Defence’s record of starting major fires was again highlighted by the ABC this week in a report that the fire that destroyed 80% of the Namadgi National Park was started by a Defence helicopter. Its failure to report the fire for 45 minutes ensured that the RFS lost the opportunity to contain the fire. This is one of a number of news stories from around the state in this weeks News Roundup.
President of The Volunteer Fire Fighters Association Mick Holton says Australians “haven’t learnt” from last summer’s devastating bushfires as people are quick to blame climate change when really fuel has built up from decades of land neglect. See the full interview on the Paul Murray Show on Sly News.
The bush fire on Fraser Island continues to make the headlines after burning for 6 weeks. A new report into the impact of ‘chewing smoke’ makes interesting reading and shows how dangerous the smoke is to the community. These are some of this weeks stories in the News Roundup.
NSW has experienced a bumper wheat crop this year but harvesting it is not always a straightforward experience with firefighters responding to 30 machinery fires already this season.
This is one of many stories in this weeks roundup from around the state.
The Federal Government will create new legislation to permit it to declare a national state of emergency. It will support most of the Royal Commission recommendations but not the creation of a national aerial firefighting fleet. In the meantime Coulson Aviation and Lindsay Fox have got together to do just that! Lots more news in this weeks roundup!
Air quality is one of the issues that we cover in this weeks News Roundup. It caused 4 times more deaths than the fires last summer. Lots more stores from around the state …
A mega bundle of news this week with the out of control burn at North Head and the Bushfire Royal Commission both being featured. Read more ….
An excellent piece in the Guardian introduces us to Nick Dutton perched high in the ACT RFS watchtowers. The article goes on to discuss newer methods of fire detection and makes the case for the human eye.
42,000-foot plumes of ash. 143-mph firenadoes. 1,500-degree heat. These wildfires are a new kind of hell on earth, and scientists are racing to learn its rules.
An excellent article from Wired.
In a touching story Vogue revisits a week from hell when three women, all mothers and rookie volunteer firefighters, battled one of last summer’s biggest blazes.