3 ms·

I don’t think it’s wrong to blame forest management in part, the problem is the clear motivated reasoning to exclusively put forward any other reason which allo

I don’t think it’s wrong to blame forest management in part, the problem is the clear motivated reasoning to exclusively put forward any other reason which allows the commenter to exclude climate change as a major driver. It is genuinely bizarre to see the arson talking point being laid on so thick coming off the back of a year with the lowest rainfall and highest temperatures on record.

manicdee 7y ago
Places that were burned off in hazard reduction burns a few months ago are burning again. Forest management meant nothing to this fire, it was consuming stuff that was already burned. Blackened dead trees were erupting into flame. The dirt was on fire. There’s no managing around that. What our head fire fighters were saying was simply that they needed more money for equipment and training more volunteers.
Khaine 7y ago
The last really bad fire to go through Canberra was in 2003[1],[3].[4]. This fire had the first documented case of a fire tornado in Australia. It was calculated to have horizontal winds of 250 km/h (160 mph) and vertical air speed of 150 km/h (93 mph), spawned by its own wind rotation from a pyrocumulonimbus cloud and causing the flashover of 120 hectares (300 acres) in 0.04 seconds. The reason that fire was so damaging, was due to poor fuel management and a reluctantance to aggressively fight the fire. These were the conclusions of the McLeod Inquiry and a Parliamentary Committee. Which had specific quotes like "it is disturbing that a lightening strike on 8th January can develop into such a destructive blaze and destroy so much over a week later when you consider the knowledge and resources available for its control[2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Canberra_bushfires https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Canberra_bushfires [2] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwipiO_lmvvmAhVDIbcAHaD-CG0QFjAAegQIBRAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aph.gov.au%2FParliamentary_Business%2FCommittees%2FHouse_of_Representatives_Committees%3Furl%3Dbushfires%2Finquiry%2Freport%2Fchapter4.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3G2ZYNwhfaxq_xvmABsy4R https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c... [3] https://www.habitatadvocate.com.au/?tag=mcintyres-hut-fire https://www.habitatadvocate.com.au/?tag=mcintyres-hut-fire [4] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-17/firestorm-fallout-who-is-to-blame/4468934 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-17/firestorm-fallout-who... The 2003 Canberra bush fire has many similarities to the current season. It occurred during a drought. It occurred in terrain that is difficult to access. I strongly suspect that the same issues have occurred this fire season. All you have to do is watch the gif of the movement of the fire to see how rapidly it went from benign to nightmare. However, the scale of destruction has increased significantly since then. There is no doubt that climate change has made fire seasons longer, fires more destructive, and more random. The truth is never as easy or as simple as people make out. It is probably highly likely that a number of factors have resulted in the current circumstances. This should not be construed as an excuse to not take more action on climate change. It also means that taking action to reduce carbon emissions won't solve this. Successful action requires making this a bipartisan issue. Unfortunately, the actions taken to date. To use the fires as a wedge are likely to result in that not occurring.

manicdee 7y ago

Places that were burned off in hazard reduction burns a few months ago are burning again. Forest management meant nothing to this fire, it was consuming stuff that was already burned. Blackened dead trees were erupting into flame. The dirt was on fire. There’s no managing around that. What our head fire fighters were saying was simply that they needed more money for equipment and training more volunteers.

Khaine 7y ago

The last really bad fire to go through Canberra was in 2003[1],[3].[4]. This fire had the first documented case of a fire tornado in Australia. It was calculated to have horizontal winds of 250 km/h (160 mph) and vertical air speed of 150 km/h (93 mph), spawned by its own wind rotation from a pyrocumulonimbus cloud and causing the flashover of 120 hectares (300 acres) in 0.04 seconds. The reason that fire was so damaging, was due to poor fuel management and a reluctantance to aggressively fight the fire. These were the conclusions of the McLeod Inquiry and a Parliamentary Committee. Which had specific quotes like "it is disturbing that a lightening strike on 8th January can develop into such a destructive blaze and destroy so much over a week later when you consider the knowledge and resources available for its control[2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Canberra_bushfires https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Canberra_bushfires [2] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwipiO_lmvvmAhVDIbcAHaD-CG0QFjAAegQIBRAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aph.gov.au%2FParliamentary_Business%2FCommittees%2FHouse_of_Representatives_Committees%3Furl%3Dbushfires%2Finquiry%2Freport%2Fchapter4.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3G2ZYNwhfaxq_xvmABsy4R https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c... [3] https://www.habitatadvocate.com.au/?tag=mcintyres-hut-fire https://www.habitatadvocate.com.au/?tag=mcintyres-hut-fire [4] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-17/firestorm-fallout-who-is-to-blame/4468934 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-17/firestorm-fallout-who... The 2003 Canberra bush fire has many similarities to the current season. It occurred during a drought. It occurred in terrain that is difficult to access. I strongly suspect that the same issues have occurred this fire season. All you have to do is watch the gif of the movement of the fire to see how rapidly it went from benign to nightmare. However, the scale of destruction has increased significantly since then. There is no doubt that climate change has made fire seasons longer, fires more destructive, and more random. The truth is never as easy or as simple as people make out. It is probably highly likely that a number of factors have resulted in the current circumstances. This should not be construed as an excuse to not take more action on climate change. It also means that taking action to reduce carbon emissions won't solve this. Successful action requires making this a bipartisan issue. Unfortunately, the actions taken to date. To use the fires as a wedge are likely to result in that not occurring.