SYDNEY, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Bushfire season officially began on Thursday in a number of Australian states, with authorities bracing for another hot and dry summer holding the potential for widespread devastation.

Authorities in the northern state of Queensland marked the occasion with a warning to residents to remain vigilant, while also saying that firefighting personnel have done everything possible to prepare.

"After last year's catastrophic and unprecedented season, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is equipped to deal with more major bushfires and our highly-skilled firefighters are ready to respond," QFES Minister Craig Crawford said.

"The thing to keep at top of mind, though, is that bushfire prevention is always a community effort - it's about individuals, organizations, local governments and state government departments working together."

Meanwhile, further south in the state of New South Wales (NSW), a prolonged period of drought has prompted officials to call an early start to the bushfire season in certain parts of the state, where it would not normally begin until October.

"Conditions across the state are drier and warmer than average, with more than 98 percent of NSW drought-affected," NSW Rural Fire Service acting commissioner Rob Rogers said in a statement.

Last year NSW saw more fires in July and August than across the entire summer months combined.

During the bushfire season landowners need a permit before lighting any fires on their property, and residents are strongly encouraged to prepare their homes and themselves.

"This means doing simple things like cleaning your gutters, removing combustibles from your yard, ensuring hoses can reach all corners of your property and completing or updating your bushfire survival plan," Rogers said.

Last year in the State of Queensland, 2,611 fires burnt more than 4 million hectares of land with 1,984 warnings being issued to communities.