Bush and Forest Fires in Australia: 4 January 2000
Bush and Forest Fires in Australia
4 January 2000
An out-of-control bush fire that has burned for four days could scorch more of Western Australia on Tuesday as strong winds fan the flames. About 100 firefighters were battling the blaze in Western Australia’s Beekeepers Nature Reserve, about 300 km north of Perth. By the end of Monday, the fire was believed to have destroyed about 50,000 ha of scrub. Nobody was reported injured in the blaze in largely uninhabited bush.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for the management of fire prevention and suppression on public lands in Victoria. The last updated bushfire statistic of 4 January 2000 shows 2 contained and 6 controlled fires. The locations of these fires are displayed in the statewide fire situation map below.
Fig.1. Statewide Fire Situation Map of Victoria, 4 January 2000
(Source: NRE)
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued on 4 January 2000 an updated forecast for Northern Territory:
North of Tennant Creek…
Isolated showers and storms, mainly in the afternoon and evening. Light winds.
South of Tennant Creek…
Cloudy periods. Fine apart from isolated showers in the west. Moderate easterly winds.
High Fire Danger
south of Tennant Creek.
For the up-to-date fire weather information of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology refer to http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/.
Please have also a look on a list of links for information on Australian Fire Management Agencies:
Australasian Fire Authorities Council
http://www.ausfire.com/
The home page of the Australasian Fire Authorities Council coordinates the diverse range of activities of the different australian agencies concerned about fire
Firebreak
http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~barling/firebreak/firebreak.html
The firebreak newsletter provides a very extensive homepage with information about fire fighting in Australia, downloadable java scripts for calculating fire weather and various links to related sites
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Victoria
http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/fires/index.htm
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Victoria offers a very comprehensive web site with information on fire management. In their web site current reports are provided with statistics on the fire season. Extensive background information is included along with several links to related web sites.
Satellite Remote Sensing Services Department of Land Administration (DOLA)
http://www.rss.dola.wa.gov.au/apps/firewatch.html
The Satellite Remote Sensing Services (SRSS) of the Department of Land Administration provides near real time hot spot detection and burned scar mapping for western Australia. In the Firewatch project the SRSS detects hotspots throughout Western Australia using the thermal channel of the NOAA AVHRR sensor on a daily basis.
For more informations on Australia go to the IFFN country files.
References:
Luke, R.H., and A.G. McArthur, 1977. Bushfires in Australia. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 359 p.
