Prepare for a bushfire - Department of Fire and Emergency Services

My Bushfire Plan

My Bushfire Plan is a bushfire preparedness tool, providing you with one place to prepare, store, print, share and update your bushfire plan any time, from any device.

Prepare for a bushfire now and keep yourself and your household safe.

Start My Bushfire Plan

Know your Fire Danger Rating

Fire Danger Ratings (FDR) are issued daily and describe the potential level of danger should a bushfire start. They provide important information so you can take action to protect yourself and others from the potentially dangerous impacts of a bushfire.

Launched in 2022, the Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) is a nationally consistent FDR system that features four simplified rating levels to more accurately reflect fire danger conditions and provide you with clear messages of what to do at each level.

The rating is your prompt to take action to stay safe. You need to stay informed and know what the FDR is for your area each day.

No Rating Moderate High Extreme Catastrophic

Plan and prepare

Most fires can be controlled.

Stay up to date and be alert for fires in your area.
Check your bushfire plan. If you do not have a plan, make one now.

Check the current Fire Danger Ratings Understanding the science behind Fire Danger Ratings

Be ready to act

Fires can be dangerous.

There’s a heightened risk. Be alert for fires in your area.
If a fire starts, your life and property may be at risk.
Review your bushfire plan. If you do not have a plan, make one now.
Leave bushfire risk areas if necessary.

Check the current Fire Danger Ratings Understanding the science behind Fire Danger Ratings

Take action now

Fires will spread quickly and be extremely dangerous.

These are dangerous fire conditions.
Put your bushfire plan into action.
If a fire starts, take immediate action. If you and your property are not prepared to the highest level, plan to leave early.
Avoid travel through bushfire risk areas.

Check the current Fire Danger Ratings Understanding the science behind Fire Danger Ratings

For your survival, leave bushfire risk areas

If a fire starts and takes hold, lives are likely to be lost.

These are the most dangerous conditions for a fire.
It may be too late to make a bushfire plan. Prepare your emergency kit and choose where you will go and different ways to get there.
Stay safe by going to a safer location early in the morning or the night before.
Homes cannot withstand fires in these conditions. You may not be able to leave, and help may not be available.

Don’t leave it too late to make a bushfire plan. Get prepared for bushfire season and create or update your plan now.

Check the current Fire Danger Ratings Understanding the science behind Fire Danger Ratings

On days when there is minimal risk, the Fire Danger Rating will be set to ‘no rating’.
Bushfires which start in these conditions are unlikely to spread in a dangerous or life-threatening way, but you will still need to remain alert and abide by local seasonal laws and regulations.

Check the current Fire Danger Ratings Understanding the science behind Fire Danger Ratings

FAQs: Fire Danger Ratings

The previous Fire Danger Rating System was largely based on science that was more than 60 years old, not updatable and only designed for a limited number of vegetation types representing a third of the Australian continent. As science has improved, so has our ability to predict fire behaviour and the threat to the community more accurately. The new AFDRS uses the latest science, knowledge and data, as well as fire behaviour models for a wide range of vegetation types to build a new system that will deliver more accurate and locally relevant bushfire advice to West Australians.

Updated science and technology:

Since the 1960s Australia has been using the McArthur Fire Danger Meter, developed by Arthur McArthur and the CSIRO, to forecast fire danger in Australian forests. However, this meter is based on two fire behaviour models for all of Australia: forest and grass.

Fire behaviour models are mathematical models, usually tailored to specific vegetation types, that describe the way fire moves and spreads through those vegetation types. Because vegetation types have different structural characteristics, fire moves in a different way through each, therefore, each requires its own modelling.

The new AFDRS maps the dominant vegetation across Australia down to a 1.5km square grid, to be more locally accurate. The new system also uses eight standard fire behaviour models, rather than two under the old system. These eight models include modifications to expand their use to 22 fuel types.

Using these models, the AFDRS is able to provide more accurate and locally relevant advice on fire behaviour, fire spread and fire danger across the country.

The AFDRS is also designed to be continuously updatable so that the system can take advantage of improving science, data and information into the future.

A nationally consistent system:

While the underlying models used to derive ratings across Australia (including WA) were consistent, there were variations in the visual display of the FDRs and recommended actions across the States and Territories.

The new Fire Danger Rating System is designed to be nationally consistent so no matter where you live or travel in Australia, you will be able to understand the threat posed on any given day and make appropriate decisions to keep you and your family safe. It also means that all states and territories are using the same trigger thresholds for Permit to Burn cancellations, Harvest and Vehicle Movement Bans and Total Fire Bans as well as the same trigger thresholds for the closure of government-managed schools and facilities.

Having a nationally consistent system will also improve cross-border operations and support sharing of firefighting resources.

A simplified, action-oriented system:

Social research was undertaken to help develop a new system that would be easier for the community to understand. Community feedback from this research found that while most people were familiar with the old system, they found it confusing and overly complex. Outcomes from this research include the below recommendations which were incorporated into the design of the new AFDRS, including:

Simplifying FDR messages to improve community comprehension and uptake
Reducing number of ratings from six to four
Using intuitive and simple colours
Including clear actions for the community to follow for each rating.

This feedback informed the four new Fire Danger Ratings which provide clear advice on what action communities need to take at each level. The community-preferred design was also tested with land and fire management agencies, and other sectors such as agriculture, transport, education, health, energy provider, local government and defence.

Know the alerts and warnings

If you live in a bushfire-prone area, you need to understand bushfire warnings before a fire threatens your home. There are three warning levels which move up and down to reflect the risk to your life or property before, during and after a bushfire. The warning level will be followed by an action statement such as “Prepare to evacuate” giving you clear instructions on how to stay safe. Learning these three levels and how to respond to them could save your life.

For the latest information visit emergency.wa.gov.au

Get the factsheet

For all current bushfire alerts and warnings visit emergency.wa.gov.au

Prepare your emergency kit

When a bushfire is likely to impact your home, staying to defend it or preparing to shelter in place is extremely dangerous. You must be mentally and physically ready and have an extensive emergency kit plus an independent supply of power and water to increase your chances of survival.

If you don’t know that you could handle the life-threatening situation and keep your family safe, then your best option is to evacuate early and have an emergency evacuation kit.

You should prepare your kit before the bushfire season and keep it in an accessible spot that everyone knows about.

Prepare your home and property

Firefighters will be too busy fighting fires on the frontline to defend your home and property, so it is your responsibility to be prepared. Download, print and complete the Property Preparation Checklist to give your home and property the best possible chance of surviving a bushfire.

Managing vegetation around buildings

New Standards in Western Australia are making it easier for people to protect their property from bushfires. The introduction of Bush Fire Risk Treatment Standards allows landowners or occupiers, within certain areas of the State, the ability to undertake specific vegetation management activities around residential and public buildings. If followed, the Standards ensure they will not be liable to prosecution under other laws. Open the Standards here or visit the Western Australian Government Gazette.

Asset Protection Zones

As a property owner, you have an important role in reducing the bushfire risk to occupants, visitors and neighbours. One of the most important steps is the creation and maintenance of an Asset Protection Zone (APZ).

An APZ is a low-fuel area immediately surrounding a building. It should include a defendable space adjacent to the building, which is no less than three metres in width, has minimal vegetation and is free from combustible items and obstructions. If correctly designed and maintained, an APZ can increase the likelihood that your building can be defended during a bushfire and that it will survive if left undefended.

Prepare your pets and livestock

When preparing your family and property for natural disasters, you also need to consider your pets and livestock.

Ensure that your pets are properly identified with a name tag or microchip or that you have a recent photo of them with you, and that stock registers for your livestock are current.

Find out more about pet and livestock welfare in an emergency by visiting the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development website.

You can also ask your local government if there are pet or livestock welfare arrangements in place during an emergency.