Bushfires in a wet year have Australia's scientists looking to climate change

FILE PHOTO: A firefighter is seen as New South Wales Rural Fire Service personnel conduct a controlled burn to eliminate fuels before the upcoming bushfire season in the Arcadia suburb of Sydney, Australia, September 8, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

SYDNEY (Reuters) - In a summer that was supposed to be unusually cool and wet, Australian builder Rob Lye did not expect to be trapped by a bushfire on sub-tropical Fraser Island and battling with his neighbours to protect their homes.

With climate change overriding some of Australia's more moderating weather forces, scientists say wildfires like the one that tore through half of the island's forest in recent weeks are increasingly likely.