Tasmania fires: First images of World Heritage Area devastation emerge, show signs of 'system collapse'
'This is what climate change looks like', fire ecologist says
Fire ecologist David Bowman said the fires burning in Tasmania were a sign of climate change.
"This is bigger than us. This is what climate change looks like, this is what scientists have been telling people, this is system collapse."
Professor Bowman said it was a difficult situation for firefighters.
"You can't expect emergency services to just be able to do magic," he said.
"If you're dealing with fires on such an immense scale geographically, in such hostile terrain and burning in the ground, you have to prioritise.
"Budgets will be stretched and more money is needed."
Tasmanian Senator Nick McKim argued federal and state governments had ignored the science.
"Warnings have been given by the conservation movement that climate change is showing that there's going to be an increase in dry lightning strikes," Senator McKim said.
"This has been foreseeable, unfortunately, and yet we saw quite a lag time between those fires starting on the 13th of January and resources being thrown at them."
The head of the Tasmania Fire Service, Chief Officer Gavin Freeman, disagrees.
"We have absolute support from the State Government to get whatever resources we need and our interstate colleagues have offered whatever resources we need," he said.
"More resources, right at the moment, is not going to help us much, because trying to get into those areas, particularly when we have a day like today where visibility is poor and we can't fly people in, more resources
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-30/fire-ravages-world-heritage-area-tasmania-...