A Geography resource for Australian students Acknowledgements The publishers would like to thank the following people and Country Fire Authority organisations for supplying source information, for permission to use 8 Lakeside Drive copyright material or for supplying photographs, images and data: Burwood East, VIC 3151 AAP (Julian Smith) figure 5.9; ABC TV: figure 1.19; Jacqueline Brooks: Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc. Contents figure 3.15; Bureau of Meteorology: figure 3.27, 3.29, 3.30, Derek Reg. No: A 003 050 SZ Chong, University of Melbourne: figure 3.32; CFA: Figures 1.1, 1.2, P.O. Box 2066 Camberwell West, 3124 1.3, 1.9, 1.12, 1.13, 1.14, 1.23, 2.11, 2.15, 3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, Introduction 5 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.13, 3.14, 3.17, 3.18, 3.19, 3.21, 3.33, 4.3, 4.8, 4.11, First edition published by the Country Fire Authority and Geography 5.2, 5.5, 5.11; 5.12, 5.13, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.6, 7.8, 7.9, Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc, 2012 7.10; Department of Sustainability: Figures 1.11, 2.13, 2.14, 3.4, 3.39, ISBN 978187670320 Chapter 1 What is a bushfire? 8 4.6, 4.7 (Jarrod Lyon), 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 5.7, 7.1, 7.5, 7.7, Geography What is fire? 9 Teachers’ Association of Victoria: figure 3.23, Getty Images: figure Copyright © Country Fire Authority and Geography Teachers’ 5.10; Neil Grant: figure 5.1, 5.4; Greenpeace: figure 1.16; IFAW: figure Association of Victoria Inc. How do bushfires burn? 12 4.10 (M Fillinger); Keeper of Public Records, Public Record Office Victoria, Australia: figure 3.28; 3.31,3.36, 3.37, 3.38, Jason Lewis/ All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright Fire intensity 13 Expedition 360: figure 2.10; John O’Neill: figure 4.1; MODIS Rapid reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored Extinguishing fires 14 Response Project at NASA/GSFC: figure 3.16; Judy Mraz: figure 4.5; in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form NASA Earth Observations (NEO): figure 2.1; National Library Australia: or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or Types of bushfires 16 figure 2.3; Newspix: figure 5.6; Reuters: Figure 1.8, 5.3; Romsey otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher of How do bushfires start? 18 Australia http://home.iprimus.com.au/foo7/firesum.html: figure 2.18; this book. Serrat Winery Yarra Valley: figure 5.8; Shutterstock: figures 1.18, 2.9, How do bushfires spread? 20 4.9, Johannes Smit as published in Australian Geographic : figure Project Managers: David Williams, CFA; 3.20; State Library Victoria: figure 2.4; State of Victoria, Department of Judy Mraz, Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria Activities 21 Primary Industries: figure 2.16. Authors: Jill Price, Judy Mraz and Neil Grant Editor: Judy Mraz Chapter 2 Where and when do bushfires occur? 26 Proofreader: Neil Grant Disclaimer Text and cover design and typesetting: Sandra Nobes Introduction 26 Illustrations: Geoff Kelly; Simon Kwok, Infographics Every effort has been made to trace ownership of copyright material. How has fire been used in the Australian environment? 28 Mapping: Teena Speirs CFA; Simon Kwok, Infographics Information that will enable the publisher to rectify any error or Permissions and copyright: Kelli Ashton Where and how often do bushfires occur in Australia? 30 omission will be welcome. Please contact the publisher. Why does Australia experience bushfire? 30 Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc. (GTAV) makes this information and material available on Fire in the Victorian landscape 32 the understanding that you take reasonable care when using it. If you Increased bushfire threat 33 are uncertain about the application of the information to your particular circumstances, obtain further professional advice. CFA and GTAV do Activities 36 not accept responsibility for how you apply, interpret or rely on the information provided. CFA and GTAV accept no responsibility for any Chapter 3 How do bushfires behave? 40 loss or damage resulting from your use of the information, whether due to unintended inaccuracy, error or omission, or any other cause. Introduction 40 This is a Free for Education resource. Permission is granted to Fire intensity 40 schools and other educational institutions to freely copy and use What factors affect bushfire behavior? 40 resources for educational purposes, but permission is not given for the resources to be modified and shared. Activities 50 Case Study: Black Saturday bushfire weather 53 To reprint any part of this material for any other use, permission must be obtained from the publishers. Activities 62 Chapter 4 What are the impacts of fire on the natural environment? 65 Introduction 65 Vegetation 66 Animals 68 Soil and water 70 How does the environment respond to fire? 71 How do people help restore the environment? 73 Case Study: Alpine Fires 73 Activities 76 Chapter 5 What are the impacts of bushfires on people? 78 Introduction 78 Major Victorian bushfires 78 Why do people die in bushfires 81 Why do bushfires burn houses? 83 Introduction What are the community costs of bushfire? 83 The myths and realities of bushfires 86 Activities 90 Fire has been a part of the Australian environment for a long time, with early explorers noting the bushfires burning across the landscape. Fire has shaped the vegetation types Chapter 6 How do people respond to bushfire? 92 in Australia and has had an impact on human societies, beginning with Indigenous Introduction 92 Australians and continuing through European settlement. The majority of Australians live Preparing the home and property for bushfire 93 in coastal and urban areas and have little experience of bushfire. This includes those Developing a Bushfire Survival Plan 94 living on the rural-urban fringe—a place where bushfire can have deadly consequences. Alert messages and Warnings 94 An effective fire management strategy, supported by ancillary services and trained Leave Early 94 volunteers, can succeed in minimising the loss of life and property in a bushfire crisis. In Community action 97 Australia, a strategy has been developed where people are informed about the ways to prepare for bushfire, how to take precautionary action and how to respond in a manner The role of firefighting and other agencies 97 that reduces the impact of a bushfire event. Working together 98 This resource has been written and developed for Geography teachers and students at Chapter 7 Putting it all together: Boambilly fires the lower secondary level. It provides an understanding of bushfire, increasing the Introduction 99 awareness about the threat of these events to people and places. As people live and seek recreation in areas prone to bushfire, it is important that students become aware of Glossary 109 the actions that can be taken to prepare for a bushfire, and reduce the damage and impact of such an event. Curriculum Links This resource uses the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) curriculum in the Humanities (Geography) Domain as a basis of development. The Humanities in Prep to Year 10 involve the study of human societies and environments, people and their cultures in the past and the present. Geography is the study of physical and human environments from a spatial perspective. It provides students with the knowledge and skills to observe and describe places on the surface of the Earth and to analyse and provide explanations from a spatial perspective of human and physical phenomena and their complex interactions. 5 VELS Geography Level 5 Knowledge and skills Students: n use a variety of geographic tools and skills, together with an inquiry-based approach, to investigate the characteristics of the regions of Australia n explore how and why, over time, human and physical interactions produce changes to the characteristics of regions n extend their knowledge and understanding of physical phenomena, including natural hazards, and of the physical processes that produce them n identify patterns of distribution and occurrence of major physical features and their interrelationship with human activities n apply their knowledge and understanding of scale, grid references, legend and direction to use large-scale maps (such as topographic maps), as sources of spatial information, as well as other spatial representations n research and analyse photographs, maps, satellite images and text from electronic media and add these to their presentations n learn to draw overlay theme maps n recognise that parts of the Earth’s surface can be represented in various ways, at different scales, and from different perspectives on a range of maps, photographs and satellite images. Level 6 Knowledge and skills Students: n develop knowledge about the operation of one of the major natural systems that are part of the biosphere and atmosphere. For example, the hydrologic cycle, plate tectonics or the weather n investigate the interaction of human activities with the natural environment n develop skills to evaluate the factors contributing to the development of these issues, identify strategies to address them and explore ways of managing them n accurately interpret information on different types of maps and photographs at a range of scales, and use map evidence to support explanations, draw inferences and predict associated outcomes. 6 Bushfires Figure 1.1: A bushfi re can have major impacts on natural and human environments What is a What is fire? bushfire? Combustion Fire is a high temperature, chemical c1 reaction which releases energy as heat Fire is a natural part of our environment.