Australian Officials Warn Of Worst-Case Wildfire Potential Next Year As El Nino Strengthens

[hatrack]

Australian officials on Wednesday warned the country could be hit by even worse wildfires next summer than the deadly blazes which killed a record 173 people in February.

Victoria state premier John Brumby said the fire season could be the toughest in a decade, after a leaked report warned of a "worst-case" situation prompted by an expected El Nino weather pattern. "The prognosis in terms of this year's fire season is that it's going to be a very, very tough fire season again," Brumby said. "All of the advice at the moment is that this will be as bad, if not worse, than anything that we've seen in the past decade," he added.

The Victoria environment department report, widely leaked to media, said El Nino would bring extensive drought to southeastern Australia, where entire towns were engulfed in flames during the last southern hemisphere summer. February's fires were the worst natural disaster in Australia's modern history, with one expert likening their intensity to the energy produced by 1,500 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

"The prospect we are looking at is not just another above-average fire season with above-normal losses or risks to life and property," the report said.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2007/090729052146.2q3quekb.html

[timeforpeace]

1. Now I won't be able to sleep until next summer. Even if it doesn't happen, I like worrying.

[Fotoware58]

2. Until we learn...

how to manage fuels and restore natural function and balance (like the Indians/Aborigines), we will continue to see this slow-motion disaster decimate our forests. We COULD "sculpt" out landscapes that survive "climate change", resisting drought, insects and fires, with minimal fire intensities. Too bad it is politically unpalatable in today's America. We'll see if Australia will approach the problem differently than they have been, or if they are still under the control of "preservationism" and paralyzed into inaction.