Brisbane bushfire season to be one of the worst in history

Brisbane is bracing for one of its worst bushfire seasons yet, with the city council and fire service ramping up their efforts to prepare.

Andreas Nicola

@AndreasNicola97

3 min read

August 6, 2023 - 12:00AM

The Sunday Mail (Qld)

'Hazard creation burning': Qld government fails to measure health effects of burn-offs

Emergency Services

Don't miss out on the headlines from Emergency Services. Followed categories will be added to My News.

Brisbane is bracing for one of its worst bushfire seasons yet, with the city council and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services ramping up their efforts to prepare the region amid the looming threat of El Nino.

It comes as Queensland police warned would-be firebugs of heavy punishment for people convicted of arson, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Brisbane City Council has doubled the number of prescribed burns and QFES has increased training.

Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the city faced a new threat that needed to be prepared for.

“Already, we’ve burned the equivalent of 250 Suncorp Stadium fields’ worth of

bushland,” he said.

“Each burn reduces fire fuel by up to 75 per cent, significantly reducing wildfire

risk.

Brisbane is bracing for one of its worst bushfire seasons yet, with Council and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services ramping up its efforts to prepare. Picture: Brisbane City Council

“To put this effort in perspective, last year we undertook eight planned burns for the season.

“We’ve done that double that number already this year.”

Cr Schrinner said he was also going to send a letter to 30,000 households across 27 suburbs next week urging them to prepare before it’s too late.

“We can’t prevent disasters. But we can always be better prepared,” he said.

While El Nino has yet to be declared, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned a development could be considered likely in the coming weeks, which would bring drier conditions.

QFES Superintendent James Haig said they had been doing mitigation, working with councils, land managers and HQ plantations.

“What that’s been about is managing fuel loads, identifying risks and taking actions to reduce those risks in the prevention space.

“Of course, as we’ve come closer to the actual bushfire season, we’re also very much about preparation. So doing lots of things in the preparation space, preparedness, which is around making sure that we do our training.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner as Brisbane is braces for one of its worst bushfire seasons yet, with council and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services ramping up it’s efforts to prepare. Picture: Brisbane City Council

Mr Haig said there had been extra training put in place for staff and volunteers.

“We’ve been doing things, regular training for, for our staff across and volunteers across lots of different areas, lots of different skills that go into bushfire management,” he said.

“For instance, incident management, incident control, management of people on the ground, our air operations, people are doing plenty of training and refresher training and so on.

Mr Haig said areas of concern were where there hadn’t bee a lot of rain this year.

“The grasses when they when they dry out to a significant extent they don’t really re-green if it rains,” he said.

“So therefore we’re worried about early season grass fires in some areas, particularly in the southern half of the state.

“And in areas from the northern end of the Sunshine Coast a bit further running a bit further north and then inland across fair chunks of the southeast, depending on where you are.”

Mr Haig said it was important to look at local conditions as it could vary even 30 to 40 kilometres apart.

Ahead of bushfire season, Queenslanders are also being warned against arson.

“Deliberately lighting a bushfire can have catastrophic consequences, both to individuals and the community,” a Queensland Police spokesman said.

“Bush fires can destroy property including homes and often wildlife and stock are killed or injured in fires.

Brisbane is bracing for one of its worst bushfire seasons yet, with council and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services ramping up its efforts to prepare. Picture: Brisbane City Council

“There are heavy penalties for people convicted of arson, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.”

Over the years several fires have been deliberately lit, including seven fires this year in Tara and Wiembilla. In 2019 the Peregian Beach bushfire that destroyed a home and destroyed bushland was also deliberately lit.

Bureau of Meteorology Senior Climatologist Hugh McDowell said an El Nino development is likely in the coming weeks.

“Much of Queensland and Brisbane has an 80 per cent chance or greater of exceeding median maximum and minimum temperatures through the upcoming months,” he said.

“For the southern half of the state this translates to a 2 to 3 times the likelihood of seeing unusually warm maximum temperatures through this period, with 1 to 2 times the likelihood in the north.

“Increased fire danger in southeastern Australia is often associated with El Nino conditions.

“Fire potential depends on many factors including weather and climate, fuel abundance, recent fire history and firefighting resources available in the area. Fire agencies will continue to monitor conditions closely.”