Some scorching days throughout September are a powerful reminder that summer is just around the corner, and in preparation for the season ahead one of the Central Coast’s key fire trails has just enjoyed a serious facelift.

Summerland Point fire trail, a key part of the Gwandalan/Summerland Point fire trail complex, has been rebuilt after Central Coast Council completed work on 800 metres of the 900-metre trail.

Council’s Director Environment and Planning, Scott Cox said work on the fire trail was aided by significant co-operation from bodies associated with other major infrastructure projects.

“As part of our vision of making the Central Coast more sustainable we were actually able to source about 3000 tonnes of suitable material from the M1 building project that otherwise would have had to be shipped out at great expense,” Mr Cox said.

“Having access to this free resource allowed us to not only complete this project but to construct an additional six fire trails in the surrounding area as well.”

Central Coast Mayor, Lisa Matthews said residents living in areas prone to bush fires need to prepare ahead of the fire season.

“We have over 128,500 hectares of bushland on the Central Coast, and it is important that all residents are bush fire ready, particularly those living in isolated locations,” Mayor Matthews said.

“I encourage all community members to familiarise themselves with the five ‘Get Ready’ steps to prepare for an emergency which can be found at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/emergencies”.

In recent years, erosion has been a constant problem for the Summerland Point fire trail which was heavily damaged in the 2013 bushfires. Council has worked closely with key stakeholders to ensure work was completed well ahead of the summer season.

The NSW Rural Fire Service provides the latest information on fires currently burning and outlines simple steps to prepare for bush fires, including how to develop a bush fire survival plan. Community members can find more information by visiting rfs.nsw.gov.au.