Arson or not, it is generally accepted that some of the fires were started by lightning strikes.
Its worth noting the record high temperatures in the region over recent days - up to forty seven degrees, which certainly boggles my mind just imagining. My hot water system doesn't go far above that temperature.
I've heard reports of mobile phone footage of railway sleepers spontaneously combusting in the heat .
Of course hate-TV scandalising about arson appeals to the network 'news' departments more than examination of the deeper causes. Arson has been a seasonal constant. The real question is why recent fires such as in Canberra a few years ago and in Victoria a few days ago have been so unprecedentedly severe - breaking the 'rules' as geographers and disaster managers had understood them.
What impact has human activity had on these processes and what adjustments to human activity are required, including adaptation to new conditions. (And what barriers exist to such adjustments being made)
-AA.
-- Ambrose Andrews LPO box 8274 ANU Acton ACT 0200 Australia http://www.vrvl.net/~ambrose/ mailto:ambrose at vrvl.net home:+61_262305976 work:+61_261256749 mobile:+61_415544621 irc:{undernet|freenode|oftc}:znalo xmpp:ambrose at jabber.fsfe.org sip:znalo at ekiga.net CE38 8B79 C0A7 DF4A 4F54 E352 2647 19A1 DB3B F823 556A 6D19 0904 827C 9DB8 3697 32D0 1E11 403F 2BE1