At least 6.9 million residents on Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart fringes exposed as dry summer follows years of vegetation growth
It estimated that up to 90% of homes in these areas were built before modern bushfire standards – making ignition due to ember attack and house-to-house fire spread more likely.
Nearly every Australian capital city had a similar mix of dangerous preconditions for a catastrophic fire like Los Angeles. They included dry periods and parched forests and bushland, worsening fire weather, the potential for strong wind gusts, steep slopes and large tracts of bush adjacent to homes.