Spring / Summer 2019 – 2020 Horror year in Australia’s bushfire history – proof we are not progressing

Queensland, then NSW, then Victoria

In early Spring, the fire authorities allowed Queensland fires eg, = Peregian and NSW fires, eg = Long Gully, Busbys Flat and Minimbah / Tuncurry to run in the droughted National Parks and public land forests, but when each severe weather blow-up days came, they escaped containment and caused death, house loss and distress.

This pattern of “let-them-run / grow too large to stop / severe weather beats firefighters and inflicts tragedy” progressed south through NSW during mid and late Spring and into Summer.

By Late Spring – Early Summer, the fire authorities allowed bushfires to run in the mild weather in the droughted National Parks and public land forests in eastern Victoria. The same predictable pattern of “let-them-run / grow too large to stop / severe weather beats firefighters and inflicts tragedy” played out over December and January. 

This was all avoidable if best practice suppression principles were practiced by fire agencies. IT WAS NOT

People were caught by surprise, unprepared.      

If they chose self-defence, they isolated their houses from such mistakes.   SOME DID   

Have there been Spring droughts before?           YES

Has there been severe weather in Spring before?            YES

Have there been Spring bushfires before?           YES

One substantial difference is the evident new strategy of “let fires run in mild weather” in National Parks and forested public lands, compared to best practice forest bushfire suppression of “keep Spring fires small and black them out quickly”. 

After decades of forest bushfire experience in forging world best practices, how can the best ever, the best resourced, the best prepared firefighters let this happen to the trusting people of Australia?  BRAIN FADE or CULPABLE NEGLIGENCE?

These preventable bushfires are now the subject of three government inquiries, but unless inquiry teams finally get Parliament to force fire agencies to deliver the bushfire management future that people really want, last summer’s destruction and smoke pollution will become the norm.

What is that future?      “Implement strategies in our area that achieve these three goals – zero life loss, zero house loss, zero disruption to normal life in our area, so that the annual bushfire menace in our area is eliminated forever”.

Impossible you say?     Already today, large areas in Australia will never again suffer the annual bushfire menace. Open the Parliamentarians’ eyes and make the fire agencies extend those areas.  

In the meantime, people and neighbourhoods will have to learn to protect themselves. We can teach you skills and empowerment.

In the meantime, people will seek remedy for bushfire damage caused by government negligence of their escaping fires. We can help you with evidence.