List_of_major_bushfires_in_Australia

List of major bushfires in Australia

List of major bushfires in Australia

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This is a list of major bushfires in Australia. The list contains individual bushfires and bushfire seasons that have resulted in fatalities, or bushfires that have burned in excess of 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres), or was significant for its damage to particular Australian landmarks.

As of 2010, Australian bushfires accounted for over 800 deaths since 1851 and, in 2012, the total accumulated cost was estimated to be A$1.6 billion.[1] In terms of monetary cost however, bushfires have not cost as much in financial terms as the damage caused by drought, severe storms, hail, and cyclones,[2] perhaps[opinion] because they most commonly occur outside highly populated urban areas.[clarification needed]

Of all the recorded fires in Australia, the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in the state of Victoria claimed the largest number of recorded deaths of any individual Australian bushfire or bushfires season – 173 fatalities over 21 days.[3] The largest known area burnt was between 100–117 million hectares (250–290 million acres), impacting approximately 15 per cent of Australia's physical land mass, during the 1974–75 Australian bushfire season.[4] The most number of homes destroyed was approximately 3,700 dwellings, attributed to Victoria's 1939 Black Friday bushfires.[5]

The fires of the summer of 2019–2020 affected densely populated areas including holiday destinations resulting in the New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, to claim it was "absolutely" the worst bushfire season on record [in that state].[6] Australian National University described the 2019 fire year as "close to average"[7] and the 2020 fire year as "unusually small".[8]

Some of the most severe Australian bushfires (single fires and fire seasons) have included:[lower-alpha 1]

List

More information Date, Name or description ...

Australia Bushfire Seasons

Notes

  1. The 1974–1975 and 2019–2020 bushfire seasons have a combined total of area burnt.
  2. Included the Governor's summer residence at Marble Hill
  3. Included the Chateau Napier
  4. The 1974–75 bushfire season burnt over 100 million hectares (250 million acres), but there are different figures reported:
    • In 1995, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported 117 million hectares (290 million acres)[4]
    • The 2004 National Inquiry on Bushfire Mitigation and Management reports a total of 102 million hectares (250 million acres)[22]
    The extent of the 1974–75 bushfire season was not known until after the event when satellite images were analysed, due to the fires being mostly located in very remote areas of the continent.[4]
  5. All firefighters
  6. All volunteer firefighters
  7. Both firefighters
  8. A firefighter
  9. All firefighters
  10. Includes 3 NSW firefighters, 1 Victorian firefighter, and 3 US firefighters who were killed in a Lockheed C-130 Hercules water tanker crash in the Snowy Monaro region[76]
  11. As of 13 January 2020
    • NSW 2,162+
    • SA 100+
    • Vic 54+
    • Qld 40+
    • NT 5
    • Tas 1
    • WA unknown

References

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    "FINAL REPORT: Summary" (PDF). Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. July 2010.
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    Chang, Charis (8 January 2020). "How the 2019 Australian bushfire season compares to other fire disasters". news.com.au. Retrieved 14 January 2020. The 1974/75 fires had almost no impact and much of the damage was found by satellite after the fact.
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