Black Saturday: the immediate impact of the February 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia

Cameron, Peter; Mitra, Biswadev; Fitzgerald, Michael; Scheinkestel, Carlos; Stripp, Andrew; Batey, Chris; Niggemeyer, Louise E.; Truesdale, Melinda; Holman, Paul; Mehra, Rishi; Wasiak, Jason; Cleland, Heather

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02666.x

Cited by 96 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…These included studies on birth weight (Holstius et al , 2012; Prass et al , 2012), bone marrow content (Tan et al , 2000), systematic inflammation (Huttunen et al , 2012), physical strength and overall health (Frankenberg et al , 2005), diarrhea (Viswanathan et al , 2006), diabetes (Lee et al , 2009), and injuries (Cameron et al , 2009; Cleland et al , 2011). For the two studies that investigated birth weight, results were inconsistent (Holstius et al , 2012; Prass et al , 2012).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review of the physical health impacts from non-occupational exposure to wildfire smoke

Liu

Pereira

Uhl

et al. 2015

Environmental Research

485

449

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Background Climate change is likely to increase threat of wildfires, and little is known about how wildfires affect health in exposed communities. A better understanding of the impacts of the resulting air pollution has important public health implications for the present day and the future. Method We performed a systematic search to identify peer-reviewed scientific studies published since 1986 regarding impacts of wildfire smoke on health in exposed communities. We reviewed and synthesized the state of science of this issue including methods to estimate exposure, and identified limitations in current research. Results We identified 61 epidemiological studies linking wildfire and human health in communities. The U.S. and Australia were the most frequently studied countries (18 studies on the U.S., 15 on Australia). Geographic scales ranged from a single small city (population about 55,000) to the entire globe. Most studies focused on areas close to fire events. Exposure was most commonly assessed with stationary air pollutant monitors (35 of 61 studies). Other methods included using satellite remote sensing and measurements from air samples collected during fires. Most studies compared risk of health outcomes between 1) periods with no fire events and periods during or after fire events, or 2) regions affected by wildfire smoke and unaffected regions. Daily pollution levels during or after wildfire in most studies exceeded U.S. EPA regulations. Levels of PM10, the most frequently studied pollutant, were 1.2 to 10 times higher due to wildfire smoke compared to non-fire periods and/or locations. Respiratory disease was the most frequently studied health condition, and had the most consistent results. Over 90% of these 45 studies reported that wildfire smoke was significantly associated with risk of respiratory morbidity. Conclusion Exposure measurement is a key challenge in current literature on wildfire and human health. A limitation is the difficulty of estimating pollution specific to wildfires. New methods are needed to separate air pollution levels of wildfires from those from ambient sources, such as transportation. The majority of studies found that wildfire smoke was associated with increased risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Children, the elderly and those with underlying chronic diseases appear to be susceptible. More studies on mortality and cardiovascular morbidity are needed. Further exploration with new methods could help ascertain the public health impacts of wildfires under climate change and guide mitigation policies.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review of the physical health impacts from non-occupational exposure to wildfire smoke

Liu

Pereira

Uhl

et al. 2015

Environmental Research

485

449

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Some uncontrolled fires can be destructive, causing economic disruption, loss of life, damage to physical and mental health, and degradation of natural resources (e.g. pollution of air and water, losses of biodiversity and soil) (Cameron et al. , 2009; Johnston, 2009).…”

Section: Contemporary Human Fire Regimesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The human dimension of fire regimes on Earth

Bowman

Balch

Artaxo

et al. 2011

Journal of Biogeography

974

743

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Humans and their ancestors are unique in being a fire-making species, but ‘natural’ (i.e. independent of humans) fires have an ancient, geological history on Earth. Natural fires have influenced biological evolution and global biogeochemical cycles, making fire integral to the functioning of some biomes. Globally, debate rages about the impact on ecosystems of prehistoric human-set fires, with views ranging from catastrophic to negligible. Understanding of the diversity of human fire regimes on Earth in the past, present and future remains rudimentary. It remains uncertain how humans have caused a departure from ‘natural’ background levels that vary with climate change. Available evidence shows that modern humans can increase or decrease background levels of natural fire activity by clearing forests, promoting grazing, dispersing plants, altering ignition patterns and actively suppressing fires, thereby causing substantial ecosystem changes and loss of biodiversity. Some of these contemporary fire regimes cause substantial economic disruptions owing to the destruction of infrastructure, degradation of ecosystem services, loss of life, and smoke-related health effects. These episodic disasters help frame negative public attitudes towards landscape fires, despite the need for burning to sustain some ecosystems. Greenhouse gas-induced warming and changes in the hydrological cycle may increase the occurrence of large, severe fires, with potentially significant feedbacks to the Earth system. Improved understanding of human fire regimes demands: (1) better data on past and current human influences on fire regimes to enable global comparative analyses, (2) a greater understanding of different cultural traditions of landscape burning and their positive and negative social, economic and ecological effects, and (3) more realistic representations of anthropogenic fire in global vegetation and climate change models. We provide an historical framework to promote understanding of the development and diversification of fire regimes, covering the pre-human period, human domestication of fire, and the subsequent transition from subsistence agriculture to industrial economies. All of these phases still occur on Earth, providing opportunities for comparative research.

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“…These are known locally as bushfires and are often associated with significant property damage and loss of domestic and wild animal life. Bushfire‐related deaths have long been a part of life in Australia with 71 deaths in the Black Friday fires in Victoria in 1939, and 62 deaths in the Tasmanian bushfires of 1967 (1). Seventy‐five deaths occurred in South Australia and Victoria in the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires (2).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The problem of bushfires is not, of course, restricted to Australia, with 453 deaths occurring in fires in Cloquet, Minnesota in 1918, 230 deaths in the Landes region of France in 1949, 213 deaths in Greater Hinggan, China in 1987, and 240 deaths in fires in Indonesia in 1997 (1). More recently, extensive fires have occurred in Califonia (6,7).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Circumstances of Death and Diagnostic Difficulties in Brushfire Fatalities

Byard

Gilbert

Kostakis

et al. 2012

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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The deaths of 10 bushfire (brushfire) victims (aged 2-59 years; M/F 1:1) from the files of Forensic Science SA in Adelaide, South Australia, over an 8-year period (January 2002 to December 2009) are reported. Nine of the victims were found in or near motor vehicles. Death was attributed to incineration (N = 5), trauma from bushfire-related vehicle crashes (N = 2), inhalation of products of combustion with hyperthermia (N = 1), inhalation of products of combustion (N = 1), and undetermined (N = 1). Death scenes covered large areas and involved many victims. Loss of infrastructure and closure of local roads owing to debris limited access and made the finding of bodies difficult. Bodies in such fires may be exposed to the damaging effects of weather and animal predation. Heat damage hindered pathological assessment with resultant delays in identification. Assessment of antemortem injuries and determination of causes of death were also complicated by the condition of some of the bodies.

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Black Saturday: the immediate impact of the February 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia

Cited by 96 publications

References 14 publications

A systematic review of the physical health impacts from non-occupational exposure to wildfire smoke

A systematic review of the physical health impacts from non-occupational exposure to wildfire smoke

The human dimension of fire regimes on Earth

Circumstances of Death and Diagnostic Difficulties in Brushfire Fatalities

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