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‘Significant concern’ over fire season as thousands of people are under emergency alert
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‘Significant concern’ over fire season as thousands of people are under emergency alert

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A catastrophic fire warning in NSW has thousands of people on alert as the country braces for hot and wet weeks ahead, leaving experts concerned about the fire risk.
The warning was issued to the state for the lower central western plains – including the regional hubs of Dubbo, Parkes and Forbes.
Parts of Australia are experiencing a wave of severe weather this week, with many regions expected to see the most intense conditions peak on Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said.
An ongoing heatwave stretching from inland to the east coast is bringing the highest November temperatures in years, including in Sydney and Brisbane, where daytime highs are expected to exceed 35 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and again on Thursday.

The sweltering, humid air also brings powerful thunderstorms, bringing an added threat of large hail, heavy rain and damaging winds in the coming days.

Hamish Clarke, a fire researcher at the University of Melbourne, told SBS News there is “significant concern” about the upcoming bushfire season for some regions this summer.
“Australia is a large and diverse country, with many different climate zones, vegetation types and land use patterns,” he said.
“A useful shortcut is seasonality: different places have the greatest fire danger at different times of the year. Another is major vegetation type: fire looks very different in grasslands, savannas and arid areas than in forests.”
He pointed to the Australian and New Zealand Fire and Emergency Services Council’s (AFAC) seasonal outlook as an indicator of locations and likelihood of fires.
Parts of eastern and western Australia are at increased risk of fire, according to the latest forecast for spring 2025.

“The Spring 2025 Outlook identifies an increased risk of fire for the Dampier Peninsula, Derby Coast and the Central Kimberley, Little Sandy Desert and the south-east Pilbara in Western Australia, the south-eastern agricultural areas of the Murraylands in South Australia, and the southern, south-west, central and south-west Gippsland regions in Victoria,” the website said.

Warning levels

If you are in an area where authorities believe there is a fire risk, you can be alerted by text message or through other channels such as radio and social media.

There are three alert levels for fires in Australia: Advice (yellow), Watch and act (orange), and Emergency warning (red).

Source: SBS news

The Australian Warning System website explains the differences in these levels, which are accompanied by triangular signs.

An Advisory Report means that a fire has started, but there is no immediate danger. Stay informed and monitor the situation.

When a Watch and Act warning applies, there is an increased threat level. Circumstances are changing and you must take action to protect yourself and your family.

An emergency alert is the highest level of alert. You are in danger and need to take immediate action. Any delay puts your life in danger.

Looking ahead to the coming fire season

Clarke said fire risk is considered “normal” in most of the country under the seasonal outlook, but that “defining normal is complicated.”
“I know from talking to fire department colleagues here in Victoria that there are significant concerns about the coming season, based in part on how dry much of the state is, even after the recent rainfall.”

Predicting and limiting the damage caused by fires is also becoming increasingly difficult due to environmental and human factors.

“Fire has been part of Australian ecosystems since long before humans emerged, but people are important factors in both increasing and reducing risk,” he said.
“For tens of thousands of years, indigenous peoples have skillfully used fire to care for the land. Unfortunately, human-induced climate change is now also a factor, making things more difficult for fire managers and communities.”
The BoM will announce its seasonal bushfire outlook for the summer of 2025-2026 on Thursday.

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