Hobart has been warned to prepare for bushfires on the same scale as the ones that swept through Los Angeles, taking 30 lives and leading to the evacuation of 200 000 people.
The warning came from Dr Margaret Moreton, CEO of Gender and Disaster Australia, who spoke at a special Emergency Management Committee meeting convened by the City of Hobart.
Dr Moreton said that while fire and emergency services are well prepared for a large-scale bushfire in Australia, we have not dealt with evacuations on the scale experienced in LA, and preparation varies tremendously at a suburb and home owner level.
"There are many images from LA and other fires of single homes that stand untouched amid the ruins around them," Dr Moreton said.
"And it's usually two or three factors that saved those homes. We must learn from this. Sometimes it's random, but often it's not. It's because of how that property has been built or prepared.
"We must get ready, and we must get ready fast."
Simple actions matter
Dr Moreton said simple actions, such as enclosing your eaves, installing ember proof mesh on vents and around under floor areas, make sure embers cannot get into your house, and these changes can make the difference.
Use stones and pebbles instead of mulch in gardens next to your home, and make sure trees are not growing right up next to the house.
"You can still have trees on your property. I do, but just not next to the house."
Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds speaking at the Municipal Emergency Management Committee meeting.
Hobart Lord Mayor Councillor Anna Reynolds said the LA fires, which destroyed 18,000 structures and stole 30 lives, were a tragic and sobering reminder of what cities like Hobart could face.
"These fires made us face some confronting questions," said Councillor Reynolds.
"Are we equipped to deal with ember attacks deep into our suburbs? Have agencies planned for large-scale evacuations? Should we all be doing more to adapt our homes to more fire weather coming with climate change?"
"The session we convened created space to think deeply and collectively about these questions. It brought together local experts and emergency managers to explore how we can better plan for the unimaginable."
The City of Hobart is reviewing the expert insights delivered at this meeting and will work with agencies like the Tasmania Fire Service to address priority actions.
Charles Roberts and his dog, Elsa, survey the ruins of the Fern Tree store after the devastating 1967 Tasmanian bushfires. Photo: Stuart Roberts
The fire that changed a city
The catastrophic 1967 Hobart bushfire remains a defining event in Tasmanian history.
It moved so rapidly that few people had time to prepare as the fire approached the city.
The Black Tuesday fires produced one of the most damaging natural disasters ever experienced in Australia, burning through 653,000 acres of Southern Tasmania.
In the space of just four to five hours 62 people lost their lives, 900 people were injured and about 1400 buildings, mostly homes, but also factories, schools, churches and post offices, were destroyed.
Since then residential development, especially on the urban fringe, means more people than ever in Hobart live close to bushland and on the edge of steep bushland valleys and ridges.
Places like Mt Nelson, West Hobart and in the foothills of Kunanyi/Mt Wellington were developed at a time when there were few, if any, planning laws requiring houses be built to withstand bushfire.
A matter of when, not if
Hobart is the most bushfire prone city in Australia. About 60 per cent of the city consists of bushland.
The City of Hobart invests heavily in bushfire preparation, spending around $2 million every year reducing the build-up of bushfire fuels in our forests and managing fuel breaks and fire trails.
We have an active ‘Prepare Now’ community education program, and hosted the three year Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action bushfire resilience program.
We also work closely with the University of Tasmania Fire Centre.
We do everything we can to protect Hobart from bushfire, but we need residents to also do as much as they can to protect their homes and families from a major bushfire.
It is simply a matter of when, not if, Hobart is faced with a bushfire on the scale and ferocity as the recent Los Angeles fires.