Environment Bushfires - 2026

[CD Xbow]

I couldn't find a place to post about bushfires, one of the most defining features of the Australian bush and one which has a great impact on Australians in many ways including loss of life. It's a topic that probably deserves it's own thread, I wasn't sure where to put it (said the bishop to the milkmaid) so it ended up here. With global warming accelerating this century it is a problem that is bound to get much worse. I thought posters could put their own stories, relevant links of articles etc. Her are a few sites for starters:

• ABC Emergency reports https://www.abc.net.au/emergency
• VicEmergency (emergency.vic.gov.au): Official source for current incidents and warnings in Victoria, including live maps and alerts.
• CFA (cfa.vic.gov.au): Country Fire Authority, for local info, planning, and emergency response in Victoria.
• RFS (rfs.nsw.gov.au): NSW Rural Fire Service, with resources like the MyFirePlan tool.
• TasALERT: For Tasmania, with apps and websites.

Weather & Data

• Bureau of Meteorology (bom.gov.au): Fire Weather Knowledge Centre for forecasts and conditions.
• MyFireWatch: Satellite-observed hotspot map for Australia.
• National Bushfire Intelligence Capability (CSIRO): For research and intelligence.

Broader Information & Research

• AFAC (afac.com.au): National Council for Fire and Emergency Services.
• CSIRO (csiro.au/research/disasters/bushfires): Australian science agency, focusing on research and solutions.
• AIDR (knowledge.aidr.org.au): Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, resources on hazards.
• Bushfire.io: Natural disaster map with alerts for Australia, US, etc..

The Conversation has an article on the current (10/1/26) state of play - https://theconversation.com/victoria-bushfires-at-a-glance-273002 and smoke protection - https://theconversation.com/how-to-protect-yourself-from-bushfire-smoke-272065

Bushfires making their own weather - https://theconversation.com/when-bushfires-make-their-own-weather-273008

Wiki has a list of all natural disasters affecting Oz which makes interesting reading. Covid is numero uno in recent times, though in the past the scourge of nasty microbes had frequent impact. Deaths from bushfires were much higher in the past, suggesting we have learned a few useful lessons.

List of disasters in Australia by death toll - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

List of major bushfires in Australia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ironically, I was up at Marysville on the Thursday and I was surprised how green it still was. I'd hate to think how 10/1 would have panned out if things had been bone dry.

 

[rocker_oz33]

Alot of people Went up to Merrysvile after Black Saturday.

We went up there 6 or 7 years after B.S.
The town got a story book vibe lovely little town.

Stay safe .

Dont want another Ash Wednesday.

 

[SportsCentre]

If ever a smell can trigger memories of past summers like Black Summer 2019 and Black Saturday 2009, it's the bushfire smell that is wafting over Melbourne last night and today. People overseas are always in shock at how fast our bushland can ignite and spread.

 

[brutus76]

Maybe the Victorian government can revisit that "no grazing in National Park ban" implemented in 2015

 

[Cold Ghost]

This was so eerie, with hay bales on fire alongside the road

 

[Bostonian]

Maybe the Victorian government can revisit that "no grazing in National Park ban" implemented in 2015

No chance, the Victorian Melbourne CBD Government only make decisions to appease the inner-city types.

 

[rocker_oz33]

Catman house got burnt down with all his footy memorabilia that sucks.

 

[Frank Bunn]

No chance, the Victorian Melbourne CBD Government only make decisions to appease the inner-city types.

CFA did its annual community briefing saying any fire in the You Yangs would come straight through Lara.

I wrote to Parks Victoria about fuel reduction in the You Yangs. They didn't even reply. I contacted the Ombudsman and they couldn't get a response from them.

 

[rocker_oz33]

CFA did its annual community briefing saying any fire in the You Yangs would come straight through Lara.

I wrote to Parks Victoria about fuel reduction in the You Yangs. They didn't even reply. I contacted the Ombudsman and they couldn't get a response from them.

Unfortunately when and if bad things happen the Gov/powers to be are reactivate.
Maybe more proactive might be better.

 

[leon123]

No chance, the Victorian Melbourne CBD Government only make decisions to appease the inner-city types.

You arein the cfa are you, you live outside an urban area? Or are you just simply taking cheap cracks at a govt you dont like whilst peoples houses are burning

 

[CD Xbow]

If ever a smell can trigger memories of past summers like Black Summer 2019 and Black Saturday 2009, it's the bushfire smell that is wafting over Melbourne last night and today. People overseas are always in shock at how fast our bushland can ignite and spread.

True. Specific smells often seem linked to specific memories, I think it's something to do with the wiring, the olfactory nerve is not a typical peripheral nerve, it's sort of a direct extension of the brain.

I have, unfortunately, had to deal with burns victims in ED and the smell of burnt flesh triggers bad memories. As an intern (probably because interns are regarded as disposable) I was put in the back on an ambulance taking a poor guy who had 90% burns from an accident at Heathcote race track. He nearly died on the way to the Alfred. It was horrible. I'd never really thought about it as PTSD however it probably is.

 

[Bostonian]

You arein the cfa are you, you live outside an urban area? Or are you just simply taking cheap cracks at a govt you dont like whilst peoples houses are burning

All my family is from the Mallee and Wimmera.

Let me remind you...

"Recent news reports from Victoria, Australia, confirm that members of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) have been leaving in large numbers, particularly due to the state government's new Emergency Services and Volunteers Levy (ESVL). This follows a long-term decline in volunteer numbers over the past decade attributed to controversial fire service reforms."

"Concerns have been widely reported in the media and by volunteers about the Country Fire Authority's (CFA) equipment being old and breaking down, raising significant safety issues for firefighters and the communities they serve. Many vehicles are reportedly over 20 or even 30 years old."

But yeah, Melbourne got their 12 billion + tunnel so **** the rest of the state.

 

[leon123]

All my family is from the Mallee and Wimmera.

Let me remind you...

"Recent news reports from Victoria, Australia, confirm that members of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) have been leaving in large numbers, particularly due to the state government's new Emergency Services and Volunteers Levy (ESVL). This follows a long-term decline in volunteer numbers over the past decade attributed to controversial fire service reforms."

"Concerns have been widely reported in the media and by volunteers about the Country Fire Authority's (CFA) equipment being old and breaking down, raising significant safety issues for firefighters and the communities they serve. Many vehicles are reportedly over 20 or even 30 years old."

But yeah, Melbourne got their 12 billion + tunnel so **** the rest of the state.

Houses are burning dh, you play politics... go to a politics forum, taste and manners dude

 

[Bostonian]

Houses are burning dh, you play politics... go to a politics forum, taste and manners dude

We were discussing shit Governments and their reactive responses to fires rather than being proactive.

If the equipment is old and run down then who do you think is responsible for that?

You're obviously a Labor crony if you're triggered by people calling out the Government who has destroyed the CFA and put its members and the rural communities at even more risk by not funding it anywhere near enough.

I'll leave SRP board to the stooges, thanks all the same.

 

[Bostonian]

Unfortunately when and if bad things happen the Gov/powers to be are reactivate.
Maybe more proactive might be better.

That would mean they would have to spend money. They hate spending money on rural Victoria.

We should have the world's best equipped fire fighting services in the world.

 

[leon123]

We were discussing shit Governments and their reactive responses to fires rather than being proactive.

If the equipment is old and run down then who do you think is responsible for that?

You're obviously a Labor stooge that's triggered by people calling out the Government who has destroyed the CFA and put its members and the community at even more risk by not funding it anywhere near enough.

You are obviously a dh, dont assume.

You tell me about the equipment, have you held a hose, a rakeho? Or just a straw, sipping lemonade

Agrreed re about cfa resourcing

 

[rocker_oz33]

That would mean they would have to spend money. They hate spending money on rural Victoria.

We should have the world's best equipped fire fighting services in the world.

Thats true.

The state is broke AF.

But some basic keeping it clear ready for the summers.

We dont wanna another Ash Wednesday or Black Friday.

 

[Bostonian]

You are obviously a dh, dont assume.

You tell me about the equipment, have you held a hose, a rakeho? Or just a straw, sipping lemonade

Agrreed re about cfa resourcing

Nah I'm not a stooge like you.

When one of your best mates uncle was a ACO in the CFA you get a first-hand account of the bullshit Dan Andrews and that union pig Marshall were up to.

The amount of CFA members those clowns cost the CFA should never be forgotten.

 

[leon123]

Nah I'm not a stooge like you.

When one of your best mates uncle was a ACO in the CFA you get a first-hand account of the bullshit Dan Andrews and that union pig Marshall were up to.

The amount of CFA members those clowns cost the CFA should never be forgotten.

You hold a straw, according to my best mates uncles sister, twice divorced

 

[Bostonian]

Thats true.

The state is broke AF.

But some basic keeping it clear ready for the summers.

We dont wanna another Ash Wednesday or Black Friday.

There's just not the resources to undertake such things.

Not just money, but also people on the ground.

 

[Bostonian]

You hold a straw, according to my best mates uncles sister, twice divorced

You're probably a pig Marshall lackey.

 

[leon123]

You're probably a pig Marshall lackey.

As stared originally, show some basic taste, houses are burning, you make it political.

Probably not, but you are simply a rude pig, straw man hose is to big for you to hold

 

[Bostonian]

As stared originally, show some basic taste, houses are burning, you make it political.

Probably not, but you are simply a rude pig, straw man hose is to big for you to hold

Well mentioning the Government who has under resourced and treated CFA members like shit is not making it political.

It's pointing out a massive issue in our rural fight fighting capabilities because this Government cares little of its rural communities.

Only the Labor stooges get triggered by that. That's you.

 

[leon123]

Well mentioning the Government who has under resourced and treated CFA members like shit is not making it political.

It's pointing out a massive issue in our rural fight fighting capabilities because this Government cares little of its rural communities.

Only the Labor stooges get triggered by that. That's you.

No, i get triggered by clickheads, with little straws that politicise a disaster. Thats you.

 

[Bostonian]

No, i get triggered by clickheads, with little straws that politicise a disaster. Thats you.

Nah, you're in the Jacinta Allen thread on SRP bootlicking there too. You're a Labor stooge.

State needs billions spent on upgrading firefighting equipment and we've known this for years. This is very relevant to what is going on now.

Communities are more at risk thanks to one abysmal group of grifters in Spring Street not giving two shits about rural Victorians.