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Bushfires - In My Backyard?

Australia has several main bushfire disasters each year as it is highly prone to them.

If we were to list them, there would be a very long page. Here are just a few infamous bushfire disasters.

You can research many other fires, including ones that may have occurred near you.

Eastern Victorian Alpines – 2003

An aerial photograph showing the
smoke from the 2003 bushfires

On 8 January 2003 lightning struck the Victorian Alps. This resulted in 87 fires across the State’s north east.

The majority of the fires were able to be extinguished, but eight were too large to be controlled. These remaining fires eventually joined to become a fierce fireball that would sweep through the Victorian ranges. This would be the largest bushfire in Victoria since 1939’s Black Friday. The photo on the right shows the smoke from those fires.

State and Territory Emergency Services fought the fires for 59 days until they were able to control it.

Damage from the bushfire included:

more than 40 homes destroyed
1.3 million hectares were burnt, and
approximately 9000 animals and livestock killed or had to be destroyed due to their injuries.

Mornington Peninsula and Dandenong Ranges, Victoria – 1997

During the summer of 1997, from 19 - 21 January, a series of devastating bushfires broke out in Victoria.

Temperatures on these days exceeded 40°C and strong winds fanned the fires. These bushfires occurred and affected areas such as:

Mt. Eliza
Melbourne
Mt. Martha
Arthurs Seat
Morning Peninsula
Dandenong Ranges
Ferny Creek
Upwey
Kalorama

Forty-three homes were destroyed and another 45 damaged during these bushfires. Unfortunately, three people were killed and forty were injured.

Eastern Seaboard, NSW – 1994

January 1994 was a hot dry summer. Fires broke out in the north of NSW and soon the hot and dry winds acted as a catalyst and caused the fires to spread.

Meanwhile, more fires were breaking out on the east coast as far south as Batemans Bay. These fires were fuelled by winds that blew for three weeks. These fires caused people to evacuate their homes, bringing fear and devastation and leaving 20,000 of the nation’s volunteer firefighters to fight 800 bushfires.

Areas such as the Hunter Valley, Sydney and the Blue Mountains were the main areas where the bushfires were most serious. These fires caused great losses that included:

House on fire

four people dead – three of whom were firefighters
120 people injured
nearly 1000 homeless
thousands of native animals and hundreds of livestock died
approximately 800,000 hectares extinguished
40 national parks affected.

Ash Wednesday, South Australia and Victoria – 1983

South Australia and Victoria were experiencing a hot and dry summer in February 1983. Small fires broke out across the two States. The bushfires spread to the NSW and Victorian on 1 February 1983. Fires continued to break out and flare across South Australia and Victoria.

By 16 February, the bushfires had caused devastation to lives, forestation and buildings. The day of 16 February was then referred to as Ash Wednesday.

The Ash Wednesday fires caused:

the loss of 76 lives
2400 homes destroyed
destruction of more than 3700 buildings
the loss of livestock and wildlife.
the burning of more than 520,000 hectares

This day is remembered around Australia each year.

Black Saturday, Victoria – 2009

The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that ignited or were burning across Victoria on and around Saturday 7 February 2009 during extreme bushfire-weather conditions. These bushfires resulted in Australia’s highest ever recorded loss of life from a bushfire.

The Black Saturday bushfires caused:

the loss of 173 lives
over 400 people injured
more than 2000 homes lost
countless animals killed
more than 450,000 hectares of land burnt
total estimated damage costs of close to $1 billion