Kindergartens, sporting grounds to close for extreme fire day

Surf Coast Shire kindergartens, tips and visitor information centres will be closed on Tuesday as the Country Fire Authority (CFA) forecasts extreme fire danger in the Central District.

The shire will close facilities and reduce service levels on 17 February in the interest of community and employee safety. The changes are in line with CFA advice for extreme fire danger days.

The shire’s general manager of community life Damian Waight said adjusting the services levels will protect people’s safety across the shire.

“The safety of the community and our staff is our number one priority and we thank the community for their understanding as we close some facilities or reduce service levels with this in mind,” Waight said.

“We are communicating changes directly to users of our services wherever possible, but we also encourage the community to check our website for the latest information.”

Waight also encouraged shire residents to download the VicEmergency App, know their fire plans and follow CFA advice throughout the extreme fire danger period.

A full list of changed services is below:

• Lorne Kindergarten, Jan Juc Pre-School and Anglesea Kindergarten will be closed
• Anglesea Landfill, transfer station and re-sale shed, Lorne Transfer Station and Winchelsea Transfer Station will be closed
• Scheduled kerbside bin collections in Fairhaven and Aireys Inlet will start earlier and be completed before 10am. Residents in these areas are advised to put their bins out on Monday night.
• Public litter bin and toilet servicing in high fire risk areas will take place before 10am and during the evening if conditions ease
• Council owned or managed reserves and facilities, such as sporting grounds and community houses, in high bushfire risk areas will be closed from 10am until conditions ease
• Lorne and Anglesea visitor information centres will be closed. A remote service is available from Torquay Visitor Information Centre
• The mobile library’s scheduled visit to Aireys Inlet and Lorne has been cancelled
• Anglesea Arts Space will be closed.

An up-to-date list of changes is available at surfcoast.vic.gov.au/servicechanges.

Information about fire danger ratings is available on the CFA website.