[Margaret Pilkington]

There are many bush fires in Australia that have been started by idiotic actions(tossing cigarette butts from car windows.

But as the article points out very clearly....all wooded areas need to be managed and frequently they aren't.

I have spent a lot of time in Australia...there have been many years when temperatures have soared....and because rainfall was low....fire bans were put into place....the scientific evidence shows clearly that there have been other years with temperatures similar to the current situation.

Another issue is frequently power lines are close to trees....the branches grow and they touch the power lines and poof, up it all goes.

I feel very sorry for those who have lost everything....how do you come back from that?
My thoughts are with those people....many of those places in flames are not just dots on a map...they are places we have visited.