DISASTER - BUSHFIRE Part A

THE WORLD

DISASTER

Bushfir Street in Flames

           As Australia's fast-growing cities expand further into the surrounding countryside, the danger from bushfires increases. The 1997 blaze burnt out most of this street in the Sydney suburb of Menai,

Fighting fire with fire

    firebreaks hilp to stop the spread of a blaze in woodland. All the trees are felled and buildozers clear the wood to the side of the break nearest the approaching flames. This material is then set alight to widen the firebreak.

Bombing the blazes

       Bush and forest fires can be fought from the air. Highly skilled  pilots skim the aircraft over open water scooping tonnes of it up into special tanks in the fuselage. The load is then released, like a bomb, on the fire below.