The full extent of devastation following the recent bushfires in Tasmania is becoming clear. This is what our worried researchers found when it was finally safe enough to visit TERN’s highly instrumented, long-term ecological research site in the Huon Valley. The site burnt and infrastructure was destroyed but the event has offered up a great […]
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By Dr. Michael Shawn Fletcher Senior Lecturer School of Geography University of Melbourne The hype over the fire crisis and the role that climate change has played masks an awkward truth: the myth of wilderness is as much a threat as climate change when it comes to large and uncontrollable wildfires. Like the Kakadu National […]
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By Prof. David Bowman The widespread rains that fell on 7 February and subsequent cooler weather hopefully will alleviate the 2019 Tasmanian fire crisis. It is timely to take stock of this event and consider what bushfires ignited by massive dry lightning storms means for fire management of the Tasmanian landscapes, including the Tasmania Wilderness […]
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Dr Crystal A. Kolden Associate Professor of Fire Science University of Idaho Fire Centre Visiting Scholar Let me be upfront — I’m only a guest here in Tasmania. I’m a fire scientist of 20-plus years from the United States, and currently associate professor at the University of Idaho. I started out my career as a […]
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David Bowman Director — Fire Centre Research Hub Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science University of Tasmania No one could have predicted the current fire crisis. The vast areas burnt and under threat of being burnt by numerous bushfires are the result of a complex mix of climate factors, each on their own quite ordinary, […]
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30 January 2019 Fay Johnston, Associate Professor at the Menzies Institute and Fire Centre contributing researcher speaks with ABC Hobart’s Ryk Goddard this morning about the health risks from smoke exposure. While healthy people can handle moderate exposure to smoky air, people at risk, namely the elderly, young children, and those with underlying health conditions, […]
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28 January 2019 Fire Centre Director Prof. David Bowman speaks with ABC Hobart’s Ryk Goddard to give an update on the wilderness fires and the status of fire sensitive vegetation in Tasmania’s alpine areas given the current threat from out of control wildfires. While sensitive vegetation remains mostly in-tact there are some important conversations […]
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Over 50 Fires are currently burning uncontrollably around Tasmania. Over the holiday weekend 23-27 January, a statewide fire ban will be declared. High winds and hot temperatures on Friday may create potentially dangerous blow-up conditions. For residents of Tasmania who live in bushfire-prone areas, it is important to regularly check the Tasmania Fire Service Alerts […]
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