The coronial inquest into the 2003 bushfires resumed today after a delay of almost a year.
Bushfire expert Trevor Roche took the witness stand to comment on a planning meeting held on 8 January 2003.
He also was asked his opinion on the Emergency Services Bureau’s education campaigns. He said a mail out was not ideal because many people would just think it was junk mail and throw the information out.
UPDATED: ABC Online is now reporting that, surprise surprise, the ESB was aware of the risk of fire in the suburbs in November 2002 and had asked for a community officer.
Mr McRae sent an email detailing increasing drought levels and dwindling water supplies.
He writes that the flammability of urban areas may reach levels that have not been seen before and warns fire fronts could move through gardens and embers could start spot fires well within the suburbs.
The court also heard that the ESB was facing budget constraints leading up to the fires and requests for extra aerial firefighting capability and a community officer had been rejected by the ACT Government.
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