Ecological Blog

Heaps of people are coming out of the woodwork squealing that that won't have an opportunity to address the Royal Commission. Many of them apparently want to squawk about not being warned of the fire danger.

Counsel assisting the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, Jack Rush QC, says while people knew February 7 would be a day of risk, they were not aware they would be facing a fire of "phenomenal" speed.

The Black Saturday bushfires ripped across the state in February, claiming 173 lives, devastating 78 communities and destroying 2,029 homes.

Mr Rush told the directions hearing in the Victorian County Court that the commission will hear evidence in the coming weeks that for many people, the warnings were not a trigger to leave their homes early.

"Whilst people knew that the 7th of February would be a day of extreme risk, they did not have the understanding that the risk, as the McArthur Forest Fire Index demonstrated, carried with it the potential of a fire that could not be fought," he said.

Well, the warnings that were put out prior to that weekend were pretty graphic and anyone who didn't understand that they could be facing an extreme event must have...

Tags: bushfire, royal commission, wildfire

The Friends group submission to the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission (that really should be called wildfire because it wasn't just bush that burned) has been completed and sent off.

We don't intend to appear before the Commission to make personal presentations but hope there are plenty of views expressed - not just from the vocal lobby who say that more fuel reduction burns will solve the problem.

The final submission has only minor changes from the version on this blog.

Tags: bushfire, royal commission, wildfire

The Royal Commission into Victoria's current bushfires to be conducted by retired Supreme Court judge Bernard Teague provides an opportunity for some rational discussion about the issues of native vegetation, wildfire risks and planning regulations.

We hope there will be a wide presentation of views - but as with other enquiries after wildfires - there will be a clamour for more 'fuel reduction burns' and the destruction of native forests even though there is no science demonstrating that those burns actually reduce fire risks.

A major part of the problem is that so often when these fire events occur a decision is made to 'let it burn' because it's not a direct threat to what is regarded as an 'asset'. That's when things get out of hand. Throw everything at a fire when it starts and you have a hope of stopping it. By letting it burn there is always the risk of a wind change which creates mayhem.

Every fire event pulls people out of the woodwork to have their say about how dangerous trees are and how we must get rid of all undergrowth.

They choose not to understand that in the weather circumstances experienced when these...

Tags: bushfire, royal commission, wildfire