## 1 Introduction
### Case Study Background  
Across Australia, the 2019/2020 wildfires, referred to as Black Summer fires, burned up to 24 million hectares, an area as large as the size of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), resulting in AUD 10 billion in economic losses, 33 deaths, and 3000 destroyed homes [13,14]. Rural Australia, in particular, is highly vulnerable to fire risks. East Gippsland in regional Victoria gained significant media attention in late December 2019, when out-of-control fires threatened tourist destinations, including Mallacoota, a coastal town surrounded by National Park in the East Gippsland district (Figure 2). On New  
Figure 1: The framework to manage risks includes enhancing resilience, disaster risk reduction and the transformative governance. Adapted from Figure 6.1 in the _IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate_[10]. Adapted with permission from ref. [10]. Copyright 2019 IPCC. Year's Eve 2019, 4000 people, including 3000 tourists, were trapped in Mallacoota as fires surrounded the town, leaving the beach as the only place to go [13]. On 1 January 2020, the Australian Navy evacuated 1000 people from the beach, mainly tourists--many locals stayed behind [15; 16]. Figure 2 shows a map of the Australian southeast coast including the Gippsland region ranging from Mallacoota on the coast to Bairnsdale including the inland region, Figure 3 shows the Gippsland region, the research site of this study. Figure 3: Detailed map of the East Gippsland region (west of Mallacoota including Bairnsdale) during the 2019/2020 Black Summer fires. The map shows burned areas in January 2020. Source: Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia), 2021, informed by Vic Emergency, 2019 [18]. Figure 2: Map of wildfires in southeast Australia impacting the states New South Wales and Victoria during the 2019/2020 Black Summer fires. The map shows burned areas in January 2020. Source: Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia), 2021 [17]. East Gippsland communities located further inland are at the fringe of the electricity distribution network. During the Black Summer fires, these communities were cut off from the main grid as distribution lines were damaged by falling trees and the intensity of fires rushing through the Gippsland area. In the media, the Gippsland fires were unevenly reported on, while coastal towns such as Mallacoota received considerable media attention as tourists were trapped during the end-of-year celebrations, inland communities received less media attention as inland regions are less known to holidaymakers and have experienced fires in the past [19]. With the Gippsland community being isolated for weeks, roads and other essential infrastructure destroyed (_ibid_), the community itself has proactively pursued climate adaptation measures to increase its resilience to future extreme weather events. Here, we present an example from Gippsland in Australia, where an Emergency Distributed Energy System (DES) concept has been developed through regional community-government collaboration. This study explores other similar community action as a response to both climate emergencies and environmental disasters in Australia and internationally, using empirical and desktop methods. The research proposes this as an effective way for rethinking the way energy infrastructure is designed and deployed in rural areas affected by climate disasters. The key group behind the Emergency DES idea was the community group Voices of the Valley (VotV). This group advocates for the well-being and needs of the Latrobe Valley community. The group formed in response to the Hazelwood coal mine fire in 2014, and has an interest in community based renewable energy. Community members came together during the midst of the Gippsland fires on social media and shared their experiences of power outages caused by the fire and the challenges they faced.