Brisbane tinderbox could ignite in LA fashion experts warn

Experts have warned it’s “absolutely possible” fires similar to those in LA could rip through Brisbane, with devastating consequences.

A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Experts are calling on the government to invest in more bushfire and disaster relief strategies with the opposition saying there has been a “scary silence” from the Premier and his ministers surrounding the Los Angeles fires.

Shadow Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery, Emergency Services and Volunteers Nikki Boyd said it was undeniable climate change was having an impact on the frequency and intensity of natural disasters across the globe.

“We are hearing a scary silence from David Crisafulli and his ministers about what is happening to our friends across the Pacific,” she said.

“We saw that in Queensland last summer. David Crisafulli is not committed to hitting emission reduction targets and his own Environment Minister said he doesn’t believe man made emissions are contributing to climate change.

“To make things worse David Crisafulli has a huge budget black hole and it would be a disaster for Queensland if he cuts our investment in the state’s fire fighting organisations.”

Nikki Boyd during question time at Queensland State Parliament. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Ms Boyd said last year Labor had invested heavily into the state’s ability to prepare and fight fires across Queensland.

“We created the new Queensland Fire Department to consolidate the state’s firefighting agencies to better prepare Queensland for fires. Labor also had a record investment in rural firefighting with funding for new vehicles and equipment including drones, portable water storage and virtual reality training systems.

“The record investment also included increasing the frontline staff by 117 positions to help our brave and selfless firefighters.”

A spokeswoman for the Premier said Queenslanders’ thoughts were with those who have lost everything in the LA fires and Queensland stands ready to provide assistance as required.

“Officials are receiving regular briefings on the evolving situation in LA, at this stage there have been no requests for assistance from Australia or Queensland,” the spokeswoman said.

“The devastation witnessed in LA is a stark reminder of the importance of disaster preparedness which is why Queensland must take a year-round approach including planned burns to manage fuel loads, maintaining specialist training and investing in equipment for our frontline responders.

“Labor’s tired scare campaign is all smoke, no fire, and they should be ashamed of their desperate attempts to undermine public confidence in disaster preparedness.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli and his team are monitoring the situation in LA closely. Picture: Supplied

“Nikki Boyd and Labor were responsible for thousands of volunteers walking away from our rural fire brigades, in contrast, the Crisafulli Government backs in our volunteers and is delivering our frontline responders with the resources and planning they need.”

Griffith Practice in Disaster Management Professor Iain MacKenzie said the major lesson to be taken from the LA experience was that the global climate was changing, and these events were occurring more frequently.

“…and with more intensity, and that won’t happen in one part of the world alone, it will certainly happen in Australia,” he said.

“We need to imagine what could happen in order to prepare and I think the fact that you know the fires in LA, certainly the winds that occur there, those Santa Ana winds are something unique to that region.”

Prof MacKenzie said Australia on many occasions had seen fires similar to LA.

“If we remember the Canberra bushfires in the early 2000s that was certainly well into suburbia and even within Brisbane, go back to the late 80s, early 90s, there were fires in areas like The Gap.

Congregants walk through the remains Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, which was destroyed in the Eaton Fire, as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region. Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP

“It’s absolutely possible within Australia and beyond possible, we will see it again.”

Prof MacKenzie said risk reduction and identification when it came to bushfires could mean “some tough decisions for governments” on a national level.

“Either in resourcing response which is not necessarily the ideal answer, or imposing standards on the community, like changing building codes,” he said.

“There simply will never be enough response resources.”

Early Warning Network Meteorologist Ken Kato said Australia had a similar hot and dry climate to Los Angeles and that it was “unusual” for them to experience wildfires during winter.

“Another similarity is the vegetation as well so as you might know, there’s a lot of eucalypts around California and also fairly dry vegetation,” he said.

“In southeast Queensland, to get something like, what’s happened in LA, you would really have to have an exceptionally dry, hot, windy period that just drags on and on.”

Mr Kato said during the 2019 fires we had experienced strong westerly winds.

“One of the factors that made the LA fires so next level was the fact that those Santa Ana winds were exceptionally strong this time. So we’re talking about wind gusts right up to 160km an hour across some of those ridge tops,” he said.

“And if that were to happen here, even without any fires that would be classed as highly destructive.”

Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers Ann Leahy said Queensland had a strong record of bushfire resilience and mitigation which includes year-round preparedness activities such as planned burns, specialist training and increasing capacity through upgraded infrastructure and equipment.

Ann Leahy said Queensland would be ready if disaster struck. Picture: Evan Morgan

“Our expert teams are always reviewing learnings from Queensland and beyond, as well as the latest information to improve our ability to protect lives and property,” she said.

“The devastation witnessed in LA serves as a harrowing reminder of the fury of bushfires and the critical importance of mitigating the risk across our State.”

Federal Minister for Emergency Management and Cities Jenny McAllister said her thoughts were with those who have tragically lost their lives or lost loved ones, and with everyone suffering the impact of the disaster in California.

“The Albanese government accepts the science of climate change and we know that this means we need to prepare ourselves for longer fire seasons and more dangerous days,” Ms McAllister said.

Ms McAllister said she would be in Brisbane Monday to meet with emergency management leaders to hear from them first hand on their analysis of current and future risks.

“Over Christmas, I was briefed by the Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner on the bushfires in the Grampians,” she said.

“The states and territories lead the response, but we take these risks very seriously and our government invested early in a range of measures to boost our capability.”

Originally published as Brisbane tinderbox could ignite in LA fashion experts warn