The 2009 Black Saturday fire , which wiped out entire towns and killed 173 in the Australian state of Victoria , caused the government to change its approach to wildfires . A new higher rating of “ Catastrophic / Code Red ” was rated above “ Extreme ” , indicating that some fires simply can not be avoided . At present , there is a 5 % likelihood of such fires . This is projected to increase to 15 % by 2050 and 20 % by 2100 . residents are responding with innovations including steel shutters , low - carbon , fibre - reinforced cement composite board , and houses lined with soil to insulate against intense heat .
The 2009 Black Saturday fire, which wiped out entire towns and killed 173 in the Australian state of Victoria, caused the country to change its approach to wildfires. A new higher rating of “Catastrophic/Code Red” was introduced above “Extreme”, indicating that some fires simply cannot be withstood. At present, there is a 5% likelihood of such fires. This is expected to increase to 15% by 2050 and 30% by 2100. Architects are responding with innovations including steel shutters, low-carbon, fibre-reinforced cement composite board, and houses covered with soil to insulate against fire heat.