The science organisation launched the Pyrotron yesterday, a 25m aluminium wind tunnel which can re-create bushfire conditions in a controlled environment.

The Pyrotron, described by Science Minister Kim Carr as "a bushfire in a tube", is believed to be only the second of its kind in the world.

Scientists can use the device to predict bushfire behaviour, even on days of total fire ban.

Despite the weekend's unseasonal weather, Canberra's Rural Fire Service is bracing itself for a "fairly intense" bushfire season, according to district officer Ross Turton.

Mr Turton said the Bureau of Meteorology's outlook had changed in the past month.

It was now predicting warmer weather with less than 50pc chance of average rainfall.

The recent rain, while a blessing in the short term, could be a curse further down the track.

"[There's been] a bit of rain, upwards of 30mm, and certainly that does subdue the immediate risk, but of course it promotes grass [growth]," Mr Turton said.

"You get more fuel, so the problem shifts from an immediate one to maybe one in the next few weeks."

Canberra is no stranger to brutal fire seasons.

At the Pyrotron's launch, Senator Carr recalled the firestorm of January 2003, which claimed four lives and destroyed more than 500 homes.

"(That included) at least 35 in the suburb in which I live in Canberra, Holder, and six in the very street where my flat is," he said.

"It's been estimated that in the last 40 years bushfires have resulted in 250 deaths, they've destroyed 4500 homes, and of course have cost $2.5billion."

The Pyrotron will allow researchers to gauge bushfire behaviour in conditions altered by the effects of climate change.

CSIRO has predicted the number of total fire ban days will increase in coming decades because of climate change.

The device pumps air over a fuel bed of leaves, sticks and twigs, at speeds of up 20km/h the equivalent of winds blowing under a forest canopy during a bushfire.