The NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub webinar series presents the research projects undertaken by the Hub to assist the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, 2020. The Hub supported the inquiry by providing analysis, technical and scientific advice and recommendations to ensure the inquiry has actionable, evidence based and rigorous information.
The fifth webinar of the series is Options for bushfire risk mitigation in the future.
A key task for fire managers is understanding and quantifying both the risks posed by bushfire and the effectiveness of various options for mitigating these risks. In this session we discuss the influence of prescribed burning on the level of risk to life, property and environmental values in the lead-up to and aftermath of the 2019-20 fire season. Levels of prescribed burning in the lead-up to the season were estimated to leave considerable residual risk to most values, while the severe fire weather conditions experienced during the season sharply reduced the risk mitigation available from prescribed burning. We also find that risk in areas affected by the 2019/20 fires will have been reduced in their immediate aftermath but will rapidly increase in the next few years as fuels re-accumulate. We also discuss some current approaches to bushfire risk management research.
The session will also include concluding remarks from incoming Hub Director Associate Professor Owen Price.
Presenters: Dr Hamish Clarke (University of Wollongong), Associate Professor Trent Penman (University of Melbourne), Associate Professor Owen Price (University of Wollongong).
