How Australia combines modern tech and Indigenous knowledge to fight fire - BBC News

As Europe faces its worst wildfires in decades, Australia offers lessons in disaster preparedness.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Spain declared a national state of emergency as it grapples with several major wildfires

The wildfires currently ravaging Europe feel close to home for Professor Marta Yebra, despite being on the other side of the world.

Originally from Spain, the Canberra-based bushfire expert has spent years developing ways for Australia - home to some of the most fire-prone landscapes in the world - to battle its own blazes.

She heads up the Bushfire Research Centre of Excellence, which was set up in the aftermath of Australia's worst fire season on record: the Black Summer fires of 2019-20, which razed a combined area about the size of the UK.

Her team looks at how technology such as satellites, drones and AI can be used to better detect fires, alongside the knowledge of experienced firefighters.