Fire Weather
To many people, wildfire appears unpredictable or extremely difficult to understand. To predict or understand fire behaviour, you need to know how the variables of weather, fuel and topography will combine. Weather is often the most influential variable. People in charge of controlling wildfires must understand how fire may react to an alteration in the weather, such as a wind change. This is achieved through up-to-date weather reports from the Bureau of Meteorology. Most importantly, this information allows for the adoption of more efficient and safer fire control strategies.
At forest fires, plans or strategies often contain weather forecasts for two to three days ahead. Current weather information can also be used for assessing the fire danger or the risk of fires spreading. It can predict how fast a fire may spread, how high the flame heights may be and can also help to identify potential problems where firefighting resources may be needed.
Up to date information about temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction is received from strategically placed Automatic Weather Stations around the State. Knowledge of these weather conditions and other fire weather information, including the position of cold fronts, thunder storms and cloud cover, is vital for fire controllers.
The Bureau of Meteorology provides invaluable weather information useful for fire management and fire fighting.
