A new book has been published in the Bushfire Front's bushfire history series. This is Eyes in the Sky - The history of aerial fire detection in Western Australia, the story of the development of the bushfire detection system in the southwest, and of the incorporation of fire spotting aircraft into this system. It is a timely release, coming at the time when the environmentalists are trying to convince the government that replacing the current system of fire detection with a new “hi-tech” system using tower-mounted cameras and satellites will make fire suppression so rapid and easy that fuel reduction burning will no longer be needed. As the BFF demonstrates in the new book, this suggestion fails to take into account the fact that current fire detection (based on an integrated system of lookout towers, aircraft and satellites) is highly effective, relatively cheap and has been field-tested and refined and updated over decades.
There are three essential components to an efficient and cost/effective bushfire management system: (i) rapid and accurate detection and appraisal of new ignitions; (ii) maintaining an effective suppression capability; and (iii) preparation of potential firegrounds so as to minimise fire intensity, mitigate fire damage and make fires easier to control. As the BFF emphasises, removing any one of these three components is like removing one leg from a three-legged stool – it will always fall over.