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<\/a><\/p>\nAs the area burned across Australia this fire season pushes beyond five million hectares, an area larger than many countries, stories of destruction have become depressingly familiar.<\/span><\/p>\n At the time of writing, nine people have been killed. Balmoral, in the New South Wales southern highlands<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, is the latest community affected in a state where up to 1,000 homes have been destroyed. A third of the vineyard area<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and dozens of homes were razed in the Adelaide Hills. It is too early for a thorough examination of the impact on wildlife<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, including the many threatened species in the fires\u2019 path.<\/span><\/p>\n Does this qualify as unprecedented? Plenty of experts say yes, but not all politicians and newspaper columnists are convinced. Last week the acting prime minister, Michael McCormack, assured the nation<\/strong><\/span><\/a> that \u201cwe\u2019ve had these smoke hazes before. We\u2019ve had bushfires before.\u201d After returning from Hawaii, Scott Morrison, acknowledged the fires were severe<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, but also adopted a familiar line: Australia has always had bushfires.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s true. But a key question is whether it has always had bushfires like this.<\/span><\/p>\n The firefighting agency in the state worst affected, for starters.<\/span><\/p>\nWho says the bushfires are unprecedented?<\/h2>\n