Shazbaz
Bulldozers? Army back burning? More Brute Force and Ignorance (BFI)! Arguably that is part of the problem that’s got us into this mess.
That might be so disastrous on open or flat land but in gullies, Steep slopes, and heavily forested areas. Over 12 years I’ve watched a slope being eroded away into deep channels where only weeds grow now. The clay has clogged what was a creek at the bottom. (Previously a farmer down stream reliable water source for his cows.) All because the Electricity Company bulldozed a fire break on the slope.
These scraped clear areas create the “edge effect” a greater area for weed infestation.

There is clear research that shows that wide scale hot and cold burning decreases native biodiversity.
• If cold burnt too often then many native species can't recover enough between fires and will die out. Fire destroys ground load seeds too regular fires denude areas of this natural larder.
• Introduced weeds are opportunistic and generate faster than many understorey native species and tend to take over eg Lantana and blackberries et al. Some actively poison the ground against native competitors.
• This weed proliferation causes greater burnable vegetation mass creating the need for more burning.
• This cycle also denudes our forest soils of nutriments from already low nutriment soils much of our naturally forested areas if cleared needs fertilizers to grow crops. Australian natives have evolved to survive in this poor environment. Weeds unfortunately do too.

The issue of fire suppression or more sensibly forest/fire management need a lot more research, money to do the on ground work and effort from people who live in or near bush.
It is the height of naivety to correlate aboriginal fire stick farming with what is required today weeds, proximity to housing; changed conditions etc make for a very much more complex issue.
.The author is right it needs more involvement and personal preparation for the inevitable.
BTW I’m neither against burn-offs or a greenie just that there are no quick fixes or one size fits all solutions

Well argued, Roger, particularly your statement;
"the second requirement is for the owner-occupiers of land to
realise that they own the fuel and thus the fire that burns that fuel. Their primary responsibility is to ensure their own, and their neighbours’ bushfire safety. To sit back, do nothing and rely on the men and women in the yellow overalls to turn up in their tanker, is little more than civic irresponsibility."

Not only irresponsibility - downright thoughtlessness!
I'm reminded of the old saying: "if you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen!"
If anyone wants to live in or near the bush, for goodness sake TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for your choice, and accept that you are just one creature living in a continent formed over millions of years. If you choose to live here, accept the facts of your environment - work with what exists, don't try to change it!

To name it as Irresponsible and thoughtless is a bit of a travesty, and a bit like applying a wet lettuce leaf smack over the wrist approach.
I think it is about time the responsibility of Government and its agencies – Greens, etc are now personally held accountable for this act of Aiding and abetting the commission of the Act of Murder by default.
They not only facilitate the Murder of Humans and the destruction of property on a scale not seen outside of a World War , they Mass murder in their hundreds of thousands, many species of wild life , and done in the name of Environmental ambitions.
Just as well those pigs could fly , or they would be dead too.

What has happened is not a disaster , it is a massive crime.

If there are trees near your house and a bush fire is approaching
then it would be a good idea to burn the trees one by one before the bushfire gets there.
A house that can survive heat from one burning tree at a time may well
be destroyed by the heat from 10 nearby burning trees.
Burn any grass near the house.Watch it burn AWAY from the house to leave a safe area.

The website I administer has attracted a considerable number of visitors and articles concerning the Victorian bush fires. They concern the conservation and land-use planning implications of the bush fires. They pose questions about what are the best long-term solutions to the problem and challenge many mainstream views about the bush fires. The articles can be found at http://candobetter.org/VictorianFires2009

Comments there or here are welcome.

(Cross-posted to http://larvatusprodeo.net/2009/02/13/more-fire-updates/#comment-635151 http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=8547&page=1#135073)

People seem to forget that aboriginal people had no assets to worry about losing when they set fires. Ill bet they set plenty at bad times that affected or even killed neighboring tribes. How many times have we seen "backburn gone wrong" stories? Who is going to pay for all this hazard reduction burning? Who will compensate the hayfever and asthma sufferers? What will you lot say when the skies are perpetually hazy and the smell of smoke lingers for months and months?

Numerous previous inquiries following fires have all come to the same conclusions and I doubt this one will be any different. It will find that the majority of deaths were from people in cars who saw the flames then decided to run way too late. The houses that burned will be found to have been abandoned while those that survived had residents present and actively suppressing spot fires.

The conclusions will be the same as all the other inquiries. i.e. If your leaving, leave early, long before you see flames or even smoke. If you see the fire and decide to run you are probably going to die. If you stay be prepared to hide while the fire front passes and then get out and extinguish spotfires. Longstanding and successful wisdom that country people would be wise to take heed of.