What can be done to stop the dangerous outcomes where people are permitted to build houses surrounded by or too near fire prone bush? The danger is compounded by authorities clearing bans but the basic issue is the building in and too near bush.
In a rational society it would be stopped. The issues that need addressing all involve States or Councils and we have a lame duck Fed Govt so the chances of rational changes seem slight.
Warwick
The underlying issue is that of population density. Large numbers of people (emphatically including me) do not wish to live their lives in the overcrowded, gridlocked cities.
Yet, of course, regional areas with lower population densities do not much attract large scale development for either housing or work opportunities. So individuals solve the economic equation for themselves and then build houses where they can afford to.
In short, it’s the geology and geography of the continent. A huge desert/semi-desert with narrow coastal fringes for habitation.
It can be done. Get the fuel down. Just get back to pre-European fire regimes. Then you can forget the air tankers.
Watch David Packham youtu.be/E6RrgBrb6R8?fbclid=IwAR1uhJ93oKCeDkVrMplqLx76EHw3WWAgNKhhwIiJUCmgXixNKM0sAVAcG0s
“Fire and Hearth” by Sylvia Hallam
“The worlds biggest estate” by Bill Gammage.
There are numerous historical references to indigenous burning practices. They lived in the bush, they never got burnt out, it should be intuitive.
The biggest hurdle to sound fire and environmental management is without doubt, the greens. They must hate the environment.
Early settlers quickly discovered the flammable nature our native vegetation species. That’s why until the 1970’s most people living in the bush planted non native trees & shrubs around there homes.
But then ‘fashions’ changed and we all started planting native trees and shrubs everywhere with no regard to how flammable they are; and no preference for the fire retarding native species which do exist.
This was reinforced by the tree changer movement since the 1990’s.
Now we are living with the consequences of that change.
Another big change in the bush, has been the move towards ground located drip irrigation to maximise the efficiency of water used on farms. This has happened in the orchard & vineyards here in the Adelaide Hills. The dripper systems replaced the sprinklers of former times.
But the vines and fruit trees on dripper systems had no chance against the wild fires of last Friday. Whereas those with turned on sprinklers systems were able to cool down protect their orchard trees, vineyards and buildings. I suspect something similar happened to the orchards up around Bilpin in the huge fires North West of Sydney.
There are lessons in this not just for
I hit post too soon !
There are lessons in this not just for tree dweller folk in the bush but for farmers as well.
Interesting points here. And thanks to all for refraining from mentioning “climate change” and the supposedly urgent need for action (what action?) to alter the climate so bushfires don’t happen.
I seem to remember a time when Australians had more sense about bushfires and would make sure their houses were not surrounded by highly flammable vegetation, and that nearby bush was maintained so as to not resemble a tinder-box of dry leaf litter, old bark and dead branches. It does, after all, stand to reason that the more fuel you put in front of a fire, the bigger the fire will get, and that if the fuel is in front of your house, your house is going to be next.
I am tempted to observe that whether carbon dioxide forms 0.04% or 0.05% of the atmosphere is not going to make much difference to the above facts, but perhaps I should refrain from starting an ugly fight at Christmas…
Was caught in bushfires in the outer hills district of Sydney. We had a fire coming in two directions from west and north. A fire engine drove in the side paddock to get water from our pool but their pump did not work so the 4 firies (union) got in their engine and drove away to let us fight it alone. What saved the house were deciduous trees -plain tree, claret ash, others, and particularly a large Coral tree which has fleshy limbs, and leaves. The trees around the house lost their leaves but all came back. We think the trees made a cloud of water vapour around the house. We did have cleared paddocks at the back and sides with the front garden. Have pictures of the bitumen road at the front burning but we were able to stop it with houses and buckets. All our fences were burnt and lost a couple of small sheds. The greenhouse cover over the pool was destroyed. So one can survive with some planning and being on site to fight the fire. A brick and tile house two doors away was burnt because no one was home.
Interesting account cement.
When was this?
Wazz, we experienced a bushfire in the Lance Cove National Park opposite our house in 1979-1980 (helped with a bit of backburning), then moved outto the Hills District on 5acres where the property shows signs of the fire, in 1991 a fire gave from an adjacent ridge where two people lost their lives -the fire came roaring up the back like a jet, The fire I describe above came in 2001. The Baulkham Shire Council had bought land beyond us and had stopped clearing the firetrails where we used to ride.
In the 20 months since the Tathra fires when 65 homes were lost there has been no policy response from the NSW Govt or councils to make changes to take more positive steps to reduce the fire hazard for any NSW homes. The frequent drought news over those 20 months must have made it obvious that fire risk was already high and increasing.
I hear on news talk of friction between the Morrison Govt and NSW. Could it be around this very issue that the NSW Govt is across so many policy areas “defacto-Green” while Morrison wants assurances they will get behind real changes to reduce fire risk to NSW houses. I think Morrison has already said he wants more certainty in fuel reduction and fire breaks and zoning law changes to prevent houses being built nestled in bush. I expect NSW and their councils aided & abetted by the GreenLeft media to resist all that.