Hundreds of people from around the globe tuned in yesterday to participate in the first webinar of the National Fire Fuels Science series, hosted by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and the Australian Academy of Science.
More than 520 attendees from 12 countries heard why hazard reduction burning is difficult and divisive from four expert panelists: Dr Sarah Harris (Country Fire Authority), Sascha Rundle (ABC Emergency Broadcasting), Oliver Costello (Firesticks Alliance) and Justin Leonard (CSIRO).
Sarah explained meteorological indicators, the effects of the fire season and the evidence of climate change impacting our natural environment. Sascha highlighted the many diverse comments from the public on prescribed burning and explained the need to work with the community to deal with these issues. Oliver described the benefits of cultural burning on Country and Justin put forward the factors influencing the impact of fire on buildings, raising the question of where we should plan to put our homes in the natural environment in the future.
If you missed out on the webinar, don't worry. Replay it in full above or via our Hazard Channel, with speaker presentations also available.
The next in the series is on Wednesday 13 May, 11am AEST, with Dr Neil Burrows, Prof Mike Clarke (La Trobe University), A/Prof Tina Bell (University of Sydney), Dr Phil Zylstra (Curtin University) and Prof Mark Adams (Swinburne University of Technology) on the science of hazard reduction: what do we know and what are the knowledge gaps?
We look forward to seeing you there!
The third and final webinar will cover the practice of hazard reduction, covering the potentials and limitations from the perspectivesof fire and land management agencies. Speakers will be Dr Adam Leavesley (ACT Parks and Conservation Service), Dr Valerie Densmore (WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions), Ruth Ryan (HVP Plantations) and Dr Simon Heemstra (NSW Rural Fire Service).
The National Fire Fuels Science webinar series is being held as a scaled down version of a forum that was scheduled on the topic for late March in Canberra. The Canberra forum was cancelled due to coronavirus.