International experts study ways to fight wildfires

Voice of America News: Fire authorities from around the world have been meeting in Australia to learn from the devastating bush fires in the southern state of Victoria earlier this year. The affects of climate change have been a major point of discussion for international firefighting experts gathered in Sydney to look at ways to fight bushfires. Delegates from Asia, the United States and Europe attending two-day International Wildfire Management Conference see improved technology and research as weapons against wildfires around the world.

Southeast Australia is one of the most fire-prone regions anywhere and international experts have been keen to learn from the catastrophic events in the state of Victoria earlier this year. A series of blazes, many sparked by lightning strikes or by suspected arsonists, killed more than 170 people. Walls of flames powered through communities, propelled by strong winds. The fires were fed by dry conditions caused by very hot temperatures and a long drought, which many blame on climate change.

The disaster has focused attention on Australia's "stay-or-go" policy, where homeowners either fight the flames or leave their property. Some fire chiefs in California say that residents should always be encouraged to evacuate, but Naomi Brown, from the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, says installing effective early warning systems is the key.

"Evacuation also requires enough time for people to evacuate," Brown noted. "That's really the biggest issue. When there is really a big sudden fire, the time to evacuate is extremely limited and extremely dangerous. So if we can get better at giving people triggers of when to leave early, which we will work very hard on doing, then people evacuating themselves is the safest thing to do as long as it's early enough."

Fire crew working a fire line in the Grapevine Pass between Los Angeles and Bakersfield, California, in 2007, shot by Epolk, who has generously released the image into the public domain