Fire chiefs around country warn Australia of bleak bushfire outlook

As fire chiefs from around the country stood ready to announce the Southern Australian Bushfire Outlook for 2018/2019, there was a grim sense of inevitability.

Areas with above-average bushfire risk this summer are marked in red.

Fires have already ripped through southern New South Wales during winter, the spring outlook is dire, and there is twice the normal likelihood of an El Nino this summer.

This year is looking bad and the line-up of official uniforms and shiny badges seemed to be saying: "This is your official warning.”

Read the ABC News story by Kate Doyle - “Fire chiefs around country warn Australia of bleak bushfire outlook.”