Summary:
Fire prevention is the most important part in the bushfires management. Now, more than ever, in this changing climate, it is the best moment to consider new ways to prevent the bushfires.
The Australian legislation refers to bushfire prevention, but apart from some planned burnings, very little is done to prevent the bushfires. There are very many discussions, reports, initiatives and priorities established by various agencies, while the result is almost the same: bushfires that burn every year, producing huge disasters.
Every year, the Australian Government has spent millions to extinguish the wildfires and recover after them. However, we cannot bring back the people who died in the wildfires. What we can do is prevent these disasters from happening again, by taking actions that are harmless and efficient.
In Australia, it is believed that the bushfires are part of the natural environment that needs the fire to clean up the dry/dead bush in order to help the plants regenerate. Analysing this aspect, the research found that the aboriginal burning practice was used mainly to help hunting, which nowadays is not the case anymore.
To prevent the bushfires, the specialists chose the planned burnings, which need a thorough research, as every area has its characteristics in terms of flora and fauna. The planned burnings must be undertaken in the cold season, at various times when the flora and fauna are less vulnerable. So the main drawbacks related to the planned burnings are: people need long time for research, the burnings create air pollution, the flora needs sometimes years to recover, and there will still be animals that will die in the process.
Nowadays, local economies are dependent on the bush/forest trees for industries such as timber harvesting, tourism and apiary, so the first thing that can be adopted to prevent bushfires happening is cleaning the dry branches and thinning of the bush, and using the collected wood in the industry.
In many situations, the firefighters were not able to extinguish a small fire located in a very dense bush, and due to the windy weather, the fire quickly became unstoppable.
A new approach can consider a change in the land management. The land can be divided in smaller bushfire prone areas (BPA) separated by zones which are not bushfire prone areas (NBPA). The NBPA must be created by people, by planting specific vegetation that doesn’t burn very easily. The BPA must be cleaned not only to remove the dry branches, but also to keep enough open space in the bush/forest, in order for the firefighters to act in case of fire. If bushfires still appear in the BPA, the areas will be small enough, so even if it is not possible for the fire to be extinguished, it will go out on its own, after the area will burn, without creating too much damage. Also, when the area burnt by a bushfire is small, people and animals can migrate in a close area, and they will survive.
Australia has a great diversity of environments, land uses and built assets. Because of this, the land management and the bushfire management must be adapted considering all the factors involved.
Bushfires can be prevented and controlled with a good management and training. The risk analysis must be done before the bushfire. The purpose is to consider all the possible situations, and to establish actions which must be known in advance. In emergency situations people’s reactions and decisions might not be the proper ones. It was already established the fact the people made many mistakes in emergency situations, at all levels. If there are established directions in every possible situation, people only have to act accordingly, and there will be less errors in the process.
Another way to prevent the bushfires is to create a 24/7 monitoring network with IR cameras, for the bushfires prone areas where the vegetation must be preserved. Also, a response team should be ready 24/7 to go to the spot and extinguish the fire. This way, even a small fire can be noticed very early, before it becomes a disaster. It seems to be expensive, but considering the great benefits that it will bring in the long run, it is the best option to extinguish a fire in the first stage, when the fire is small enough.
At this stage, without a good land management strategy, we should expect to have big bushfires. These cannot be extinguished by the firefighters, risking their lives, fighting with 50 metres blazes, with more than 100 km/h wind speed. Instead, the resources must be used to clear the surrounding areas, so the fire would stop or diminish, since there is nothing there that can burn.
- New approach in the management of the land (small bushfire prone areas separated by zones which are not bushfire prone areas)
- Cleaning the dry branches and thinning of the bush/forest
- Every bushfire prone area should have a 24/7 monitoring network with IR cameras and a response team ready 24/7 to extinguish the fires before they become unstoppable
Fire prevention is the most important part in the bushfires management. Now, more than ever, in this changing climate, it is the best moment to consider new ways to prevent the bushfires.
The Australian legislation refers to bushfire prevention, but apart from some planned burnings, very little is done to prevent the bushfires. There are very many discussions, reports, initiatives and priorities established by various agencies, while the result is almost the same: bushfires that burn every year, producing huge disasters.
Every year, the Australian Government has spent millions to extinguish the wildfires and recover after them. However, we cannot bring back the people who died in the wildfires. What we can do is prevent these disasters from happening again, by taking actions that are harmless and efficient.
In Australia, it is believed that the bushfires are part of the natural environment that needs the fire to clean up the dry/dead bush in order to help the plants regenerate. Analysing this aspect, the research found that the aboriginal burning practice was used mainly to help hunting, which nowadays is not the case anymore.
To prevent the bushfires, the specialists chose the planned burnings, which need a thorough research, as every area has its characteristics in terms of flora and fauna. The planned burnings must be undertaken in the cold season, at various times when the flora and fauna are less vulnerable. So the main drawbacks related to the planned burnings are: people need long time for research, the burnings create air pollution, the flora needs sometimes years to recover, and there will still be animals that will die in the process.
Nowadays, local economies are dependent on the bush/forest trees for industries such as timber harvesting, tourism and apiary, so the first thing that can be adopted to prevent bushfires happening is cleaning the dry branches and thinning of the bush, and using the collected wood in the industry.
In many situations, the firefighters were not able to extinguish a small fire located in a very dense bush, and due to the windy weather, the fire quickly became unstoppable.
A new approach can consider a change in the land management. The land can be divided in smaller bushfire prone areas (BPA) separated by zones which are not bushfire prone areas (NBPA). The NBPA must be created by people, by planting specific vegetation that doesn’t burn very easily. The BPA must be cleaned not only to remove the dry branches, but also to keep enough open space in the bush/forest, in order for the firefighters to act in case of fire. If bushfires still appear in the BPA, the areas will be small enough, so even if it is not possible for the fire to be extinguished, it will go out on its own, after the area will burn, without creating too much damage. Also, when the area burnt by a bushfire is small, people and animals can migrate in a close area, and they will survive.
Australia has a great diversity of environments, land uses and built assets. Because of this, the land management and the bushfire management must be adapted considering all the factors involved.
Bushfires can be prevented and controlled with a good management and training. The risk analysis must be done before the bushfire. The purpose is to consider all the possible situations, and to establish actions which must be known in advance. In emergency situations people’s reactions and decisions might not be the proper ones. It was already established the fact the people made many mistakes in emergency situations, at all levels. If there are established directions in every possible situation, people only have to act accordingly, and there will be less errors in the process.
Another way to prevent the bushfires is to create a 24/7 monitoring network with IR cameras, for the bushfires prone areas where the vegetation must be preserved. Also, a response team should be ready 24/7 to go to the spot and extinguish the fire. This way, even a small fire can be noticed very early, before it becomes a disaster. It seems to be expensive, but considering the great benefits that it will bring in the long run, it is the best option to extinguish a fire in the first stage, when the fire is small enough.
At this stage, without a good land management strategy, we should expect to have big bushfires. These cannot be extinguished by the firefighters, risking their lives, fighting with 50 metres blazes, with more than 100 km/h wind speed. Instead, the resources must be used to clear the surrounding areas, so the fire would stop or diminish, since there is nothing there that can burn.