing on Saturday temperatures in the high 30s and winds later in the day of up to 40km/h.

A severe fire danger rating and a total fire ban has been declared for the Mallee, Wimmera, north central and northern country districts. While for the rest of the state the fire danger rating is ''very high'' or ''high''.

In an interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Ferguson expressed concern that recent wet summers had dimmed