Man-Made Wildfires By Viv Forbes

(22/01/2019)      Carbon dioxide must be an almighty gas – it gets blamed for almost every human disaster. Now we have the alarmist Climate Council blaming bushfires on carbon dioxide and global warming. Focussing on the wrong problem is doing more harm than good. It is disappointing to see respected firefighters like Greg Mullins now blaming “climate change” for more and worse bushfires, and now even promoting the misguided Climate Council. We have heat waves, dry spells and bushfires in Australia every year - bushfires were burning all up the coast when Captain Cook sailed by in 1770.  But today we know what causes dangerous fires. It needs deliberate political mismanagement to create disastrous wild-fires which destroy everything - houses, sheds, fences, wildlife and mature trees.

     A good wet season can result in nature building up a dangerously large fuel load. In the past this was usually removed safely by many small fires lit by lightning strikes, aboriginals, graziers or foresters. Today massive fuels loads are too often allowed to accumulate for more than one season in forests, reserves, parks and around suburbs. Then one match or spark on a windy day can produce massive fires. Today’s stupid green policies that discourage and prohibit burning-off, encourage the accumulation of bushfire fuel and exclude grazing animals from large areas of parks and reserves are making uncontrollable wildfires more common.

     Heat does not cause catastrophic fires. Once sparked, naturally or maliciously, two things are needed to create killer blazes – high winds and excessive flammable fuel. We cannot stop the wind, but we can manage the bush so as to minimise the build-up of bushfire fuels. Not only is this effective in reducing the bushfire threat - the benefit is immediate. There is no need to wait another 25 years for the “solutions” posed by the climatists to "fix" the climate (stop using coal, cattle and cars etc). Blaming the bushfire problem on climate change is offering a weak excuse for government authorities bowing to green extremists. They have failed to meet their obligation to reduce bushfire fuel loads and make life safer for communities and for our firefighters.

     As for more and bigger water bombers, we need only to look to the 2018 Californian bushfires, where great fleets of mighty water bombers were unable to control their wildfires. Water bombers may look good on television but they cannot stop wildfires burning in heavy fuel and driven by high winds.