Science central to bushfire review

Heatwave and fire research from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC has been central to the Queensland Government’s review of the devastating 2018 bushfires.

In late November and early December last year, Queensland was subjected to some of the worst fire conditions the state had ever seen. During this time, almost 1,000 individual fires were burning.

As a result of these unparalleled conditions, a formal review was initiated by the Queensland Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Craig Crawford into the bushfires, with the Office of the Inspector-General Emergency Management Queensland (IGEM) seeking leading and independent research from the CRC to inform the review.

The CRC was asked to highlight key points of research, knowledge and other evidence to inform the review, with the studies forming a suite of reports launched by the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk recently.

CRC Partnership Development Director Sarah Mizzi noted that the inclusion of the CRC by IGEM shows the value of independent research and how it can be responsive to the needs of government.

“Our research has been crucial to the review process undertaken by the Inspector-General Emergency Management. Our investigation provides an insight into the science of the fires and the lessons learnt from their management, which will inform how Queensland emergency management agencies plan for their future.”

Two reports were produced by the CRC as part of IGEM’s review.

The first, headed by Dr Graham Mills, examined the science behind the fires and provided research into the conditions leading up to 24 November.

The science behind the Queensland bushfire and heatwave event provides a scientific and meteorological explanation for, and description of, the drought and heatwave conditions that proceeded the bushfires. The report focuses on climate and weather anomalies prior to the bushfires, using information taken from the Bureau of Meteorology’s seasonal outlook, the CRC’s Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook and data collected from weather stations throughout Queensland.

The report found that Queensland received warning of above normal bushfire potential across the state. Due to a low-rainfall period and sustained drought in locally focused regions, this resulted in widespread well below average soil moisture, particularly in coastal regions.

The report indicates that the combination of dry soils, lack of rainfall and prolonged heatwave heightened fire conditions across Queensland to unprecedented levels.

The second report, by Dr Neil Burrows, looked at similar fire and heatwave events that have occurred both nationally and internationally, comparing them to the ones that occurred in Queensland last year.

Lessons and insights from significant bushfires in Australia and overseas analyses 12 case studies and highlights both lessons learned and the lessons yet to be learned from these fires. It identifies several re-occurring lessons and insights under six themes: prevention, planning and preparedness, community preparedness, hazard mitigation, incident response, recover and research and development.

These two reports have been cited extensively in the Inspector-General’s overall 2018 Queensland Bushfires Review, which will be used to assess the future of the state’s disaster management system. Access all the reports on the IGEM website.

The research undertaken forms part of a suite of CRC contributions to post hazard reviews, which cover bushfires, floods, cyclones and heatwaves across Australia, helping emergency management agencies and government better understand both the nature of these natural hazards and how communities, businesses, agencies and government can better prepare for them in the future.