Bushfire History

While bushfires occur every year, some have a devastating impact on communities and landscapes. The most catastrophic of these bushfires have been named after the day of the week in which they occurred;

Black Thursday 1851,
Black Monday 1865,
Black Sunday 1926,
Red Tuesday 1898,
Black Friday 1939,
Ash Wednesday 1983,
and now Black Saturday 2009.

This page gives an overview of Bushfires in Victoria from 2003 - 2009

Eastern Victorian (Alpine) Fires 2003

Eighty seven fires were started by lightning in the north east of Victoria on 8 January 2003. Eight of these fires were unable to be contained and joined together to form the largest fire in Victoria since the 1851 "Black Thursday" bushfires. Burning for 59 days before being contained, the fires burnt over 1.3 million hectares, 41 homes and over 9,000 livestock, with thousands of kilometres of fencing also being destroyed. Areas affected include Mt Buffalo, Bright, Dinner Plain, Benambra and Omeo.

During the 2002-2003 bushfire season, there were 5,999 bushfires attended by the relevant agency

Australia wide, 21,241,000 ha burnt and 7 Fatalities.

This does not include, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory
Source: 1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2004

" The geographic location and the topography of Australia mean that almost all vegetation types in the country are fire prone ....Even the normally arid interior of the country is capable of carrying extensive fires.

" Source: 1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 1995

Victorian Fires 2005

Across Victoria more than 500 fires broke out in January 2006 (including the Deep Lead fire that started near Stawell on New Year’s Eve). The fires were fuelled by strong winds and extreme temperatures, including many days with temperatures above 40 degrees.

The fires with greatest impact on the Victorian community occurred in the Stawell (Deep Lead), Yea, Moondarra, Grampians, Kinglake and Anakie areas. The fires caused the following losses and damage:

Fatalities: 4

Houses destroyed: 57 (19 of principle residence)

Buildings: 359 farm buildings lost, 39 woolsheds and 22 hayshedsStock

losses: 64,265 (63,243 sheep, 557 cattle and 464 other stock) and over 2,500 commercial beehives

Area burnt: 160,000 hectares (60% public land, 40% private land - Approximately 98,000 hectares of national parks and conservation areas and 6,000 hectares of State forest were burnt)Fencing: 364km of crown land boundary fencing and 2281km of other boundary or internal fencing.

Reference. http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/dse/

The Great Divide Fires of 2006 - 07

The Great Divide Fires of 2006 - 07 were the longest running bushfires in Victoria’s fire history.

On 1 December 2006, over 70 fires were caused by lightening strikes. Many of these fires eventually merged to become the Great Divide Complex, which lasted 69 days and burnt approximately 1,048,000 hectares of public and private land. Multiple other fires occurred simultaneously across the state.

Fifty-one houses, including twenty-one principle residences, and hundreds of stock and farm fences were lost in the fires. One man died in a vehicle accident while assisting a property owner to prepare for fire impact.

By the 7th February, more than 1400 firefighters had been injured (including bruises, cuts, blisters, burns, dehydration, broken limbs and spider bites). More than 400 St John Ambulance volunteers, including doctors, nurses and first aid officers provided first aid. On 16 December, eleven New Zealand firefighters were injured while fighting the fire in the Howqua Valley in north-east Victoria.

Satellite image of smoke plume

7 th of February. 2009 " Black Saturday "

February 7th 2009 will be remembered as the day when more than 400 fires burnt across the State during the most severe weather conditions recorded. 173 people perished in the Victorian bushfire inferno " Black Saturday " on the 7 th of February 2009 which, destroyed 2,029 homes, 2,498 buildings, 59 Commercial Premises and the loss of 5,223 stock. It burnt out 411,239 hectares of land.

The destructive power of these fires.
" The total amount of heat released from the fires on "Black Saturday" would have been sufficient to provide the total energy needs for all Victorian domestic and industrial use for a year. This energy was released in just a few hours.
The energy of the fires was equivalent to more than 1500 atomic bombs the size of the one used at Hiroshima, which devastated an area equivalent to 2,000 ha, but bushfires release their energy in a "storm" not a "blast".

The Victorian Bushfires that occurred on 7 February 2009 are considered to be the worst natural disaster in Australian history. Significant loss and damage resulted in many regions of Victoria.

Fires affected at least 70 communities and 300 areas, including Marysville, Kinglake, Kinglake West, Kilmore, Yea, Murrindindi, Alexandra, St Andrews, Reedy Creek, Mittons Bridge, Humevale, Heathcote Junction, Flowerdale, Beechworth, Dargo, Bunyip, Mudgegonga, Narbethong, Cambarville, Koornalla, Jerralang Junction, Churchill, Callignee, Yarra Glen, Whittlesea, Upper Plenty, Toolangi, Strath Creek, Strathewen, Steels Creek, Bendigo and Redesdale.

Map of the FEBRUARY 2009 FIRES

Image courtesy of 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission—Interim Report
Source: (15) Exhibit 11 – Statement of Esplin, Attachment 1