Firestorm: Trial by Fire by Peter Clack

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges, with front cover tail right corner now protected with book tape. Interior and binding are still very good.

The firestorm that exploded into Canberra's south in the summer of 2003 should never have happened. Four died and dozens were injured, but hundreds more could have perished.

The firestorm, an enormously violent forest fire phenomenon, accompanied by tornadoes and a barrage of flaming embers, applied a blowtorch to the Australian national capital, destroying 500 suburban and rural homes and decimating city infrastructure.

Hapless residents battled to save their homes using garden hoses and plastic buckets. Police and firefighting structures were overwhelmed by the worst natural disaster in Canberra's 90-year history.The firestorm lasted no more than a few hours; it will take decades to heal the scars.

Peter Clack exposes deep flaws in the national approach to bushfires; with disastrous fuel build-ups in the national parks, which are run by conservation-minded land managers who stubbornly resist preventive burning off. Clack also reveals chronic faults in an integrated emergency services model introduced in Canberra. Fire services were unprepared for the disasters of 2003. (back cover)