The climate change debate aside, it is a reminder property owners need to be prepared and have the necessary plans in place now.

Wednesday, August 15, brought with it unseasonably high temperatures and strong winds.

We all know that’s a recipe for disaster in summer but we are not used to seeing that in August.

We also know the lack of rainfall across the region has already meant the landscape is dry and thirsty.

Just last week the entire of NSW was declared to be experiencing drought conditions

If this is what we are seeing now, without any significant, sustained rainfall that’s unlikely to change across the summer.

Weatherzone meteorologist Graeme Brittain was frank about the conditions experienced across the Illawarra and South Coast on Wednesday.

He told the Illawarra Mercury the forest fire danger index (FFDI) – which takes into account temperature, wind speed and humidity – reached its highest August level in just over 15 years at Albion Park.

Nowra’s FFDI was the highest in 14 years.

La Trobe University expert and bushfire safety researcher Jim McLennan told AAP on Wednesday we needed to expect these conditions more often.

”Unfortunately, people are going to have to stop thinking of these as rogue events and start thinking of them as the new normal,’’ Mr McLennan said.

A scary thought.

The NSW Rural Fire Service suggest four simple steps to be aware of _

Discuss what to do if a bushfire threatens your home.

Prepare your home and get it ready for bushfire season.

Know the bushfire alert levels.

Keep all the bushfire information numbers, websites and smartphone app handy.

The time to be ready and prepared, it seems, is already upon us.