Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook 2016

This Hazard Note details the Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for 2016. The Outlook provides information to assist fire and land management agencies in making strategic decisions such as resource planning and prescribed fire management, to reduce the negative impacts of bushfire. Download the Outlook by clicking 'download' at the right of screen.

Many parts of far northern Australia had a weaker than normal wet season, with an exception being the southern Top End through to the South Australian border. A notable feature has been record heat, with a mean temperature record set across northern Australia.

• In Queensland, drought continues in many areas, but unseasonal rain has created enough growth to lead to increased fuel loads in some areas.
• The Northern Territory has experienced diverse conditions, with record rainfall in some areas, and lowest on record in others. No areas are classified as above normal fire potential, with below normal fire potential assessed in some southern areas due to rain in recent months reducing the curing of vegetation.
• Western Australia has no areas of above normal fire potential. The Pilbara and East Kimberley experienced a drier than normal wet season, resulting in normal to reduced grass fuel loads, while in the Central and West Kimberley, a mosaic of early dry season fire scars and late wet season burning has reduced the fuel loads.

The Outlook is a product of the Northern Australian Fire Managers Forum, which was held in Alice Springs in June 2016.

See the full Outlook by clicking the DOWNLOAD button at top right.

All the presentations from the Forum are online here.