EMHS 6063_ Case Study

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6063

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Geography

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Case Study: 2019-2020 Australian Wildfires

Introduction: The summer of 2019-2020 is also known as the “Black Summer” for Australia. The bushfire season of 2019-2020 was one to remember as it spanned over June of 2019 into May of 2020. Bushfires are a very common natural event that happens in some of the world’s driest climates, however sometimes they can join and form mega bushfire events. This rapid series of mega bushfires during Black Summer caused insurmountable damage all over the continent. The fires scorched more than 20 million hectares. While almost all of Australia was on fire most of the damage occurred in New South Wales. This insurgence of bushfires made headlines in international news and was a grave concern for the government bodies in Australia. There were massive evacuation efforts, fire mitigation, and post-disaster response that were unrivaled to those of previous brush fire years. Reason for choosing topic: I wanted to choose the Black Summer for my case study because I found it to be one of the most interesting international cases that happened. I find wildfires to be some of the most interesting natural disasters that occur because of how unpredictable they can be and what a unique problem they pose to emergency managers and communities alike. With the extent of this mega bushfire and the length of it I think it poses a great case study in terms of how long-term management, evacuation plans, and fire mitigation work in preventing loss of life or property. I also think this will be a good case study for the ecological impacts and how emergency managers need to recover during severe ecological damage events. I hope to learn through this case study how much the role of emergency management plays in wildfires. As well as how much preparedness and mitigation impacts the way that a fire is managed. I hope to learn as well what

steps could have gone better in Black Summer and where emergency or government officials failed. Impacts: The Australian 2019-2020 mega bush fires were classified as an ecological disaster. At least 1 billion vertebrates died (Filkov et al., 2020). 92 total vertebrate animal species suffer from fire overlap, in the study conducted, with 78 of those species being considered threatened (Legge et al., 2022, p. 579). This fire impacted many species, but some of those most affected are short range vertebrate species who home ranges were significant impacted by the fire overlap: “... the loss of the only known population of one short- range host-specific species” (Legge et al., 2022, p. 580). The bushfires burned over eighteen million hectares, over three thousand houses, and thirty-three people lost their lives in 2019-2020 (Filkov et al., 2020). The impact from the bushfires was more than the destruction of the flames, the smoke from the fires caused significant damage as well. The smoke from these fires was linked with incredible human harm: “ 417 excess deaths, 1,124 hospitalisations for cardiovascular problems and 2027 for respiratory problems, and 1305 presentations to emergency departments with asthma” (Felkov et al. 2020, p.340). The economy of Australia was also heavily impacted with an estimated set back of up to $40 billion. Stakeholders Involved: The bushfires of Australia did not spare anyone in becoming an active stakeholder in what was occurring. Groups impacted include all public and private sectors. Some of the stakeholders involved in the recovery and response process include: Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery, NSW Rural Fire Service, South Australia Country Fire Service, Country Fire Association of Victoria, WWF-Australia, Environment Minister.

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