No other continent on earth is as prone to bushfires, over such a large area, as Australia. Fires are a constant and ongoing part of our history, our ecology and our culture. Yet despite repeated disasters, across all states throughout the last two centuries, we seem to be no better at surviving bushfires today than we were when fires burnt through the first European settlements? What is it about Australia that makes it so prone to fires? Have humans made thing worse, or better? Is it possible to live in the Australian bush, yet still be safe from fire? This book is a personal journey of discovery that attempts to answer some of these questions and understand why, after so many years, people are still dying in bushfires.

Author Biography

Danielle Clode lives on a bush block in the fire-prone foothills of the Kinglake Ranges of Victoria. As a psychologist and ecologist, she has long been fascinated and puzzled by the role fire plays in the Australian bush, and the way in which people interact with it. As someone who lives in a high fire risk area, she has a personal interest in understanding how to live safely in the Australian bush. Danielle's previous books have explored Australia's natural history from killer whales to megafauna and from museums to public land management. Voyages to the South Seas (The Miegunyah Press) won the 2007 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Non fiction. Danielle wrote A Future in Flames while holding the Redmond Barry Fellowship at Melbourne University and the State Library of Victoria and worked as a researcher in community safety for the Country Fire Authority during the Black Saturday bushfires.