EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA IS ABLAZE: “Whatever the successes and failures in this crisis, it is likely that we will have to rethink the way we plan and prepare for wildfires in a hotter, drier and more flammable world,” conclude Ross Bradstock and Rachael Helene Nolan (November 2019)
Large fires have happened before. But this latest extraordinary situation raises many questions. It is as if many of the major fires in the past are now being rerun concurrently. What is unprecedented is the size and number of fires rather than the seasonal timing. Typically wet parts of the landscape have literally evaporated, allowing fire to spread unimpeded. It is no coincidence current fires correspond directly with hotspots of record low rainfall and above-average temperatures.