Blackened trunks line each side of the highway from Bairnsdale to Mallacoota, a distance of ~150 miles (240 km). I'm driving there on a sunny afternoon after interviewing a few of the people who spent weeks in back to back deployments fighting fire, assessing wildlife, and trying to save endangered species from an extinction level threat.

The weight and meaning of the name "Black Summer fires" is still apparent in this landscape 5 years later. As I drive through the undulating hills, I am actually surprised at the amount of green growth present, a demonstration of nature's resilience, but the scars of the fire will be present for years. I cannot help but think of the 1000s of animals that perished. Where could they go when faced with a fire front 150 miles long?

My drive takes me into a more rural landscape. I think about the people of Mallacoota and other communities who were cut off from any means of accessing the rest of Victoria for 6 weeks. Several thousand people were pushed to fleeing to the beach while the fire burned around them, eventually being evacuated via military aircraft and ships. The people I've interviewed bravely performed their jobs even though their own homes, families, and animals were under threat. They spent hours every day trying to make a difference against the worst fire to hit this area since at least pre-colonial times.

The fires burned all the way to the beach, note the tall dead trees above the beach. Jacey Cerda 2025

While the Black Summer fires perhaps garnered the most media attention, other intense and brutal fires burned that year across the globe, from the Amazon to Siberia. This is the age of megafires. Fires so intense, large, and unruly that they can wipe out communities and cause species to go extinct in a few hours to weeks. In recent years, the Marshall Fire in Colorado, the Lahaina fire in Maui, and the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles, have all revealed that these fires are no longer restricted to the “wild” or the “bush” as as they are often named. They can occur in big cities, small islands, and across all types of ecosystems.

Megafires will continue to be a part of our life. This is why it is so important to plan for them now. It is the purpose of my research. I seek to understand how to build biodiversity emergency management teams that can prioritize species protection for threatened and endangered populations, mobilize resources and engage in appropriate and necessary interventions, and manage wildlife welfare to alleviate suffering during and post fires. Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity, ultimately also protects human communities, as they are inextricably intertwined, a true One Health issue. By planning for a future we know is coming, we can be prepared to help deliver the best possible outcomes during the worst of times.

The Road to Mallacoota

Wonderful Wildlife and Positive People