South Australia's fire danger season is here. Bushfires pose a threat to lives, property and electrical infrastructure. It's everyone's responsibility to be prepared .

SA has a significant bushfire risk and we take our responsibility to protect community safety very seriously. Powerlines run through many bushfire risk areas, as such, you may lose power even if you live in non-bushfire risk area.

Bushfire preparation

Each year we make a big investment in our network in preparation for bushfire season and to reduce the potential for bushfires starting, including:

• clearing trees and vegetation away from power assets
• patrolling powerlines in high bushfire risk areas (aerial and ground patrols)
• replacing and upgrading equipment to meet the summer peak power demand
• operating the network more conservatively when the risk of a bushfire is high
• training our employees on how to operate equipment and work safely on high bushfire risk days

Fast facts

• Our Distribution network has a footprint of 178,000km²
• The bushfire vegetation program maintains 415,000 spans of powerlines (a span is the distance between two power poles).
• During 2022, the program cleared vegetation from around a record 74,624 spans.

Safety first - prepare now

In 2022, a new national Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) was introduced. Learn more about the simplified national system on the CFS website.

Since the new national system was announced in September, we have been training our staff and updating our processes to transition and use the new rating system.

Just as we’ve been preparing for the bushfire danger season, there are things you can do to help keep your family safe. Many people have made a sea-change or tree-change in the past couple of years and moved into a bushfire risk area. Whether it is your first bushfire season in your new home, or you have lived there for years, it pays to plan and be prepared.

Your bushfire management plan should include what you would do if the power went out. For example, if you have an electronic garage door, you will need to know how to operate it manually. Or if the power is out for an extended time, you may need an external power bank to keep your phone charged.

Be aware that:

• Your power may go out
  Bushfires can interfere with our poles, wires and other equipment.
   
• It may take a long time for your power to be restored.
  If you are in an area where a bushfire is happening, or if your power supply is fed by powerlines that run through areas which are susceptible to bushfires, your power may be out for a long time before we can safely restore it.

Keep informed

Getting accurate information is important. ABC local radio and the CFS website offer important updates throughout emergency bushfire situations. We recommend the following at a minimum:

• Keep a battery-operated radio handy.
• Keep mobile devices fully charged.

You can also get updates on power outages from our social media pages and our website. Sign up now for SMS alerts and keep up to date with any outages via our outages map.

• Check for updates on outages
• Sign up to receive updates via SMS

Additional resources

• Read more of our Bushfire safety information.
• The CFS website offers many resources including how to make a 5-minute bushfire plan.

Fire danger season dates 2022 / 2023

Adelaide Metropolitan - 1 December 2022 to 30 April 2023
Eastern Eyre Peninsula - 1 November 2022 to 15 April 2023
Flinders - 1 November 2022 to 15 April 2023
Kangaroo Island - 1 December 2022 to 30 April 2023
Lower Eyre Peninsula - 15 November 2022 to 15 April 2023
Lower South East - 22 November 2022 to 30 April 2023
Mid North - 15 November 2022 to 30 April 2023
Mount Lofty Ranges - 1 December 2022 to 30 April 2023
Murraylands - 15 November 2022 to 15 April 2023
North East Pastoral - 1 November 2022 to 31 March 2023
North West Pastoral - 1 November 2022 to 31 March 2023
Riverland - 15 November 2022 to 15 April 2023
Upper South East - 15 November 2022 to 15 April 2023
West Coast - 1 November 2022 to 15 April 2023
Yorke Peninsula - 15 November 2022 to 30 April 2023