Millions of people living on the expanding outskirts of Australia’s major cities face an increasing risk of urban wildfires similar to the deadly blazes in Los Angeles last year.
Suburbs on the fringes of centers including Sydney, Melbourne and Perth now house at least 6.9 million inhabitants and, like regions impacted in LA, have residential areas where homes adjoin highly flammable grasslands, according to a report published Tuesday by the Climate Council think tank and a group of former Australian fire chiefs.
“Nearly every Australian capital city has a dangerous mix of preconditions for a