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You know that saying about lightning not striking twice ... as summer approaches, you get the sense that not everyone is counting on it being true.
There are communities of people terrified we'll cop a repeat performance of last summer's tragedies. The fear is quite real and quite understandable.
For instance, in the NSW Great Lakes region,on the back of last summer, long-term residents fear a repeat of the fires they faced in 1997 when the term "annihilation" was used.
Much work - and that's a broad brush term if ever there was one - is being done in so many areas to mitigate the long-term effects of our 2019-20 Black Summer.
This statistic from the Blue Mountains Gazette, relates to just a portion of the land scorched last summer.
"The 2019-20 fires burnt over 65 per cent (698,000 hectares) of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. It is estimated that over 116 million animals, birds and reptiles were impacted."
The region's conservation society has arranged a number of online talks to not just explain what's been done in the months since the devastation but to also address people's concerns for the future.
Recovery has been the focus in the months since fire ripped through large swathes of South Australia's Kangaroo Island. About half the island's 440,500 hectares were impacted and the community's rehabilitation efforts has been non-stop.
Earlier this month prescribed burns across hundreds of hectares was undertaken as everyone works to keep fuel at the lowest level possible.
Oh, and did you know The Islander's Stan Gorton is up for a 2020 Walkley Award for his coverage of those fires?
And just like that may have passed you by, did you know it was Fire Action Week in Victoria? It kicked off on Monday. It's all about understanding your fire risk, preparing and maintaining your property, and talking to your loved ones about what you'll do to stay safe from fire.
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More stuff happening around Australia ...
- Fears for the future of ABC, SBS signals in regional Australia
- NSW to spend $192m fighting off bushfires
- Dead eagles found at creek near Bendigo
- Another chapter written in amazing history of Nimmitabel's giant bell
- 'Extraordinary cost' of Collaery, Witness K prosecution revealed, and it's still growing
- Free drive-through clinic as Bathurst 1000 racegoers urged to get tested
- Meet the Mandurah medical scientist saving Cambodian lives
- One new local COVID-19 case in NSW confirmed as a close contact
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