02 September 2009

Australian Bushfire Activity: 8-18 August 2009

Below is the latest 10-day composite hotspot maps for Australia extracted from the NASA MODIS Rapid Response Global fire mapper.

The most recent data indicate that as a whole, Australia is experiencing relatively mild bushfire conditions compared to the last year (follow link above and click on appropriate date) or two years ago. During those years, considerably more fire activity was evident, particularly in the NT.

Some activity is noted in the Top End and along Cape York Peninsula. A few fires are also indicated in the Pilbara in northwestern WA with some isolated hotspots seen further south in the Victoria desert. None of these episodes appears particularly severe or extreme. The northern parts of the continent should be coming into the most active portion of their fire season now, so the potential remains high for future activity in the coming weeks.

Nationally, the most unusual areas of fire activity is currently found along the NSW south coast. The RFS incidents page indicates that crews used today's milder weather to strengthen containment lines and bring the fires under control.

No comments: