We previously used satellite hotspot data to visualise how various how fires spread over time.
Here is an updated visualisation of the Gospers Mountain megafire.
Just to repeat the caveats from our initial datablog: the map is not exactly to scale, as the satellite detection has a resolution of 1km square, and it’s possible for fires to be obscured from satellite by smoke or clouds. Hotspots can also show up where there isn’t a bushfire for other reasons, but we’ve tried to filter these out where possible.
The circles fade to black over time to give an idea of the area burned, but it’s worth pointing out that it only covers fires within the time period shown, so the actual burned area will be greater than what is shown here, particularly in areas where fires have been burning on and off for months.
Jon Russell, a volunteer fire brigade captain from the northern beaches, has spent the night out at the Gospers Mountain fire where backburning operations near Mt Tomah went out of control and took out up to 20 properties.
“We’d been told properties had come under attack, that this fire had just gathered momentum,” he said.
“The Hills district [brigades] were there, from the Cumberland zone, they were there from everywhere… it was a case of just ‘pick a house and protect it’.”
He described lining up his truck in front of a house, remarking to a colleague John Duffy (who filmed that incredible footage above), that if a nearby area of bush caught alight there’d be little they could do, and they’d have to leave.
“Then in an instant that area of bush just went boom.”
“We just went from daylight to nighttime in a instant. It’s a very eerie feeling for new people. I’ve been at this a long time, I’ve been captain of my brigade 18 years. It was an experience for everybody that we’ll never forget.”
Updated
