Firestorm
Across southern Australia, fire chiefs are anxiously waiting for the cool draughts of autumn to extinguish another stress-filled season of sparks, flare-ups and rushed responses. Until then, there is a clear and present threat of bushfire - and a nightmare scenario in which a routine blaze morphs into a conflagration so vast and intense that it becomes unstoppable.
As climate change brings extreme weather and sucks moisture from the land, experts are warning of a new age of megafires. Already, Canberra and Victoria have felt their fury. So too has North America and Europe.
"Megafires I think are going to become much more common," says a Victorian-based fire behaviour scientist. Another fire specialist warns that fire risk will more than double unless climate change slows.
A firefighting boss ticks off the numbers: 273 fires in Victoria on a single day in September, more than 600 in three days in October. "So the fire seasons are starting earlier, they're lasting longer and they include a large number more extreme fire weather days," he says.
How should we face the prospect of increasingly frequent megafires? Will firefighters have to change strategy? Bush firefighting services now are largely volunteer armies doing battle with an enemy that is erratic and dangerously unpredictable. Is there a need for elite commando-like teams to attack remote fires at the outset?
And how do we best manage the landscape to reduce fire risk? There is now a passionate debate over whether forests should be aggressively burnt during the cooler months as a fire prevention tool.
Includes exclusive material covering the MacIntyre hut fire.
00.02.48 Large fire in suburban neighbourhood, close up of flames in residential homes and in trees, firefighters hosing down the blaze 00.03.10 Australian firefighters discussing strategy with one another 00.03.34 Extreme weather- bikers struggling to stand in the high wind, car slipping off of icy road, huge waves crashing against tops of trees, lightning 00.03.48 Forest fire 00.04.19 Wheat in extreme heat, sun seen through trees with extreme heat 00.04.44 Helicopter dousing houses with water/flame retardant 00.04.52 Shack on fire, fire by side of road 00.05.0 Shots of the cedar fire in southern California, governor Gray Davis discusses casualties at a press conference 00.05.33 Aerial shot of Australian field, cloud cover 00.05.38 Firefighters hosing down burnt-out home 00.06.04 Black and white archival footage of a forest fire, presumably the Black Friday inferno; boys try to put it out with their shirts 00.06.25 People picking through the wreckage 0.07.10 Side of mountain on fire, large airplane/air carrier dropping red fire retardant (footage not cleared) 00.08.31 Helicopters hovering over river, causing ripples with propeller blades 00.08.40 Helicopter dropping water 00.08.56 Aerial shot of Australian city, possibly Canberra 00.10.01 More fire-fighters in 2003 Canberra bush fire 00.11.01 Woman crying at destruction 00.11.13 Aerials of Canberra observatory and water plant 00.11.39 Still of lightning strike 00.11.46 Brindabella National Park in smoke 00.12.07 Two men walking, talking by stream and forest 00.12.51 Lightning flashes over suburban homes 00.13.22 Man gestures to wall map of National Park 00.13.37 Firemen speaking to one another in office 00.14.18 CSRO Observers monitoring the fire, but failing to take action 00.14.56 Burnt out, fallen tree 00.16.18 Men sitting down in empty warehouse, industrial looking room 00.18.24 Footage of "backburns"- lighting strips of land to starve an ongoing fire of fuel 00.19.20 Helicopter flying overhead, stills of helicopters, including "the incredible hulk" 00.20.53 Australian mountains covered in smoke, helicopters fighting fire 00.22.37 Helicopter flying over the Goodradigbee river, yellow fire trucks attacking fire 00.23.18 Stills of Australian ranch home 00.23.38 Dramatic shots of red sky, firemen walking through smoke 00.23.50 Ruined homes on fire, with frames and beams exposed 00.28.12 Aerial of Australian suburb, with fire damage revealed occasionally 00.29.23 Scenic moving aerial of the Blue Mountains 00.29.47 Forest on fire, helicopter dropping flame retardant 00.31.39 Meeting of Australian officials to discuss repercussions of fire 00.32.24 Sunset over smoky valley, aerial shots of fire 00.35.0 Emergency coordination centre in Melbourne 00.39.23 Man driving pickup truck through forest 00.39.50 Scientists studying burnt tree 00.41.25 Land managers burning off scrub and fuel 00.42.15 Fire truck driving past forest 00.44.11 Helicopter flying overhead 00.45.34 Distant shot of fire on mountain, firefighters in foreground
FULL SYNOPSIS
00.02.48 Large fire in suburban neighbourhood, close up of flames in residential homes and in trees, firefighters hosing down the blaze 00.03.10 Australian firefighters discussing strategy with one another 00.03.34 Extreme weather- bikers struggling to stand in the high wind, car slipping off of icy road, huge waves crashing against tops of trees, lightning 00.03.48 Forest fire 00.04.19 Wheat in extreme heat, sun seen through trees with extreme heat 00.04.44 Helicopter dousing houses with water/flame retardant 00.04.52 Shack on fire, fire by side of road 00.05.0 Shots of the cedar fire in southern California, governor Gray Davis discusses casualties at a press conference 00.05.33 Aerial shot of Australian field, cloud cover 00.05.38 Firefighters hosing down burnt-out home 00.06.04 Black and white archival footage of a forest fire, presumably the Black Friday inferno; boys try to put it out with their shirts 00.06.25 People picking through the wreckage 0.07.10 Side of mountain on fire, large airplane/air carrier dropping red fire retardant (footage not cleared) 00.08.31 Helicopters hovering over river, causing ripples with propeller blades 00.08.40 Helicopter dropping water 00.08.56 Aerial shot of Australian city, possibly Canberra 00.10.01 More fire-fighters in 2003 Canberra bush fire 00.11.01 Woman crying at destruction 00.11.13 Aerials of Canberra observatory and water plant 00.11.39 Still of lightning strike 00.11.46 Brindabella National Park in smoke 00.12.07 Two men walking, talking by stream and forest 00.12.51 Lightning flashes over suburban homes 00.13.22 Man gestures to wall map of National Park 00.13.37 Firemen speaking to one another in office 00.14.18 CSRO Observers monitoring the fire, but failing to take action 00.14.56 Burnt out, fallen tree 00.16.18 Men sitting down in empty warehouse, industrial looking room 00.18.24 Footage of "backburns"- lighting strips of land to starve an ongoing fire of fuel 00.19.20 Helicopter flying overhead, stills of helicopters, including "the incredible hulk" 00.20.53 Australian mountains covered in smoke, helicopters fighting fire 00.22.37 Helicopter flying over the Goodradigbee river, yellow fire trucks attacking fire 00.23.18 Stills of Australian ranch home 00.23.38 Dramatic shots of red sky, firemen walking through smoke 00.23.50 Ruined homes on fire, with frames and beams exposed 00.28.12 Aerial of Australian suburb, with fire damage revealed occasionally 00.29.23 Scenic moving aerial of the Blue Mountains 00.29.47 Forest on fire, helicopter dropping flame retardant 00.31.39 Meeting of Australian officials to discuss repercussions of fire 00.32.24 Sunset over smoky valley, aerial shots of fire 00.35.0 Emergency coordination centre in Melbourne 00.39.23 Man driving pickup truck through forest 00.39.50 Scientists studying burnt tree 00.41.25 Land managers burning off scrub and fuel 00.42.15 Fire truck driving past forest 00.44.11 Helicopter flying overhead 00.45.34 Distant shot of fire on mountain, firefighters in foreground