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CEO's column: Bushfire season, a burning issue

By intouch * posted 19-09-2018 14:40

  

Living in Australia and New Zealand, bushfires are an accepted but unfortunate part of the fabric of our much-loved summers.


Aerial-view-of-bush-fire-in-Sydney_-Australia-185889066_1297x810__1_.jpegWhat is alarming however is that in NSW, and as a forerunner for other states and NZ, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) official bushfire alert season has been brought forward by two months, starting already on 1 September.

With 100% of NSW now being drought declared, new records broken for the hottest midday temperatures for August (6 degrees Celsius above the average), and the least amount of rainfall since 1965, we are facing a tinderbox of dry conditions and undergrowth fuel just waiting for the wrong spark at the wrong time to ignite the state into a blaze. RFS Inspector Ben Shepherd has said moisture indices are showing conditions are far drier than the 2001-2002 fire season that was marked by big blazes across the state, including near Sydney.

In February last year, more than 1000 people were evacuated from their homes and a state of emergency declared in Christchurch, NZ as a raging bushfire gripped the region for five days. That bushfire destroyed 11 homes and burnt out 1800 hectares.

Only last month we witnessed more than 78 significant fires across NSW exacerbated by strong, high, dry winds, and sadly the loss life of one water bombing helicopter pilot. The 30-year trend is now clearly researched as fire seasons are lasting longer and becoming more intense. In the United States, for example, the record for the largest fire in California history has been broken two years in a row. The worst bushfire season for NSW in the last 30 years was in October 2013 (destroying 200 homes in the Blue Mountains). The scariest fact is that our up-to-date bush moisture maps show that levels are drier now in NSW than they were for the same time in 2013.

We all know that living anywhere near bushland means that we should have a bushfire plan prepared in advance. Unfortunately, research indicates that only about 5% of those who should have one, actually do. The University of Wollongong has established that the biggest influence on the risk of house loss during a bushfire is the actions that the residents themselves take.

Local government is urged to do more than the usual putting out media releases and staging a photo op at the local fire station. If we are to have any chance of minimising the devastation to property, public infrastructure, and remove the threat to Australians and New Zealanders, then we need stronger action that will positively reduce the likelihood of a fire-storm catastrophe across our nation.

With all the geo-mapping at our disposal, we should be able to target specific high risk areas and even streets with door-to-door awareness calls, identifying our elderly and venerable community residents, taking responsibility for clearing undergrowth on council owned or managed land areas such as reserves, and having refined and tested rapid response units to assist the RFS and emergency services.  

Homeowners may not be able to stop the ravages of a major bushfire, but they can do a lot to prepare and reduce the risk by ensuring that natural and man-made fuels are kept to a minimum in the garden, especially close to the house, and also defending the house from spot-fires caused by embers. The NSW Rural Fire Service has a wealth of advice for preparing for bushfires on its website.

It looks like we’re in for a really bad season, so let’s lift our efforts now to try and reduce the inevitable impacts over the next four months.

Robert Fuller 
CEO, IPWEA 
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