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The areas burning, the time of the fires and the size of the fires are all aberrant to anything in recorded history, and probably anything in indigenous history

The areas burning, the time of the fires and the size of the fires are all aberrant to anything in recorded history, and probably anything in indigenous history. Casualties are actually not as bad as they could be due to fairly strong evacuation warnings. Property losses have been very high despite stronger fire fighting resources being near higher populated areas. Basically, for the first time in living memory there are areas of Australia that are on fire. We know this fairly accurately from soil, sediment and tree sampling.

tptacek 7y ago
Can you help me understand how this is different from, say, the Black Friday bushfires?
- nabla9 7y ago
  BBC has nice info-graphic comparing different Australian fires. https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/ECEF/production/_110355606_fires_australia_history_dec31_640-3x-nc.png https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/ECEF/production/... article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50951043 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50951043 As you can see from the graph, other fires came much later in the season. If only the weather can stop the fires, there is still long way to go.
- Intermernet 7y ago
  The black friday fires started in January 1939. Australia at the time had seriously inadequate training and equipment to deal with this. It also started during a heat wave. In total around 2 million hectares were burnt. In 1851 we had black Thursday in which 5 million hectares were burnt. That fire started in February. The current fires have now burnt close to 6 million hectares and the fire season started in September. The areas currently being burnt include temperate rainforest that hasn't burnt in living memory. There are concerns from climate and fire experts that some of the areas have been damaged so badly that they will not be able to recover. Also, these fires are far from over, and many new fires have started in the last couple of days. In the last few weeks Australia has recorded the hottest temperatures on record, while being in one of the worst droughts on record, and this hasn't been a single year aberration. The last 10 years have each set new records for the highest temperatures on average. The only reason that casualties have been so low is that we have good communications with areas under threat, and residents in these areas know to leave when the threat gets beyond a certain level.
  - pvaldes 7y ago
    > being in one of the worst droughts on record If you think that that was bad, now the problem has worsened exponentially. You can expect more hot in the next years now that the nature buffer has being hit and weakened. Is like a sort of slipping "extinction vortex" for the entire local area. Australia seems to still think that can win against this monster with an army of volunteers and the minimum amount of resources possible.
- thisrod 7y ago
  The difference is that we now have a once-a-century fire every Friday.
pnako 7y ago
Indigenous Australians used to start big fires, so it's quite possible they've seen a few bad ones too.
- Intermernet 7y ago
  The indigenous Australians used to start fires at a specific time of year for the particular area, and on a particular cycle of n years for a particular area. Some of these cycles and times are known. This meant that, for thousands of years, the fuel load in the eucalypt forests were reset on a regular schedule. Not only do we not do this anymore, the schedules that worked for millennia probably wouldn't work any more due to the change of rainfall patterns, temperatures and moisture content. Indigenous Australians certainly would have seen some huge fires, but according to soil / sediment and tree sampling, probably nothing like the ones going on right now.

tptacek 7y ago

Can you help me understand how this is different from, say, the Black Friday bushfires?

nabla9 7y ago
BBC has nice info-graphic comparing different Australian fires. https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/ECEF/production/_110355606_fires_australia_history_dec31_640-3x-nc.png https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/ECEF/production/... article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50951043 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50951043 As you can see from the graph, other fires came much later in the season. If only the weather can stop the fires, there is still long way to go.
Intermernet 7y ago
The black friday fires started in January 1939. Australia at the time had seriously inadequate training and equipment to deal with this. It also started during a heat wave. In total around 2 million hectares were burnt. In 1851 we had black Thursday in which 5 million hectares were burnt. That fire started in February. The current fires have now burnt close to 6 million hectares and the fire season started in September. The areas currently being burnt include temperate rainforest that hasn't burnt in living memory. There are concerns from climate and fire experts that some of the areas have been damaged so badly that they will not be able to recover. Also, these fires are far from over, and many new fires have started in the last couple of days. In the last few weeks Australia has recorded the hottest temperatures on record, while being in one of the worst droughts on record, and this hasn't been a single year aberration. The last 10 years have each set new records for the highest temperatures on average. The only reason that casualties have been so low is that we have good communications with areas under threat, and residents in these areas know to leave when the threat gets beyond a certain level.
- pvaldes 7y ago
  > being in one of the worst droughts on record If you think that that was bad, now the problem has worsened exponentially. You can expect more hot in the next years now that the nature buffer has being hit and weakened. Is like a sort of slipping "extinction vortex" for the entire local area. Australia seems to still think that can win against this monster with an army of volunteers and the minimum amount of resources possible.
thisrod 7y ago
The difference is that we now have a once-a-century fire every Friday.

pnako 7y ago

Indigenous Australians used to start big fires, so it's quite possible they've seen a few bad ones too.

Intermernet 7y ago
The indigenous Australians used to start fires at a specific time of year for the particular area, and on a particular cycle of n years for a particular area. Some of these cycles and times are known. This meant that, for thousands of years, the fuel load in the eucalypt forests were reset on a regular schedule. Not only do we not do this anymore, the schedules that worked for millennia probably wouldn't work any more due to the change of rainfall patterns, temperatures and moisture content. Indigenous Australians certainly would have seen some huge fires, but according to soil / sediment and tree sampling, probably nothing like the ones going on right now.