It's been 16 years since the January, 2003 bushfires - long enough for the memories to fade, and complacency to set in.

But the images coming out of NSW and Queensland this week are enough to evoke the smell of smoke and the sight of a dark orange sky over the Brindabellas.

The memories feel closer, and so should the reality of Australia in 2019.

The fact that there are ominous parallels with Canberra's firestorm this time around - the prolonged drought, the dryness of the landscape and high forest fuel loads - should be enough to replace complacency with vigilance.

We know that we're set for a horror summer, with little to no rain on the horizon, and plenty of surrounding bushland lying vulnerable to fires.

And while we know much more about fire preparedness than we did in 2003, knowledge alone isn't enough.

We should start living as though extreme drought was a permanent and indefinite state.

Back in the lead-up to 2003, Canberrans became accustomed to living under serious water restrictions.

Buckets and egg timers in the shower, and carefully rostered watering systems for gardens, were the norm not that long ago.

But while we have gradually reverted back to living under safer conditions, it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to go back to that sense of frugality for a resource that is growing ever more precious, even as Canberra's dams remain at healthy levels.

It's true that we now have better warning systems in place, and more understanding of the science of controlled burning, practiced by Australia's indigenous people for thousands of years.

But, as the arguments playing out in the political sphere indicate, the newer danger is one that wasn't in our consciousness back in 2003 - the changing dynamic within our landscape as a result of climate change.

It's an issue all our fire experts agree on, regardless of how our politicians want to spin it for political point-scoring.

But while these arguments may be playing out in our vicinity as the seat of Parliament, Canberrans have long been ahead of the curve when it comes to getting on top of divisive issues.

Canberrans, of all people, know the dangers of leaving things to the last minute, and we have been watching all these years as climate change has changed our bush landscape and created new and looming problems.

As former NSW Fire and Rescue boss Greg Mullins summed up to our journalist Peter Brewer this week, climate change "makes the drought much worse, and we see these mega fires that we just can't put out".

Back in 2003, we swore such a catastrophe would never happen to Canberra ever again. We pledged to be ready, to learn lessons and educate our emergency services for the worst eventualities.

And this season could well be our chance to put this hard-won experience and knowledge to the test.

Let's make sure we are ready this time.