Exclusive: Research confirms official advice about high-risk properties and warns worsening conditions will make more homes unsafe

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Almost every home destroyed in New South Wales during the black summer bushfires of 2019-20 was inside the 100 metre buffer zone used to identify properties most at risk, new research has found.

The findings are an endorsement of the risk maps used by authorities, but the research warns that as global heating generates ever-worsening fire conditions, firefighters may have to extend the recommended distances between homes and vegetation to keep properties safe.

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The windswept plateau in central Wales, near the village of Sennybridge in Powys, was once home to a thriving Welsh-speaking farming society whose roots stretched back generations. During World War 2, this community was evicted to make way for what is now the third largest military training area in the United Kingdom. The disappearance of Mynydd Epynt remains one of the most controversial episodes in modern Welsh history.

For many Welsh people, Epynt stands alongside the flooding of Capel Celyn as a symbol of a community sacrificed in the name of a greater national cause. The slogan “Cofiwch Epynt” (“Remember Epynt”) continues to appear on walls and roadside signs across Wales, ensuring that the story is not forgotten.

The 'Cofiwch Fynydd Epynt' (Remember Epynt Mountain) mural, in Llanrug. Credit: Daily Post