Compare and contrast LA and WA wildfire resilience, preparedness and response | Natural Hazards Research Australia

Compare and contrast LA and WA wildfire resilience, preparedness and response

Photo: Jamar Cromwell, Unsplash
Research theme

Learning from disasters

Project type

Internship research

Project status

In progress

This internship will research and identify any existing gaps and explore opportunities to implement learnings from the LA fires to prevent similar catastrophic and costly fires in the future.  

Research team
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Anna Durkin
Student
Project details

The January 2025 fires in Los Angeles (LA), were one of the most expensive natural hazards in history. 

These fires occurred in the middle of winter, outside the regular fire season and were driven by extreme conditions, particularly winds, that drove fires into the suburbs of LA. 

Perth’s rural-urban interface shares some similar characteristics with LA, including climate, topography and urban development. Western Australia's Department of Fire and Emergency Services partnered with Natural Hazards Research Australia and APR.Intern to create an internship position with the aim of understanding whether lessons from the January 2025 LA fires could apply to the Perth hinterland and connecting urban areas.