As early as the beginning of October in 2019, bushfires raged uncontrollably all along Australia’s east coast, from southeast Queensland to the Central Coast, just north of Sydney.
Accordingly to bushfire experts, the early start to the season is partly caused by the extended severe drought that has persisted in New South Wales since 2017. Because of this drought, the bushfire season last year was declared two months early in August 2018. Much of Queensland has also been in drought in 2019. Authorities have described the situation as the worst start to the Queensland bushfire season in history.
Another major reason is a lack of federal funding for state fire services. Severe budget cuts have left firefighters unable to do sufficient hazard reduction burning, which has allowed the fires to catch more easily and spread faster this year.