How this year’s bushfire season is different from Black Summer

Save articles for later

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Three years of La Nina events have fuelled vegetation growth across Victoria, but this has dried out rapidly over the past few months due to record-breaking dry conditions and warmer-than-average temperatures.

Fire authorities are urging Victorians to be prepared, particularly along the western and central regions, along the Surf Coast and East Gippsland.

Firefighters have been carrying out planned burns in at-risk areas, such as Bendigo National Park.Credit: Jason South

But how does this fire season stack up to Black Summer?

Victoria’s Country Fire Authority deputy chief officer, Alen Slipjepcevic, said that although there’s been severe drying of grass in the past nine months, it is nowhere near as bad as 2019.

That year, eastern parts of Victoria were the driest on record, with the fire agency concerned as early as June 2019.

Slipjepcevic said recent rains over parts of the state, including East Gippsland, which received 300-400 millimetres of rain, have dampened concern.

Last year, about 7000 hectares were burnt in bushfires, but this year, about triple that figure has been burnt, Slipjepcevic said. In 2019 and 2020, blazes ravaged 1.5 million hectares.

“People need to be prepared for every fire season, no matter how dry or wet it is,” he said.

This year’s fire season is slightly different to that of 2019/20 because the main threat is from grass fires, spurred by three years of heavy rains and grass growth.

Grass fires can be more dangerous than bushfires because they move and spread so quickly, at times travelling more than 25km/h.

But once the heat of the day and winds drop, grass fires are easier to extinguish, whereas bushfires continue burning, which was the case during the 2019 and 2020 fire seasons.

Slipjepcevic said that while this season might not be as dangerous as the 2019/20 Black Summer, similar conditions will occur in the coming years.

“We are talking about the first year in the drying cycle: every year has the potential for worse fires. Fire is dynamic and depends on climate conditions and weather conditions. Things can change.”

Since 2019, authorities have sought new ways of tackling bushfires through advanced technology, such as through drones and new fire modelling systems propelled by AI.

Carbonix founder Dario Valenza (left) and chief executive officer Philip van der Burg (left) are working with ANU to improve how drones can be used in firefighting.Credit: Jane Dempster

One project being developed by Sydney drone startup Carbonix and ANU’s Bushfire Centre of Excellence will help create predictive models that establish areas most likely to burn after an electrical storm and map areas that are at high risk of blazes.

Carbonix chief executive Philip van der Burg said the use of drones was a game-changer for bushfire management, helping to identify and protect people near bushfires as well as allowing for aerial data capture.

“If emergency services have a very accurate understanding of what’s happening, at all times, on the ground, they can make better decisions and act more quickly,” he said.

He added that since the Black Summer fires, there had been a political push to explore better ways to manage and prevent bushfires, with technology at the forefront of that. But progress was still slow.

“The technology is proven; it’s not yet being implemented, and it’s difficult to know why. Commercial viability is still dependent on multiple stakeholders – including federal and local government, funding and budgets – which are coming more on board but we’re still not there.”

Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.

Most Viewed in Environment

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article