Almost 7 million Australians living in areas most exposed to deadly wildfires: Report

Sydney: Almost 7 million Australians are living in areas on the outskirts of major cities that are most exposed to deadly wildfires, a report has found.

The report, which was published on Tuesday by NGOs the 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 (LA) wildfires.

It found that the urban fringe on the outskirts of the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra shares characteristics that made the LA 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 over 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.

It cited previous research that found 10 per cent of all fires cause 78 per cent of fatalities, with most occurring in suburbs where flammable terrain meets cities.

Greg Mullins, the founder of ELCA and former fire commissioner in the state of New South Wales, said in a statement that nearly every Australian city has a ‘dangerous mix’ of preconditions for dangerous fires like LA, including the possibility of extreme dry periods, severe 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 cutting climate pollution, the report called for emergency service and land management capacity at the urban fringe to be increased as a priority.

IANS