Bushfire risks raise alarms as 3 seasons of La Nina disrups hazard reduction
4 February 2023
Published by: https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au
AUSTRALIA – With the third La Niña slowly retreating, national fire service authorities are issuing major warnings for bushfires that are set to blaze through the country next summer.
Remember when we rejoiced at the announcement that our run with consecutive La Niñas was finally over?
Well it turns out the repercussions of the continuous rain storms are predicted to cause more havoc, with councils flagging predicted bushfire risks across NSW.
The heavy rainfall of the past few years has meant that a thick layer of plant growth has surfaced, ripe for blazing bushfires.
Authorities have issued warnings this week as a rare triple threat streak of La Niñas is predicted to create the perfect territory for bushfires across NSW by the end of the year.
Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers told The Daily Telegraph that fire services are enacting a frantic schedule of controlled hazard reduction burns, property inspections and fire-trail clearing to prevent the expected wave of bushfires as a result of three abnormally wet summers.
“You can already feel the shift from that prolonged rain into … warmer days,” Mr Rogers said.
Three regions in NSW have already been issued total fire bans this week as fire services start to see the prospective dangers of weather changes slowly emerging.
Mr Rogers also noted that the calibre of lush plant growth across NSW is concerning for RFS services as resources are already stretched, and fires are yet to begin.
“I’ve got to say I can’t ever recall the grass being so prolific in western NSW in my career,” he said. “Normally you’d have about an eight-year period before becoming concerned about them again. They’re growing much quicker than we would have expected … I am quite concerned about the risk in coming years.”
During the property inspections, Mr Rogers said the RFS had identified over 2700 communities considered to be at high risk of forthcoming fires.
Fire services are now facing a mad rush to catch up on preventative hazard reduction targets, which the national service is already drastically behind on. A mere 56,000ha have been cleared since July 2021, compared to 176,499ha the year before, a result of which is due to the ongoing rainfall that has prevented controlled burning.
Former Fire and Rescue commissioner Greg Mullins said history of past events assures that “major bushfires” are inevitable, particularly in NSW, by the end of the year, a pattern seen after the evaporation of heavily wet seasons.
“We’ve been through floods and rain and (people) think ‘we’ll be right’ (with fires). But history tells us we’ve got a very short reprieve — we’ve got eight months and then we’ll be back into it,” he said.
“The summer after a triple La Nina [will see] major bushfires in NSW,” Mullins warned.
