Extreme Conditions Policy-Heat and Fire

Tom Nankivell - 11/01/2021

With memories of last summer’s fire season still vivid, and with a new summer now with us, the National Committee has introduced a fire policy to help guide riders and ride organisers alike.

The policy sets out when rides can and cannot proceed, based on the ‘Fire Danger Ratings’ that are used throughout Australia. These are issued in advance by the Bureau of Meteorology for different regions in each State and Territory.

Under the bushfire policy:

• Audax rides shall not be run through areas where the fire risk is rated as ‘Catastrophic’/’Code Red’ or ‘Extreme’.

• Audax rides may be run through areas under a ‘Severe’ fire danger declaration, although Ride Organisers shall analyse conditions along the route, such as whether there are already fires alight and/or poor air quality in the vicinity, to determine whether it is reasonably safe to ride.

Where a scheduled ride runs through a risky area, the Ride Organiser together with Audax management have the options of cancelling, post-postponing or re-routing the ride.

This policy applies to all Audax rides including calendared rides and permanents, with the exception of routes contained fully within urban boundaries (such as the River Loops rides in Brisbane).

• The bushfire policy has been integrated into the club’s existing ‘extreme heat’ policy and is available here: Audax-Australia-Extreme-Conditions-Policy-Heat-and-Fire.pdf
• A page has also been developed in the Ride Knowledge-base: https://audax.org.au/knowledge-base/weather/ to assist riders in differing weather conditions.

Tom Nankivell
Chair, Risk & Safety Committee
Audax Australia