Fire Safety – Hunting

 

If you’re a hunter, it’s your responsibility to be fire safe when moving through areas that are at risk of fire. Being fire safe is one way to protect our hunting grounds for the future. 

Always check the fire season before you go hunting. Be extra careful during restricted and prohibited seasons.

Here are some tips for minimising the chance of fire when hunting:

• Carry a shovel, several litres of water and a fire extinguisher if possible. These will help you extinguish any small fires before they have a chance to spread.  
• Avoid using tracer ammunition or coarse-grained gunpowder (black powder) for firearms during high, very high, or extreme fire danger days, or when the vegetation is dry.
• If you’re using an ATV, equip it with a spark arrestor. Your ATV has an internal combustion engine that can expel large hot particles. A spark arrestor traps these so you don’t end up accidentally setting spot fires.
• Don’t park vehicles on top of dry grass or other dry vegetation. Catalytic converters and hot exhaust systems can easily spark a fire.
• If you plan on cooking with a portable gas cooker on your hunting trip, make sure you take a look a look at our guide to using an outdoor cooker.

 

Disposing of cigarettes

If you’re a smoker, pay attention to where ashes drop and only smoke in areas that aren’t heavily vegetated. Make sure cigarettes are completely extinguished before you dispose of them.

Consider your environment, pack out all refuse and don’t through away cigarettes butts.

 

Camping

If you’re going to camp out, make sure to take care when lighting fires. Remember, you might need a fire permit to light a campfire and you can’t light open fires during a prohibited fire season.

Check out our guide to camping and campfires for more information.