47,000 hectares of bushland have been destroyed. Endangered wildlife species are fleeing for their lives. Hundreds of Australians' homes have been burned to the ground. Why? Because the army decided to conduct live ordnance training exercises in an area prone to catastrophic fires.
There are other factors at work, of course. Climate change research suggests that if Australia's current carbon policies continue, the fires will continue to get worse every year. But in the meantime, the first step to stopping fires is preventing risky measures -- and using live explosives in an area filled with dry grass just doesn't seem wise.
Though there were no fire bans in place at the time, this should be a wake-up call to the Australia Defence Force. Tell them not to conduct ordnance tests during fire season, whether or not official bans are in place!
