Fraser Island bushfire review

The bushfire that burnt more than half of Queensland’s world heritage listed K’gari (Fraser Island) in 2020 has been the subject of much media comment and public debate, as well as a review by the state’s Inspector General of Emergency Management (IGEM).

Most recently, an ABC story highlighted that the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service declined an offer to waterbomb the fire in its early stages1.

The IGEM review was announced even before the fire was out and the report was delivered less than 5 months later in May 2021. It was “a report into the effectiveness and preparedness activities and the response to the bushfire” and made 38 recommendations2. In its response, the Queensland Government supported all recommendations (14 of them “in principle”)3.

Notably, the final IGEM recommendation was that “this report be returned to the
IGEM to monitor, evaluate and report on progress and implementation of the
recommendations that are accepted in whole or in part by government“.

  • 1 “Queensland Parks and Wildlife initially rejected QFES waterbombing offer for Fraser Island bushfire, documents reveal”, ABC News online, 22 August 2021
  • 2 “K’gari (Fraser Island) Bushfire Review”, State of Queensland (Inspector-General Emergency Management), 27 May 2021
  • 3 “‘K’gari (Fraser Island) Bushfire Review Report – Queensland Government Response” (no date)

IBG comment

  • IBG believes this sort of independent review is very much needed in NSW, they should be routine, and they need to be followed up to ensure recommendations lead to the desired change.
  • The NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry did a good job within its limitations, but could not look deeply into specific fires.
  • Nearly two years after Black Summer the public hearings for the coronial inquiries are only just getting underway, and will extend into the middle of 2022. Besides, coronials are not the best way to deal with operational matters.
  • IBG has called for the establishment of an independent inspector general of emergency management for NSW.
  • The sort of review Queensland’s IGEM did into the K’Gari fire also has its shortcomings. Most importantly, it did not start with an independent analysis of the fire. Without all the facts ‘on the table’ it will always be difficult to identify and reach agreement on what happened and hence what could be done better. A fire analysis would objectively study what the fire did and what the responses were in relation to all the variables like weather and resources.
  • The cost of proper bushfire reviews would be a tiny fraction of the expenditure during the Black Summer fires, and of what future seasons could cost.
  • We will not comment on the specifics of the K’Gari bushfire operation because we don’t know enough details. However it is noted that many of the issues aired have also been of concern in NSW.

Reference links

Australia gets stark warning from IPCC

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its latest report on 9th August, with very bad news for bushfires in Australia.

In a nutshell, the analysis finds that the conditions conducive to disastrous fires will get worse, even in the best case scenario.

Australia has already heated more than the rest of the world due to local factors, and winter rainfall has diminished in the south. Droughts and days of extreme heat will multiply.

ANU’s Professor Mark Howden, a lead author on the report, says that The conditions that generate fire weather are likely to increase in both frequency and intensity.1

Professor Howden also said it was increasingly clear climate change has played a significant role in extreme heat events in many regions, including the 2019-2020 Black Summer fires here and current events in Europe and North America.2

On Australia, the IPCC says:

Frequency of extreme fire weather days has increased, and the fire season has become longer since 1950 at many locations (medium confidence). The intensity, frequency and duration of fire weather events are projected to increase throughout Australia (high confidence)…3

IBG comment

  • The Climate Council, Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, numerous scientists and IBG have been warning of the bushfire threat from human-induced climate change for years.
  • Bigger, hotter and more frequent fires could devastate human and natural communities.
  • As well as moving strenuously to reduce carbon emissions, Australia must adapt to this threat by escalating its capacity to manage the impacts of bushfires.
  • IBG put this argument in our submissions to the NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry and the Royal Commission Into National Natural Disaster Arrangements (see Our reports).
  • IBG has been pushing for smaller fires and prepared communities.
  • We need faster initial attack, better strategies, more analysis and learning, targeted research and investment in community resilience.
  • Some improvements are happening, but much more needs to be done.
  • 1 “UN’s ‘code red’ climate warning a burning issue for Australia’s fire risk”, Mike Foley, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 Aug 2021
  • 2 Ditto
  • 3 IPCC Regional Factsheet – Australia

Reference links