Bush and Forest Fires in Australia: 16 December 1999
Bush and Forest Fires in Australia
16 December 1999
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 16 December 1999 shows 2 contained and 23 controlled fires. The locations of these fires are displayed in the statewide fire situation map below.
A priority fire weather warning for Victoria forecasts extreme fire danger on Wednesday 15th December in Mallee and Wimmera.
Fig.1. Statewide Fire Situation Map of Victoria
(Source: NRE)
The last update of fire weather warnings are from Thursday 16 December 1999 for following Territories:
It is issued a Fire Ban Advice for South Australia.
Tasmania: Fire Weather Warning
Fire Weather Warning for the East Coast and the Southeast for 16 December. Fresh northwest winds, temperatures in the mid 20’s and low humidity make fires in dry vegetation difficult to control. Conditions will ease in the evening. Forestry Tasmania advise that timber harvesters must take hourly weather readings and cease operations if they measure a fire danger index above very high.
Western Australia: Fire Weather Warning
High temperatures, combined with a fresh sea breeze, are likely to result in an extreme fire danger tomorrow.
A fire weather warning for the Alice Springs Region/Northern Territory Region was issued by the Darwin Regional Forecasting Centre of the Bureau of Meteorology for the 16 December 1999: Fire Danger: Very high over the Barkly region.
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.
