To minimise the environmental impact of fires, begin by understanding the shape of your natural landscape, the weather patterns, and the type of vegetation existent in the area, and even right down to the type of ground foraging animals that may be present. From this, you can develop plans for where to build your home, how to minimise the spread of fire by establishing fuel reduction zones (or fire breaks), and how to create effective escape routes for animals and people.
Weather conditions
For example, an environment with low humidity, high temperature, and high wind speed will greatly enhance the conditions for creating a fire. By checking the weather conditions in your area, you can work out how likely a fire is to start, at what times it is likely to occur, and what precautions you need to take.
The slope of the land
You should also check the slope of the land to determine how quickly a fire can spread and from which direction. For example, flat ground is safer than sloping ground. A steep slope is more dangerous than a gentle slope.
Also fires burn more intensely and spread more quickly when they go up a hill than when they go down a hill. This is because the flames can grab hold of a little extra fuel as the flames rise vertically and the fuel leans more into the flames because of the slope of the hill, so they can burn more faster and more intensely.
By using this information, you can determine the best position to build a house. For instance, in Australia, a house on a hillside facing east or south is generally safer than one facing north or west, as these are the least likely directions for a fire to approach.
The winds
Winds also play an important role on the behaviour of fire. A windy day will help a fire to spread quickly. But if the wind is laden with moisture from the sea, the fire will not spread as far.
However, if your landscape is such that you are clearly bounded by numerous large hills and the winds have little chance to escape because it forms eddy currents in the valley, or the winds are intensified by a "tunnelling" effect created by the mountains, then the risk of a severe fire sweeping through your area is much greater.
Wind speed and direction are influenced by the topography of the land, the density of vegetation, and the ability of the fire to create its own wind at ground level as it draws oxygen to sustain the combustion.
The faster the wind, the more it can lift burning material ahead of the fire front known as spotting. The wind can also push the flames closer to the ground, causing the fuel to pre-heat and ignite more quickly. This means the fire will spread quickly. If the ground is sloping upwards, this effect will be amplified and the fire will spread more quickly.
There is not much you can do to control the winds, other than build solid stone fences and plant fire-resistant trees and shrubs to act as windbreaks (and firebreaks) at strategic points where a fire is likely to approach. This will at least give you some extra time to prepare for the onslaught of a severe bush fire.
The animals
Another factor that is rarely considered is the animals that live in the environment. Some animals are very good at burrowing into the ground and can help cover the dry leaves with soil. This reduces the fuel load on the ground and makes it harder for bushfires to attain destructively high temperatures that could destroy dormant seeds in the soil. And, of course, an animal that is sitting deep underground can stay cooler as a fire moves over the land so long as it is not too intense to suck up too much oxygen.
NOTE: Submersing yourself in water of a swimming pool, river or creek will give you significant protection. The only question is how long can you hold your breath underwater?
A classic example of a useful animal in this respect is the Australian quenda. A small marsupial that looks like a bandicoot and often called the Southwestern Brown Bandicoot. It moves around on the ground searching for food in the soil.
You may need to fence off adequate areas of land to protect quenda and other small marsupials from introduced pests, such as wild cats, dogs, and cane toads. The main advantage of this approach is that fires passing over these areas will be much less intense and easier to manage.
Fire breaks
Once you know the likely direction a fire will come by understanding things like the slope of the land and the direction of the prevailing wind, you can create special areas or zones to help stop or at least reduce the speed of a fire front sweeping through the area. These zones are called fire breaks.
A firebreak is nothing more than an area of reduced fuel. As the experts say, the less fuel there is to burn, the better. So make sure there is an area of reduced fuel (or firebreak) between the house and the natural Australian bushland, especially where fires are likely to approach.
Make use of natural or man-made fire breaks on your property such as roads, rivers, a large swimming pool, or bare ground to better protect your home. Fire breaks can also include permanent running creeks, swamps and large dams.
But don't rely on any fuel breaks to protect you, your family and your property. In the event of extreme fire conditions, flying embers can blow across the fire breaks, even very wide fire break zones. These embers will create spotfires ahead of the main firefront and so start another fire of their own.
Generally the bigger the fire break, the better the chances of controlling a severe bush fire. But they should never be entirely relied upon in times of the most severe bush fires. They should only be seen as another means of protecting people and the environment from the onslaught of severe bush fires.
Timing is crucial
Part of your environment is knowing when to have enough water to combat a fire, and if you don't have enough water, when to get out of the area. For example, in the southern hemisphere, bush fires are most likely to occur between December and February (or October to March during global warming). It is, therefore, important to ensure that there is adequate water in dams, tanks and swimming pools during these months if fires are to be properly controlled or if you want to protect your property. If you have insufficient water on your property to fight fires, it is probably a good idea to plan your evacuation and take your most important belongings with you well before the fire front reaches your area.
Protecting my house - what can I do?
Finally, the next couple of sections will provide you with a few simple tips you can follow to help better protect your home.