2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires
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Magnitude- 24 million hectares of land burnt causing 33 deaths and almost 450 more from smoke inhalation
Duration- Stated NSW July 2019, major fires sep 2019- march 2020, last fire WA may 2020 (240 days)
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Natural Causes- Rainfall 40% below national average, annual mean temperature 1.5 degrees above average, droughts, dry landscape, fire generated thunderstorms, lightening, ember spotting. Forests comprised of fire-prone eucalyptus trees accumulated expanses of vegetation, debris and dead wood.
Anthropogenic causes- Power lines, deliberate, accidental machinery ignition, back burning, burn offs, arson, lights from an army helicopter, (fire in orroral valley Jan 2020) disregarded cig started a Binna burra fire QLD, arson stared 2/3 Tasmanian fires. Urban development in fire prone areas influenced fire risk.
Frequency- 11k individual bush or grass fires. Prior to this bushfires typically affected 2% or less of the nations temperate broadleaved forests, however during black summer 21% of these forests burned.
Probability- Was very likely to occur. Due to the conditions leading up to and during bushfire seasons, unusual dry conditions, erratic fire behavior, unprecedented number of fire-initiated thunderstorms.
Scale of impact- 33 deaths, 3,000 homes destroyed across affected regions, many native species faced significant challenges due to habitat loss and exposure to flames, affected air quality and impacted our ozone layer.
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Social Impacts- 33 dead, 3000 homes destroyed, displaced tens of thousands of people, smoke exposure led to respiratory issues, exacerbating existing health conditions. Many had trauma witnessing the destruction, loss, and ongoing recovery efforts took toll on mental wellbeing.
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Agriculture- Vast agricultural land of farmers that spread over many hectares of land intensified the impact of the 2019-2020 black summer bushfires. Lack of controlled burns did not reduce the fuel accumulation which meant their was more fuel for the fire to burn through which caused a more severe bushfire.
Building in bushfire prone areas- New need for electricity in houses means more power lines being built which can enable more power lines to fall causing in a more devastating bushfire. People living in these prone areas increase the risk to their lives and property during bushfires.
Human induced climate change- Humans have amplified to climate leading to periods of extreme fire weather, record breaking temps and droughts along with the rising global temp which led to more frequent severe heatwaves, which affected and altered rainfall patterns.
Economic impacts- Cost farmers between $4-5 billion dollars which was 6-8% of agricultural GDP, tourism industry suffered a hit of $2.8 billion in total output, leading to job losses, many businesses were affected, rebuilding infrastructure, utilities and transport incurred significant costs.
Environmental impacts- The fires caused damage to ecosystems including forests, grasslands and wetlands, many plant and animal species faced habitat loss and pushed to brink of extinction. Billions of animals killed.
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Fire predictive services and early warning systems- These involve advanced modeling, satellite data and weather forecasts to predict fire behavior, issue timely warnings and identify high risk areas, primary goal was to mitigate impacts by giving accurate and timely information, as a result more people were prepared due to early warnings, specific examples were fire spread prediction maps like bushfire,io which help residents understand fire behavior and plan evacuation routes, it benefited reduced loss and property damage, increased community awareness and improved coordination among emergency services, costly to run around $5 million but free for users, this strategy was succesful in mitigating bushfire impacts.
Cultural land management and community-centered disaster risk reduction- This involves engaging local communities, in land management practices that reduce fire risk, it aims to mitigate fire impacts by promoting sustainable land practices, reducing fuel loads and enhancing community resilience, communities were more prepared through education, training and community led initiatives which helped them deal with bushfires, community workshops were an example on fire safety and preparedness, this helped benefit the landscape health and biodiversity, reduced fire intensity in treated areas and strengthen the community, it costs around the hundreds of thousands to low millions of dollars, this strategy was partially successful as while it contributed to fire risk reduction, challenges remain scaling up cultural practices and integrating them with existing fire management approaches.