Our fire watch system, fire lookout towers and aircraft, can pinpoint a smoke sighting very quickly. With our vast areas of forest, hot dry climate and trees full of oil, the fire takes hold very quickly. Even when a fire has been contained and the crews are nearby, hop-overs can and do get away.
Accessing a fire can be a huge problem, a fire started by a person, whether deliberately or accidentally, will be next to a road or track. Lighting strikes however can and usually are in a remote location, and not just one strike but many in the same area.
I'll bet the royal commission report into the current bush fires and the royal commission report into the 1961 Dwellingup bush fire will be very similar.
