Along with cyclones and floods, bushfires have always been part of the Australian natural environment. Increasing population has meant that more homes are being built in the outer parts of cities. These regions are close to natural bushland where there might be bushfires in the future. Thousands of years ago, Indigenous Australians developed ways of managing bushfires, so that the landscapes they cared for would not suffer catastrophic destruction.

Today, firefighters also undertake hazard reduction burns to keep areas safe from monster bushfires.