The Simtable Program

Ku-ring-gai Council was funded through the Increasing Resilience to Climate Change program to use the Simtable modelling tool to improve public engagement and preparation for the threat of bushfires and other extreme weather events in the Ku-ring-gai area. This bushfire preparedness video introduced by LGNSW President Linda Scott highlights the unique features of the Simtable and how it is being used as part of the council’s Climate Wise Communities program to build resilience to climate change.

Firetech Connect

Dr Jenny Scott Sustainability Program Leader Ku-Ring-Gai Council discusses the Simtable

Bushfire management

Staff from Ku-ring-gai Council environment and sustainability team discuss how bushfire risk is managed and how residents can take control of their own safety before and during a bushfire. 

Featuring:

Mark Schuster – Bushfire Technical Officer

Dr Jenny Scott – Sustainability Program Leader

James Chan – Sustainabilty Projects Officer

Lindy Williams – Environmental Volunteering Programs Coordinator 

Bushfire retrofits

Watch Nigel Bell an award winning architect from the Blue Mountains give an in depth presentation on things you need to know about retrofitting and preparing your home for the next bushfire season. This is  essential viewing for anyone living in a house in Ku-ring-gai.

80% of homes lost during a bushfire occurs from ember attack often far away from the fire front.

Future Fit

As the climate warms storms will become more damaging, heatwaves get hotter and longer and bushfires more extreme. The good news is that retrofitting your home to prepare it for extreme weather can be a clever investment in energy efficiency. A Climate Wise and Energy Smart Win-Win solution.

Bushfire home assessment

Council’s own bushfire practitioner Mark Schuster shows you how to identify bushfire risks and vulnerabilities at a typical house and how lower its bushfire risk. Filmed live on location at a home on bushfire prone land in Ku-ring-gai.

Managing bushfire risk – CSIRO’s Justin Leonard

At this Victorian Parliamentary Library seminar held on 20 February 2020 Justin Leonard, CSIRO’s Research Leader for Bushfire Urban Design spoke about managing bushfire risk to life and infrastructure.

Anatomy of a mega blaze

Just north of Sydney in October 2019, a tree was hit by lightning. That burning tree would go on to be the source of the Gosper’s Mountain bushfire, which joined with four others to become a single mega-blaze.

This fire was only one day from reaching Sydney’s North Shore

How Houses are Destroyed by Bushfires

How Houses are Destroyed by Bushfires Presented by Justin Leonard, CSIRO

Part 1: Landscape – 6:00

Q&A: 21:48

Part 2: House structure and bushfire – 57:58

Ember Attack

Embers were responsible most of the houses lost during the Black Summer. This video shows you how embers from a bushfire can travel long distances and start fires.

Reducing risk of ember attack

This is a recording of a very informative webinar that shows how embers can burn a house down without radient heat or flame being present.