Kelly
19-08-2009, 07:41 PM
Up to a third of Queensland is at risk from severe bushfires in what is expected to be the state's worst season in five years.
Queensland Fire Commissioner Lee Johnson yesterday warned that good rain earlier this year had created extra vegetation to fuel fires, putting thousands of residents in danger.
The at risk area covers a swath of country just off the coast as well as through the middle of Queensland, running down from the Gulf.
It takes in Barcaldine and Roma to the west, Charters Towers and Pentland in the north, as well as the Shoalwater Bay area to Gladstone and south to the Darling Downs.
The Commissioner's dire warning follows the release of a report into Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires, which swept through large parts of the state in late January and February.
He said lessons should be learnt from the tragedy, with fire authorities needing to lift their game.
"The job of communicating is something that we need to redouble our efforts in," he said. "It is difficult sometimes to attract people's attention and focus in a busy world."
Queensland's "stay or go" policy will be reviewed in the light of the report, which recommended the safest option in a fire is to leave as soon as possible.
Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said under Queensland's disaster management plan families could be forcibly removed from their homes.
He said Queensland was trialling warning sirens and working with other states and territories on a phone based automatic warning system.
"This report will require careful consideration and analysis," Mr Roberts said.
"My department is already reviewing its content and, in particular, assessing the relevance of the recommendations to Queensland."
Australian Centre for Disaster Studies senior researcher Dr Douglas Goudie, of James Cook University in Townsville, said it was a shame it had taken such a tragedy for authorities to properly address the bushfire threat.
Precautions are already being taken to control the fire risk, and hazard reduction burning is now well under way across the state, with 40ha burnt off at Brisbane's Mt Coot tha yesterday.
But Queensland Greens spokesman Drew Hutton said the process was not being carried out as well as it could be.
"There is too much backburning going on in some places and not enough in others," he said. "We need a proper scientific analysis into what's been done."
SOURCE: Couriermail (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,27574,25948942-3102,00.html)
Queensland Fire Commissioner Lee Johnson yesterday warned that good rain earlier this year had created extra vegetation to fuel fires, putting thousands of residents in danger.
The at risk area covers a swath of country just off the coast as well as through the middle of Queensland, running down from the Gulf.
It takes in Barcaldine and Roma to the west, Charters Towers and Pentland in the north, as well as the Shoalwater Bay area to Gladstone and south to the Darling Downs.
The Commissioner's dire warning follows the release of a report into Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires, which swept through large parts of the state in late January and February.
He said lessons should be learnt from the tragedy, with fire authorities needing to lift their game.
"The job of communicating is something that we need to redouble our efforts in," he said. "It is difficult sometimes to attract people's attention and focus in a busy world."
Queensland's "stay or go" policy will be reviewed in the light of the report, which recommended the safest option in a fire is to leave as soon as possible.
Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said under Queensland's disaster management plan families could be forcibly removed from their homes.
He said Queensland was trialling warning sirens and working with other states and territories on a phone based automatic warning system.
"This report will require careful consideration and analysis," Mr Roberts said.
"My department is already reviewing its content and, in particular, assessing the relevance of the recommendations to Queensland."
Australian Centre for Disaster Studies senior researcher Dr Douglas Goudie, of James Cook University in Townsville, said it was a shame it had taken such a tragedy for authorities to properly address the bushfire threat.
Precautions are already being taken to control the fire risk, and hazard reduction burning is now well under way across the state, with 40ha burnt off at Brisbane's Mt Coot tha yesterday.
But Queensland Greens spokesman Drew Hutton said the process was not being carried out as well as it could be.
"There is too much backburning going on in some places and not enough in others," he said. "We need a proper scientific analysis into what's been done."
SOURCE: Couriermail (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,27574,25948942-3102,00.html)