After ‘Black Saturday’: Adapting to Bushfires in a Changing Climate

Abstract

On Saturday, 7 February 2009, 173 people lost their lives and 2,133 houses were destroyed by bushfires in the Australian State of Victoria (Figure 8.1; Teague et al., 2010). Fires burned under the most severe fire weather conditions experienced for more than one hundred years, with a record high maximum temperature of 46.4 °C in Melbourne, record low relative humidity and strong winds throughout the State (Karoly, 2009; National Climate Centre, 2009). The scale of life and property loss has raised fundamental questions about bushfire management and community safety in Victoria and throughout Australia. These include questions about Australia's ‘prepare, stay and defend or leave early’ policy, the adequacy of warning systems, the preparedness and responses of residents, fire authorities and other emergency services and the land-use planning system that manages development in high-fire-risk areas. These and other issues were investigated by the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, which handed down sixty-seven recommendations in its final report to the Victorian Government in July 2010 (Teague et al., 2010). Although the Commission heard evidence of the increased likelihood of extreme fire weather conditions because of climate change, none of its recommendations explicitly address climate change and its associated risks. This chapter explores the environmental and human dimensions of the ‘Black Saturday’ bushfire disaster of 7 February 2009. It discusses factors influencing the severity of the fires, the vulnerability of people and property and changes to bushfire policy and management following the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. The chapter concludes with a brief reflection on the prospects for adapting to bushfires in a changing climate.