NOT so long ago the term wildfire, often in the context of global warming, began to replace bushfire.
Then came local ratings such as "catastrophic", to describe and warn of a severe fire threat.
While bushfires have always been part of the Australian landscape, post and before European settlement, I get the feeling they are becoming more intense and climate change is partly responsible.
Non-believers, of course, will argue nothing has changed, and the planet wasn't warming in 1967 when Southern Tasmania was blackened by fire.
But recent history seems to show a pattern of devastating fires rotating between states and territories.
Not so long ago there were the Canberra fires, Eyre Peninsula fires in South Australia and, of course, the devastating Victorian bushfires, just to name a few.
Earlier this week, fires were blazing across the country as Australians endured record temperatures.
If climate change means warmer temperatures and hence more "catastrophic" fire conditions, then good communications are going to be crucial if a place like Tasmania, where telecommunication black spots are commonplace, is to avoid fatalities.
All the talk about householders choosing between staying and defending or voluntarily evacuating their properties is largely meaningless if decisions cannot be based on real-time information about the fire threat.
Tasmania has come a long way in recent years.
The Tasmania Fire Service website is now a fantastic resource, providing regular updates and easy-to-understand options and messages for residents threatened by fire. Newspapers such as The Advocate also play their role online.
However, power can be cut to households, with computers and landlines rendered useless.
Mobile phone coverage is patchy, as many in the affected Tasman Peninsula commented this week, and batteries are known to go flat at the worst times.
The ABC has boosted its comprehensive radio emergency service role in recent times, as would be expected of the taxpayer- funded broadcaster.
The secret for Tasmanians is not to rely on any one source of communication but to maximise as many as possible if they are available.
Even social media can play a role in alerting people.
However, as is sometimes the case, it can spread misleading information and add to the confusion and panic, as we saw this week regarding postings about the added costs for trapped Tasman Peninsula tourists reluctant to evacuate by sea because they feared extra abandoned hire car costs.
If wildfires get worse, as predicted, good communications will become even more critical to enable Tasmanians to make the right choice and avoid loss of life.