Firefighters in Europe and around the world are encountering wildfires of a new intensity -- extreme weather events scientists have linked to human-made climate change.For Australians, such fires are all too familiar. The country has long been prone to brutal wildfires -- notably the "Black Summer" bushfires from late 2019 to early 2020, which razed millions of hectares, destroyed thousands of homes and blanketed cities in noxious smoke.
A kangaroo jumps in a field amidst smoke from a bushfire in Snowy Valley on the outskirts of Cooma on January 4, 2020 © SAEED KHAN / AFP/File
Here's what experts in Australia think the world can learn from the country's long experience fighting bushfires on a vast, dry continent.Be preparedFor Australia's firefighters, the key is to prepare and try to prevent or reduce the risk of a catastrophic blaze.Fires are uncontrollable when they exceed the firefighters' ability to "put the wet stuff onto the red stuff fast enough to put them out", bushfire consultant Roger Fenwick told AFP.
A water bombing helicoptor battles bushfires near the town of Bumbalong south of Canberra on February 1, 2020 © PETER PARKS / AFP/File
Carrying out controlled fires on a regular basis ensures that when the big one comes, its spread is contained."You have to do hazard reduction burning to get the fuel level down, so that the fire cannot develop an intensity beyond what we are capable of dealing with," Fenwick says.Besides controlled burning of bushland, that work can also involve clearing undergrowth with machines or even by hand.While this does not prevent fires, it can dramatically reduce the risk of a catastrophic blaze.
