Bush+fire

**﻿﻿Bush Fire**

Bushfires in Australia are frequently occurring events during the hotter months of the year due to Australia's mostly hot, dry climate. Large areas of land are ravaged every year by bushfire, which also cause property damage and loss of life.Bushfires in Australia, are generally defined as any uncontrolled, non-structural fire burning in a grass, scrub, bush or forested area. Australia, being a geographically and meteorogically diverse continent, experiences many types of bushfires. Fires can be divided into two main categories, depending on topography of the area.
 * Hilly/mountainous fires - Burn in hilly, mountainous or alpine areas which are usually densely forested. The land is less accessible and not conducive to agriculture, thus many of these densely forested areas have been saved from deforestation and are protected by national, state and other parks. The steep terrain increases the speed and intensity of a firestorm. Where settlements are located in hilly or mountainous areas, bushfires can pose a threat to both life and property.
 * Flat/grassland fires - Burn along flat plains or areas of small undulation, predominantly covered in grasses or scrubland. These fires can move quickly, fanned by high winds in flat topography, they quickly consume the small amounts of fuel/vegetation available. These fires pose less of a threat to settlements as they rarely reach the same intensity seen in major firestorms as the land is flat, the fires are easier to map and predict and the terrain is more accessible for firefighting personnel. Many regions of predominantly flat terrain in Australia have been almost completely deforested for agriculture, reducing the fuel loads in these areas.toc

= HISTORY = The natural fire regime in Australia was altered by the arrival of humans. Fires became more frequent, and fire-loving species—notably eucalypts—greatly expanded their range. It is assumed that a good deal of this change came about as the result of deliberate action by early humans, setting fires to clear undergrowth or drive game.Plants have evolved a variety of strategies to survive (or even require) bushfires, (possessing epicormic shoots or lignotubersthat sprout after a fire, or developing fire-resistant or fire-triggered seeds) or even encourage fire (eucalypts contain flammable oils in the leaves) as a way to eliminate competition from less fire-tolerant species.Some native animals are also adept at surviving bushfires.

= REGIONAL MANAGEMENT = New South Wales The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales  South Australia   The Country Fire Service is a volunteer based fire service in the state of South Australia. Victoria  In Victoria, the Country Fire Authority (CFA) provides firefighting and other emergency services to country areas and regional townships within the state, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne not covered by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade   Western Australia   The Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia (FESA) is the prime organisation managing bushfire in that state. The Authority supports other organisation including the Bush Fire Service, Emergency Services Cadets, Fire and Rescue Service, State Emergency Service, Volunteer Emergency Service, Volunteer Fire Service, Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service and the Volunteer Marine Rescue Services.

= THE CAUSE OF BUSHFIRE = = =  || || || (b) Includes causes like: burning houses, burning buildings and fireworks. (c) Management of parks and forests includes the use of planned fires for a variety of purposes such as natural fuel management and the maintenance of flora and fauna habitat. Sometimes these fires burn beyond the planned perimeter. (d) Includes ignitions from trains and power transmission. (e) All figures are rounded; hence may not add up to column totals. ||
 * = CAUSES OF BUSHFIRES IN VICTORIA - 1976-77 to 1995-96
 * =  ||= Average no. of fires each year ||= Proportion of total fires ||= Average area burnt ||= Proportion of total area burnt ||
 * = Fire cause ||= no. ||= % ||= ha/yr ||= % ||
 * = Lightning ||= 149 ||= 26 ||= 53,096 ||= 46 ||
 * = Deliberate ||= 145 ||= 25 ||= 15,649 ||= 14 ||
 * = Agricultural ||= 96 ||= 16 ||= 7,799 ||= 7 ||
 * = Campfires ||= 59 ||= 10 ||= 1,466 ||= 1 ||
 * = Cigarettes/matches ||= 41 ||= 7 ||= 444 ||= <1 ||
 * = Cause unknown(a) ||= 37 ||= 6 ||= 2,974 ||= 3 ||
 * = Miscellaneous(b) ||= 26 ||= 5 ||= 10,009 ||= 9 ||
 * = Machinery/exhausts ||= 15 ||= 3 ||= 2,551 ||= 2 ||
 * = Prescribed burn escapes(c) ||= 9 ||= 2 ||= 5,274 ||= 5 ||
 * = Public utilities(d) ||= 7 ||= 1 ||= 16,256 ||= 14 ||
 * = Total(e) ||= 584  ||=  100  ||=  115,518  ||=  100  ||
 * = (a) Includes fires where investigators could not ascertain the cause, as well as fires where the cause was not investigated.

= THE LARGESTE BUSHFIRES IN AUSTRALIA = The largest and most frequent fires in Australia occur in the southern winter and spring – and occur in northern Australia. Over 98% of large bushfires occur outside the more densely populated south-east and south-west of the country. The Northern Territory experiences fires annually on a scale which dwarfs those in southern Australia.

During the extreme year of 1974-1975 "over 117 million ha or 15% of the total land area of the continent was burnt in central Australia during the fire season. "

= WARNING = In 2009, a standardised //Fire Danger Rating// (FDR) was adopted by all Australian states. Every day during the fire season the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecasts an outlook of the //Fire Danger Index// (FDI) by considering the predicted weather including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and dryness of vegetation.In 2010, following a national review of the bush fire danger ratings, new trigger points for each rating were introduced for grassland areas.Fire Danger Ratings are a feature of weather forecasts and alert the community to the actions they should take in preparation of the day. Ratings are broadcast via newspapers, radio, TV and on websites.