Almost seven million Australians are living in areas on the outskirts of major cities that are most exposed to deadly wildfires, a new report has found.
The report, published on Tuesday by NGOs Climate Council and Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (ELCA), warned that Australia is increasingly at risk of an urban fire event similar to the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
It found that the urban fringes of major cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra share characteristics that made the Los Angeles fires so destructive.
According to the report, the number of Australians living in the outer suburbs of major cities has increased by 65.5 per cent since 2001 to more than 6.9 million, and up to 90 per cent of Australian homes in high-risk fire zones were built before modern bushfire-resilient standards were introduced, Xinhua news agency reported.
The report cited previous research showing that 10 per cent of all fires cause 78 per cent of fatalities, with most occurring in suburbs where flammable terrain meets urban areas.
Greg Mullins, founder of ELCA and former fire commissioner of New South Wales, said in a statement that nearly every Australian city has a “dangerous mix” of preconditions for severe fires similar to those seen in Los Angeles, including the likelihood of extreme dry periods, strong winds and a history of destructive fires.
“Our analysis shows that Australian cities increasingly face the potential for catastrophic fires like the ones in LA,” he said.
“Climate pollution is now worsening fire weather conditions to the point that fires can sometimes be beyond the limits of modern firefighting and prevention capabilities.”
In addition to reducing climate pollution, the report called for emergency services and land management capacity at the urban fringe to be strengthened as a priority.
— IANS
