It has been 20 years since a bushfire tore through the suburbs of the capital. The event changed the way fires are responded to in the ACT, but the question still lingers — could it happen again? Warning: this story contains content that may be disressing to some readers.
It has been 20 years since a bushfire tore through the suburbs of the national capital, taking residents and authorities by surprise. The event changed the way fires are responded to in the ACT, but the question still lingers — could it happen again?Despite a soaring temperature, for lots of Canberrans, the morning of January 18, 2003, seemed like the beginning of an ordinary summer day.
On January 17, spot fires were surrounding Ballineen homestead, nestled in the Namadgi National Park. But on January 18, catastrophic fire conditions whipped the blaze into an overwhelming force of nature.The rural firefighters, park rangers and an aerial fleet of water bombers that had been battling the blaze in the bush had no choice but to pull back to safety.
"At that stage, survival was our instinct and we had to retreat to a safer point a couple of streets back."By the time many Canberrans realised what was happening, homes were already alight.WatchIn the middle of the afternoon, Canberra was blanketed by smoke.Some residents rushed back from their weekend outings to try to save their homes.Without any official advice to do so, thousands of Canberrans evacuated.
"He's a very quiet man but he came running through the house and said, 'get the kids, get everybody, and just go'. Police officers joined residents in an attempt to save properties, stymied by poor water pressure and without any protective clothing. A coronial inquest was also conducted, which recommended structural changes to the emergency services authority, greater resourcing and better fuel management.
Former ACT chief minister Jon Stanhope says he does not carry guilt over the 2003 Canberra bushfires."I did my best from day one that I became chief minister," he says. After weeks of being enveloped by smoke from fires in surrounding communities, another blaze started in Namadgi National Park — accidentally sparked by a light on a defence helicopter.
The Black Summer fires were a stark warning not just to Canberra but to the whole of Australia — fires will become harder and harder to fight due to climate change. Commissioner Whelan says there could come a day when the ACT has "insufficient resources" for the hazards and the challenges it faces. Despite the warning of more serious bushfire seasons ahead, firefighters also have more tools in their arsenal than they did 20 years ago.Artificial intelligence, in particular, is set to play a large role in fighting future fires.
"We've got better resources within the agency, we've got better aircraft, better use of intelligence gathering."WatchPine plantations on Canberra's doorstep helped to ignite homes and ease the path of the fire in 2003, but Mr"[There are] those changes that we've made to asset protection zones at edge roads, better building standards, better resources for us," he says.
Dorte Ekelund and Jeremy Lasek at a memorial erected in tribute to those affected by the 2003 fires. They lost their home."We always took the view that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, whereas other people were totally broken by it," she says.
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