Current forest fires in Australia

Severe Drought and Fires in Australia

December 2015 – January 2016

On January 7, 2016, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite acquired this image of the fire. Red outlines indicate hot spots where VIIRS detected warm surface temperatures associated with the fire. On January 6, 2016, lightning triggered a fire which overran Yarloop, a small town destroying 128 homes and 41 other structures, including bridges and community buildings, according to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. Two Yarloop residents were killed and four firefighters were injured. As of January 11, 2016, the fire had charred 71,410 hectares (276 square miles). Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov (Retrieved 22 January 2016).

On 16 January 2016 the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on the Terra satellite acquired thisfalse-color view of the burn scar. Unburned vegetation appears red; burned vegetation appears brown. Buildings, roads, and other developed areas appear light gray and white.
Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov (Retrieved 27 January 2016)

On 13 January 2016, a lightning storm ignited more than 70 fires on Tasmania, including this one that devasted over 22,000 ha of the islands central high plateau. The plateau is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with two-thirds of the species found there endemic. Pictured above, are burnt cushion plants near Lake Mackenzie in late January. Photograph: Rob Blakers
Source: www.theguardian.com (Retrieved 29 February 20169

WildlandFire relatednews from the Media: Note: The hyperlinks on the left side of each news are password-protected (User ID and password to enter the GFMC database are available for partners of GFMC). The links on the right side (in brackets) are leading to the original news source; sometimes these news are expiring rather swiftly – a reason for the establishment of the internal GFMC database):

• Australia: Tasmania’s bushfires: a human-made calamity on par with the razing of Palmyra’s temples (published by www.theguardian.com 25 February 2016)

• Australia: Bushfire-proof houses burn down in Wye River and Separation Creek as experts cast serious doubt on effectiveness of building standards (published by www.theage.com.au 25 February 2016)

• Australia: Tasmania’s bushfire frequency highest in 1,000 years: Aussie study (published by www.shanghaidaily.com 24 February 2016)

• Australia: Tasmanian bushfires: Senate calls for independent inquiry into World Heritage Area fires (published by www.abc.net.au 23 February 2016)

• Australia: Northern Territory honey industry going up in smoke: Top End beekeeper quits saying regular bushfires have destroyed his business (published by www.abc.net.au 23 February 2016)

• Australia: Aboriginal fire management – part of the solution to destructive bushfires (published by http://theconversation.com 22 February 2016)

• Australia: Tasmanian beekeepers suffer setbacks as fires rage in the forest (published by www.themercury.com.au 16 February 2016)

• Australia: Scammers target Bunbury farmers with fake bushfire stories to get free rent (published by www.watoday.com.au 16 February 2016)

• Australia: Prevent bushfires the Aboriginal way (published by www.theage.com.au 16 February 2016)

• Australia: WA bushfires ravage timber stocks (published by https://au.news.yahoo.com 15 February 2016)

• New Zealand/Australia: Second deployment to join Tasmania bushfire battle (published by www.voxy.co.nz 12 February 2016)

• Australia: Tasmanian bushfires: TFS chief rejects claims ADF offers of assistance were rejected during firefighting efforts (published by www.abc.net.au 10 February 2016)

• Australia: Bushfires are pushing species towards extinction (published by http://theconversation.com 10 February 2016)

• Australia: WA bushfires: Volunteer firefighter battled 12 hours ‘without food, water’ (published by www.perthnow.com.au 09 February 2016)

• Australia: Water bombers a waste of money for preventing catastrophic bushfires says veteran fire researcher (published by www.abc.net.au 03 February 2016)

• Australia: The latest fire and smoke reduction window systems for bushfire-prone areas (published by www.architectureanddesign.com.au 02 February 2016)

• New Zealand/Tasmania: NZDF firefighters help battle Tasmanian bush fires (published by www.voxy.co.nz 02 February 2016)

• Australia: Bushfire sparks bright idea that could save the lives and properties of many (published by www.weeklytimesnow.com.au 01 February 2016)

• Australia: Changes to Victoria’s bush will have to be accepted under global warming: scientists (published by www.smh.com.au 01 February 2016)

• Australia: Bushfires likely to have impact on honey supplies (published by www.theadvocate.com.au 01 February 2016)

• Australia: Survive a bush fire (crowdfund) (published by www.indiegogo.com 24 January 2016)

• Australia: Fire and Rescue New South Wales unveil new fire fighting weapon for summer, Australia (published by www.fireandrescue.co 22 January 2016)

• New Zealand/Australia: Taranaki’s top rural firefighter heading to Australia to help battle bush fires (published by www.stuff.co.nz 18 January 2016)

• Australia: South-west bushfire turns up new flora (published by www.sciencewa.net.au 16 January 2016)

• Australia: Timber industry calls for more prescribed burns, criticises West Australian state forest management (published by www.abc.net.au 15 January 2016)

• Australia: Union blasts mining giant for exposing workers to safety hazards during bushfires (published by http://content.safetyculture.com.au 15 January 2016)

• Australia: WA bushfires flare up, possible threat to lives and homes (published by www.abc.net.au 13 January 2016)

• Australia: WA bushfires: Hundreds of farms and thousands of hectares of agricultural land affected (published by www.abc.net.au 12 January 2016)

• New Zealand/Australia: More Kiwis off to battle Aussie bush fires (published by www.odt.co.nz 11 January 2016)

• Australia: Bodies found in WA bushfire disaster (published by www.theaustralian.com.au 10 January 2016)

• Australia: Perth suburban beachside residents flee out-of-control bushfire (published by www.theguardian.com 01 January 2016)

• Australia: Bushfires in Australia destroy more than 100 homes (published by www.newstalk.com 26 December 2015)

• Australia: The heartbreaking toll of Victoria’s bushfires (published by www.stockandland.com.au 23 December 2015)

• Australia: Firefighters still battling bushfires that destroyed 16 homes in Victoria (published by www.theguardian.com 22 December 2015)

• Australia: Firefighters still battling bushfires that destroyed 16 homes in Victoria (published by www.theguardian.com 22 December 2015)

• Australia: Tasmanian bushfire risk ‘double’ by 2100 if climate emissions continue at current rate: report (published by www.abc.net.au 14 December 2015)

• Australia: Fire prevention burn offs: EPA admits key part of policy ‘had dropped off somewhere along the way’ (published by www.couriermail.com.au 09 December 2015)

• Australia: Bushfire board game an instructive lesson in safety (published by www.theage.com.au 08 December 2015)

• Australia: Huge Australian wildfire kills at least 2 and injures others (published by http://oceansidepost.com 04 December 2015)