7 million Australians face risk of wildfires

SYDNEY — Almost 7 million Australians are living in areas on the outskirts of major cities that are most exposed to deadly wildfires, a report has found.

The joint report, published on Tuesday by nonprofit organizations, the Climate Council and Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, or ELCA, warned that Australia is increasingly at risk of an urban fire event similar to the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

It found that the urban fringes on the outskirts of major cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra share characteristics that made the Los Angeles fires so destructive.

According to the report, the number of Australians living in the outer suburbs of major cities has increased by 65.5 percent since 2001 to over 6.9 million and up to 90 percent of Australian homes in high-risk fire zones were built before modern bush-fire-resilient standards were introduced.

It cited previous research that found 10 percent of all fires cause 78 percent of fatalities, with most occurring in suburbs.

Greg Mullins, the founder of ELCA and former fire commissioner in the state of New South Wales, said in a statement that nearly every Australian city has a "dangerous mix" of preconditions for dangerous fires like Los Angeles, including the possibility of extreme dry periods, severe winds and a history of destructive fires.

"Our analysis shows that Australian cities increasingly face the potential for catastrophic fires like the ones in LA," he said. "Climate pollution is now worsening fire weather conditions to the point that fires can sometimes be beyond the limits of modern firefighting and prevention capabilities."

In addition to cutting climate pollution, the report called for emergency service and land management capacity in the urban fringes to be increased as a priority.

Xinhua