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[Zephera]

As for global warming...That one is a bit trickier. Some places are reporting that on average there has been more rainfall in australia for the past 20 some odd years, not less. This doesnt mean things arent going through a dry spell currently. The biggest point I seen being made is activist groups who are pro environmentalism seeking (and being successful) in reducing controlled burns prior to this. This is a problem if you do live in places where dry brush and other combustibles can gather. Again pointing to California, a lot of the bigger fires that have happened in the past 10-20 years have been because the state stopped doing controlled burns and clearing brush under progressive environmental legislation and decision making at a local level. So when a fire does occur, it gets out of control very quickly.

This is unfortunately a bit of misinformation here though there is a kernel of truth. Major environmental activist groups in Australia including the Greens political party support hazard reduction burns in order to prevent massive inferno's like this from happening because the inferno is several times more devastating to the environment than a little bit of carefully monitored burns. It's not like these environmental groups or political parties hold much influence over policy anyway. The Greens only hold a single seat in the federal government, far from anywhere close to a majority.

The truth part is that yeah, we have had less hazard reduction burns though, largely because it has been unsafe to do so. You can't do hazard reduction burns if the weather isn't right or they can spiral out of control and become a real bushfire that destroys homes as one did in the state of Victoria a few years back. Generally, hazard reduction burns are unsafe to do when conditions are too hot, dry or windy to ensure the fire can be controlled.

If there was a good opportunity to do hazard reduction burns then they would have been done as every state and territory in Australia allows controlled burns when conditions are safe to do so.