8ushres

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WhaL ls a 8ushre?
A bushre ls Lhe burnlng of bush, foresL or
woodland area.
unless bushres are qulckly conLrolled, Lhey can
become large, spreadlng Lo aecL foresLs, wlldllfe,
crops, houses and human llfe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IueWTSysSVo
1ypes of 8ushres
1) Surface 8ushres: burn ln grass, low shrubs and ground
lluer.
2) Crown 8ushres: occur when heaL and ames from a
surface re lgnlLe (llghLs) Lhe crowns of Lrees. (1he crowns
of Lrees are Lhe branches and leaves aL Lhe Lop). Crown res
spread rapldly (qulckly) lf Lhere are sLrong, hoL wlnds and
very dry vegeLauon.
WhllsL surface bushres are fasL movlng and generally pass ln 3
Lo 10 seconds, crown bushres are usually slower and generaLe a
hlgher heaL ouLpuL. 1hls means Lhey pass ln 2 Lo 3 mlnuLes, buL
Lhey can lasL for days.
2011: WesLern AusLralla & vlcLorla (Clppsland).
2009: vlcLorla - was named 8lack SaLurday" - 173
people dled.
1983: SouLh AusLralla and vlcLorla - clalmed 76 llves
and was deslgnaLed as Ash Wednesday".
1969: SouLhern vlcLorla - 23 people passed away.
1968: new SouLh Wales (8lue MounLalns and coasLal
reglon). 14 llves were Laken durlng Lhls re.
1967: PobarL and SouLhern 1asmanla, whlch le 62
dead.
1939: vlcLorla - was named 8lack lrlday". lL Look 71
llves.
asL 8ushres ln AusLralla
llre Seasons across AusLralla
8ushre 8lsk Map
Bushfires tend
to occur in
areas where
major forests
are around.
Where do bushres occur?
! 1he map shows LhaL bushres are llkely Lo occur ln souLh-
easLern AusLralla. Why?
! Largely covered wlLh vegeLauon
! Long perlods of below-average ralnfall and droughL (el nlno)
! PeaL-waves occur ln Lhese areas of AusLralla (e.g. 8ushres ln
vlcLorla, 2009)
8eneclal uses of 8ushres
! 1he eecLs of bushres are noL all harmful Lo Lhe envlronmenL, as
re generaLes regrowLh and new llfe.
! ln some eucalypL specles, re ls an essenual parL of Lhe llfe cycle.
lor Lhese planLs, re spllLs open seed pods, allowlng Lhem Lo
develop.
! llre also encourages Lhe growLh of new grassland planLs.
! lndlgenous AusLrallans have long used re as a land managemenL
Lool and lL conunues Lo be used Lo clear land for agrlculLural
purposes.
! Aborlglnal people also used res Lo regeneraLe growLh of planLs
Lhey used for food.
8ushres can occur naLurally.
key facLors aecung bushres lnclude:
luel: AnyLhlng LhaL burns ls fuel for Lhe re: lluer on Lhe
ground, undergrowLh, oLher vegeLauon, sLrucLures (such
as houses) eLc.
WeaLher: lf weaLher ls hoL and dry, lL ls more llkely for a
bushre Lo sLarL and spread. SLrong wlnds decrease Lhe
amounL of molsLure ln Lhe alr (known as Lhe level of
humldlLy), and ln Lurn cause a bushre Lo spread fasLer.
1opography/slope: 1he Lopography of Lhe land aecLs
Lhe characLerlsucs of a bushre, wlLh re more llkely Lo
spread fasLer when movlng uphlll.
WhaL causes bushres?
Many bushres are caused by human acuvlues.
1hls lncludes clgareues and maLches belng carelessly
Lhrown away, elecLrlclLy cables and sparks from machlnery.
Arson ls Lhe crlme of lnLenuonally llghung a re Lo
sLrucLures or wlld land areas.
llre caused by llghung
PellcopLers
carrylng waLer
Case SLudy: 8lack SaLurday
1he 8lack SaLurday bushres were a number
of bushres LhaL sLarLed or spread across
vlcLorla on and around SaLurday 7, lebruary
2009. 1he res occurred durlng exLreme
bushre-weaLher condluons, resulung ln Lhe
hlghesL loss of llfe from a bushre ever
recorded ln AusLralla. 173 people dled and a
furLher 414 were ln[ured durlng Lhe 8lack
SaLurday bushres.
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8lack SaLurday (conL'd)
1he res compleLely
desLroyed over 3,300
sLrucLures (lncludlng
more Lhan 2,000
houses), wlLh
Lhousands more
damaged. lL ls belleved
LhaL Lhe ma[orlLy of
Lhe res were
dellberaLely llL or
lgnlLed by fallen or
clashlng power llnes.
CLher suspecLed
causes lnclude
llghLnlng, clgareue
buus, and sparks from
power Lools.
8lack SaLurday (conL'd)
MosL of Lhe res lgnlLed and spread on a day of some of Lhe worsL
bushre-weaLher condluons ever recorded ln AusLralla- wlLh
LemperaLures ln Lhe mld Lo hlgh 40s (C, approx.) and wlnd speeds over
100 km per hour. 1he sLrong wlnds fanned res over large areas,
creaung muluple large resLorms and pyrocumulus sysLems (re
clouds). 1hls occurred prlmarlly ln Lhe area norLh-easL of Melbourne,
where one resLorm caused 120 of Lhe 173 deaLhs.
A cool change hlL Lhe sLaLe ln Lhe early evenlng, brlnglng wlLh lL gale-
force souLh-wesLerly wlnds over 120 km per hour. 1he change ln wlnd
dlrecuon caused Lhe long easLern edges of Lhe res Lo become masslve
re fronLs LhaL burned wlLh lncredlble speed and feroclLy back Lowards
Lowns LhaL had earller escaped Lhe res.
llreghung MeLhods
ln addluon Lo Lhe large waLer-spraylng Lrucks commonly used ln
urban reghung, bushre servlces oen own or lease alrcra llke
re hellcopLers, LhaL can douse areas lnaccesslble Lo ground crews.
Powever, large res are oen of such a slze LhaL lL ls noL posslble Lo
douse Lhe whole re dlrecLly, and Lherefore alLernauve meLhods are
used.
1hls usually lnvolves conLrolllng Lhe area of where a re can spread,
by clearlng 'conLrol llnes' LhaL conLaln no ammable maLerlal. 1hese
conLrol llnes are mosL oen formed by bulldozlng or backburnlng -
semng a low-lnLenslLy re Lo burn combusuble maLerlal ln a
conLalnable way.
8esearch AcuvlLy
vlslL Lhe followlng webslLe:
hup://www.ga.gov.au/hazards/bushre/bushre-
baslcs/hlsLorlc.hLml
8ead Lhrough Lhe 2009, 1983 & 1967 bushres.
8ecord Lhe name of Lhese bushres, where Lhey
occurred, Lhe weaLher condluons llsLed and Lhe
consequences (e.g. lmpacL on people and Lhelr
properLy).