Evolution of Fire Policy in Australia

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Evolution of Fire Policy in Australia

• Jackson Leonard

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Red Centre Fire Flume
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Vegetation Profile
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Mallee
Spinifex grass
Eucalyptus
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Aboriginal Fire Policy

• Ability to make fire 6,000 y.a.,
  spawned chronic fire
• Fire Stick Management
• Nomadism
• Keep the Bush clean return interval of 3-5
  years
• Strong oral record

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Pynes Administrative History of U.S. Fire
Management
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European Settlement (1788-1926)

• Adoption of Aboriginal fire practices
• Introduction of exotic grass species
• 1851 1898 fires met with ambivalence
• 1926 Black Sunday Fire

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Royal Commission of 1926

• Strengthened the Forestry Commission of 1918
• Developed laws requiring spark arrestors and
  slowing arson
• Bolstered fire suppression
• Recognized need for research regarding fire
  behavior and its effects

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Black Friday fires of 1939

• SE Aust. Fire Flume
• Product of poor logging and grazing practices
• Combination of small fires
• Drought, 120 temps, 70 m.p.h winds, 10 R.H. on
  the coast
• Spotting 7 miles in advance of the fire front
• 71 lives lost, millions of acres burned

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Post WWII (1948-1970)

• 1949 Bush Fire Act
• Increased bushfire brigades
• Recommended more scientific exploration
• Mandated prescribed fire for fuels reduction
• Aerial ignition programs were started
• Hume-Snowy Bush Fire District
• Increased funds to suppress wildfire
• Protected watershed from the 1952 wildfires
• Reflected U.S. style of fire management

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Environmental Focus (1970-1983)

• Biocentric approach to prescribed fire
• Reevaluating role of prescribed fire
• Reliance on mechanized suppression
• Drop off in fire research

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Modern-day Fires

• Black Tuesday Fire, 1967, Tasmania
• 270,000 hect. (670,000 acres), 1300 homes, and 62
  deaths in the span of 5 hours
• Ash Wednesday Fire, 1983, SE Australia
• 350,000 hect. (865,000 acres), 2300 homes, and
  350,000 livestock

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1983-Present

• Adoption of Rothermels model
• Formation of a National Bushfire Research Unit
• Critical evaluation of suppression budgets vs.
  fire costs

• Sparked movement toward current fire policy, more
  in line with North American fire policy

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Questions?