Bushfires

There are two types of bushfires, Grass fires which usually occur on grazing or farming land, but could also take place in remote scrub country. The other is Forest fires, which is fuelled by eucalyptus trees (vapour in the trees leaves is very flammable), once these leaves are caught alight are very hard to control and extinguish. This type of fire cause large fireballs and large clouds of smoke. Both types of fires are dangerous, grass fires are very fast; however bushfires are slower but have a much higher intensity.

Cause: Lightning is the most natural cause of a bushfire and accountable for half of the fires in Australia – the rest are directly linked to human influence for example, Leaving a fire unattended (at a camp, barbeque), Having an open fire on a dry windy day, The glass from a bottle or mirror can cause a small flame to become a raging wildfire, A cigarette or match that has not been put out and flammable chemicals that are left in hot areas or in the sun. Droughts and heatwaves influence the severity of the bushfire.

Effect: Grass fires can destroy fences, live stock, buildings; forest fires can cause severe damage to homes, bushland, and native wild life. Both types of fires can cause human death. Fires can have a major impact on atmospheric pollution, causing respiratory problems.

Economical effect: across Australia, bushfires has cost approximately $2.5 Billion dollars from 1967- 1999 (an annual figure of $77m). It was estimated that Black Saturday cost $4.4b.

Geographical Information: wild fires occur in every continent except for Antarctica. There have been recent fires in USA, Canada, Australia, Western Cape of South Africa, and South East Asia

Historical Information: Plants have evolved a variety of strategies to survive bushfires – developing fire resistant or fire triggering seeds. Some native animals are also adept at surviving bushfires.

Bushfires have been around for as long as trees have, the first major bushfire in Australia was in 1939 – where 71 people died.

Community & Government Response: A number of initiatives have been implemented by the Victorian Government to assist affected communities in their recovery from the bushfires. One initiative has been the provision of grants, including temporary living expenses and re-establishment grants, and utility relief grants.

Community Recovery Committees (CRCs) have also been established in response to the bushfires. These CRCs oversee the recovery process and provide formal means for consultation, advice, planning and coordination to assist affected communities. CRCs include representatives from local government, State Government, and non-government agencies, community groups, businesses and health and welfare agencies.