References
Surviving the Australian Black Summer bushfires: a veterinary perspective
Abstract
The Australian summer of 2019–2020 has become known as ‘the Black Summer’. The fires burned an estimated 186 000 km2; destroyed over 5900 buildings and killed at least 34 people. Nearly 80% of Australians were affected either directly or indirectly by the Black Summer bushfires. One of the lessons from this disaster is that everyone at risk has a responsibility to manage their own response to an emergency, there are simply not enough resources to be able to defend every house and every community. Prior preparation enables a community level response to an emergency that can improve outcomes in a disaster situation.
This article provides an insight into the Black Summer fires from two different veterinary viewpoints, a practice partner whose hospitals came under direct fire threat, and a veterinarian volunteer firefighter who fought these fires on the frontline. The lessons learned from these unprecedented fires are applicable to all veterinarians. In a world where natural disasters are becoming the new norm, preparedness is the key to successfully managing these challenges.
Bushfires are not new in Australia, the landscape is designed to burn. It is something Australians have learned to live with, but as the climate changes and fires become more ferocious and more uncontrollable — it has highlighted a disconnect between the general public's expectations for fire management and what is actually possible.
The sheer scale of the 2020 Black Summer fires illustrated that there are simply not enough resources to be able to defend every house and every community. Large-scale fires in themselves are essentially unstoppable. All emergency services can do in these situations is to protect life and limit damage. In the past there has been a community expectation that in the face of a disaster the emergency services will manage the risk. In the ‘new norm’ this simply is not possible.
The Bega Valley is a dairy area located on the far South Coast of New South Wales between Sydney and Melbourne. Bega and Cobargo Veterinary Hospital is a 10-veterinary surgeon mixed practice. The main veterinary hospital is in Bega and a smaller branch practice in Cobargo.
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