Bushfires

[joeyjojo]

Hey all,

obviously there has been a lot of media coverage about bushfires recently, and rightly so with the devastation they have caused to people and wildlife.

My questions is: how badly have they impacted Adelaide and the areas around Adelaide? I know the worst of it has been predominantly around NSW, but my wife is a little concerned (as am I).

what is bushfire season like each year in SA?

TIA

[NicF]

There have been some pretty bad bush fires in the hills around Adelaide recently, although the worst fires in SA were probably those on Kangaroo Island.  A bit of a search on the ABC website would probably throw up some stories with details of the fires here.

[rammygirl]

If you can watch the tour down under you will see them riding through the hills.  You can see how lovely it still is as well as some of the destruction.  If you are planning to live in a high risk area do not underestimate the threat.  I live in a medium risk area and houses were lost just 10km away.  We have a bushfire plan, everyone should.

I love living here on the edge of a township but would not want to live on a large country property up here.

[llessur]

There have been some pretty significant fires in South Australia over the last few months - probably the most serious being the one on Kangaroo Island (somewhere in the region of half of the total area of the island has been burnt). However, South Australia has not (yet) been as badly impacted as the east coast - specifically New South Wales. It should be remembered that in Australia the threat of bushfire is real and likely to become more so as the climate warms.

That said, it is important to distinguish between metropolitan and rural areas - the risk of bushfire is generally confined to the latter with metropolitan areas not usually at direct risk (although there have been some exceptions in the past where fringe metropolitan areas have been affected - the 2003 Canberra bushfires spring to mind). The further away from rural areas you live, the less likely the threat of fire is.

The major impact to the cities such as Sydney and Adelaide has been smoke haze - this has been covered quite extensively on the news overseas. Adelaide has had a couple of days (or partial days) of noticeable smoke and the overall air quality has decreased during the fire season. Again, we have not been impacted anywhere like the extent to which Sydney has - the main impact that I have noticed other than occasional smoke has been a layer of fine black ash on outdoor surfaces, and getting black feet from walking barefoot on our floorboards.

In summary, if you're planning to move to metropolitan Adelaide you won't really have much to worry about in terms of bushfires directly impacting you (certainly not to the extent that your house would be threatened). The further away from the main metropolitan mass of Adelaide you move, the higher your risk will be - including to some of the newer suburbs down south which are bounded by open land, or even places to the north like Gawler. If you move to the Hills or a rural area such as McLaren Vale, Barrossa, Clare etc then you should absolutely be prepared for the risk of bushfire - including accepting that you may lose your home (or worse) should the risk ever eventuate. A comprehensive bushfire action plan would be essential in these circumstances.