‘Increased risk’: Firies’ bleak warning

Swathes of the country woke up this week under threat from fires and an early bushfire season as blazes raged across the Northern Territory and outside Sydney.

The Bureau of Meteorology recorded the country’s hottest ever August despite “unseasonal” heavy rains and wind battering much of the southeast.

For the heads of state and territory firefighters, the forecast presents a myriad of challenges over the coming months, from increased fuel to hot conditions.

They gathered this week in Sydney for the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council’s annual conference to strategise the year ahead.

Speaking to the media, the heads of all eight states and territories revealed what their residents should expect and how to prepare this spring....
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