Australia bushfires started due to smart meters and lasers?

Bushfires destroyed more than a dozen houses along the Central Coast of Australia’s New South Wales during a blistering December heatwave, prompting conspiracy theories online that the blazes were triggered by smart meters — digital energy use meters — or laser weapons, as nearby plants were “mostly untouched”.

However, a police investigation has not identified any evidence suggesting the fires were a deliberate act. Authorities also told AFP plenty of vegetation burned during the blaze and the flames torching the homes came from bushland embers.

“According to several firefighters and eyewitness accounts, the fires are reportedly leaping from house to house while leaving nearby trees and surrounding vegetation mostly untouched,” reads a Facebook post from an Australia-based user on December 10.

It goes on to suggest that smart power meters — an upgrade from older models that require manual readings — or directed energy weapons, such as high-energy lasers, “could be the ignition source”. It also adds that “the government will blame ‘Climate Change’ on the devastation”.

The post, which was shared more than 400 times, includes a picture of a house ablaze, with embedded text reading “NSW wildfires destroy homes, but skip vegetation?”

More than 50 bushfires burned in New South Wales on December 6, destroying a number of homes on the state’s mid-north coast.

Bushfires are a common occurrence in Australia’s summer months, and it is not unheard of for dozens of blazes to burn through sparsely populated areas on hot and windy days.

The same image with the embedded text was shared in similar posts by several Australia-based users on Facebook and X, and also circulated widely in Canada and the United States.

“The ‘smart meters’ are being ignited, making way for the ‘smart cities’!” commented one user, while another said, “DEW weapon for sure, fire doesn’t jump over dry grass and trees and burn houses”.

The claims repeat unfounded conspiracy theories blaming smart meters — which are now being rolled out nationally in Australia — and directed energy weapons for major wildfires.

The New South Wales government says the meters meet strict health and safety standards set by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).

In a December 10 press release, NSW police said its investigators determined the fire was “likely to have originated in bushland on Nimbin Avenue”, situated in the coastal Koolewong suburb.

“Forensic examinations at the point of origin have not identified any evidence suggesting the use of ignitable liquids or a deliberate act,” the police statement said.

Burned vegetation

A spokesperson for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service also told AFP on December 24 the claims that vegetation was “skipped” by the fires was “not correct”.

“There was vegetation that did burn. The size of the fires was 129 hectares.”

A spokesperson for the NSW Police also confirmed to AFP in a December 26 email: “There was considerable vegetation destroyed in the fire. It’s clearly seen in the news vision.”

A reverse image search revealed that the circulating picture is similar to Sky News footage of the bushfires in Koolewong published on December 7, where the burning house is shown around the 15-second mark.

Later in the Sky News video, there is footage of razed vegetation next to the house, leaving a blackened mass with nearby trees missing leaves.