We can never be too prepared for the summer that lies ahead

Judging by our sanguine response to last week's record-breaking September heat, the answer seems to be actual smoke and possibly even the sight of actual flames.

For a city that is particularly vulnerable to extreme summer heat and bushfires, Canberra has seemed peculiarly cocooned from all the news around us about early bushfires and the horror summer that potentially lies ahead.

Parts of the South Coast - Canberra's summer playground - had declared fire emergencies, and temperatures here rose to the high twenties, barely halfway through spring.

But it seems Canberrans don't have a long enough memory to be able to practically smell the fire smoke from here.

Or possibly the intervening world and climate-related events - the pandemic, or even the January 2020 hailstorm - have superimposed themselves on all memories of Black Summer.

ACT Emergency Services Minister Mick Gentleman even declared last week that Canberra was well and truly ready for whatever summer has in store for us.

"I am pleased to report that these senior officials agreed that the ACT is more prepared in 2023 than in any time in our past," he said, referring to a briefing given to senior officials.

"While there are always more ways in which we can improve, we are on a strong path to provide for and protect the ACT community."

And yet just this weekend, one of the most respected experts in the field, the former ACT Parks and Conservation manager Brett McNarama, says the exact opposite.

Mr McNamara says essential work on the ground is yet to be done to give vehicles access to areas likely to be struck by lightning. This means that fires cannot be fought from the ground.

Mr McNamara, who was a frontline fighter in the 2003 and 2023 Black Summer fires, left the ACT Parks department in May after 30 years of service.

His words should carry more weight than just about anybody's when it comes to future fire warnings.

There is an argument that Mr Gentleman is likely intent on boosting the confidence of Canberrans in their government, and seeking to reassure us that we will be ready for a scorching, fireprone summer.

But the stronger counterargument is that we can never be too prepared for the real threat of bushfires.

Mr McNamara went further, maintaining that not only are we under-prepared for a hot summer, but that the lessons learnt from 2020 had yet to translate into action.

"There's a lot of talk, a lot of good intentions, a lot of briefing notes. It all looks very good," he said last week.

"[But] the wheels are spinning but there's no traction. There's nothing happening on the ground. The time for talk is over. It needs action."

There has been, it must be said, important time to recover in the years since Black Summer. The weather has been mild, there has been plenty of rain, and Lake George is abundant with water and wildlife, something many wouldn't have seen in their lifetimes.

But four years is no excuse for complacency, and we should never drop our guard.

The temperatures last week, while pleasant, should be cause for concern. Summer is just around the corner, and we need to be ready.

We owe it everyone who lost life and property last time around.