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7 News Melbourne report yesterday :
A blanket of thick smoke has smothered Melbourne, plunging air quality to its worst level in a year.
It's the result of planned burn-offs around the state and authorities added to the haze today, but lighting dozens of new fires.
Stephanie Rotarangi, the chief fire officer at the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning said it was difficult to back burn without affecting air quality.
"But we are completely committed to this program because of the effects of bushfire are much worse," Ms Rotarangi said.
The areas worst hit by the smoke were Alphington, Dandenong and Mooroolbark where the Environment Protection Agency declared air quality unhealthy for all, which is a rare reading.
"I'd really like to thank Victorians for being patient with us.
"It is the ideal time for us at the moment to deliver this program, but we know that we may be effecting people's quality of life."
I certainly don't look forward to winter here in the Blue Mountains. Hazard reduction is a fact of life and certainly impacts on our daily life being thoroughly unpleasant not to mention the worry of the back burning going wrong. You would think that living in the mountains presents a picture of lovely fresh air (Blackheath is 1060m above sea level) however the aforementioned hazard reductions and wood fires can make winter nights not so pleasant from an astronomical and health point of view.
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