Bushfire
Raising hope out of ashes of the Tathra bushfire
Out of the ashes of the Tathra bushfire, and stories of heartbreaking loss and survival, a picture is emerging of how research is helping to save properties and improve bushfire outcomes.
Soils study key to tracing PFAS leaching
They’re one of the strongest bonds in chemistry and are not only unique in the way they can be used to fight fire, but unique in the way they leach through soils into the environment. A new paper suggests understanding first how PFAS chemicals behave in soils requires a large-scale soils study and, perhaps, a global research effort if we’re to work towards a solution.
Experimenting with fuel and fire
A lot has been learned about fire behaviour from the bushfires that have lashed the Australian continent in the past. But to really refine fire behaviour knowledge, researchers need to put their hypotheses to the test through carefully orchestrated large-scale field experiments.
Up in smoke
In 2006, when fires broke out near Cape Grim, Tasmania, scientists measured the smoke plumes in unprecedented detail, resulting in a more accurate smoke forecasting tool for use in weather forecasting, and for issuing health-related smoke warnings.
How to plan for decisions in the midst of bushfire catastrophe
"It doesn’t matter how many fire hoses you have, you can’t be everywhere at once." So how do you plan ahead for all the decisions you might need to take in the midst of catastrophe? That includes when and where to take shelter.
Mapping fire-prone areas before the fires
Portugal has again been in the grip of wildfires this northern summer. The devastating human and financial toll of bushfires is felt across the globe. In Australia, CSIRO is using expert knowledge and the latest technology to pinpoint areas at risk so they can be better managed into the future.
Spotting the danger of long-distance firebrands
New understanding about the behaviour of 'firebrands’ from ribbon bark eucalypts suggests a change in thinking may be needed to fight fires in extreme conditions.
What Wye River can teach us about building for bushfires
The devastating bushfire that tore through Wye River in 2015 has shown us that resilience to bushfires is about more than just building regulations.
Learning from 100 years of bushfire loss data
Historical data on bushfire losses reveals sobering insight about the human response to catastrophic bushfire conditions, and why our current approach is set to fail.