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Bushfires in Australia

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"Bushfire" redirects here. For general information on uncontrolled fires in non-urban areas, see Wildfire.

The Green Wattle Creek fire approaches South West Sydney during the 2019–20 Australian bushfires.
Looking towards the town Swifts Creek, Victoria, in December 2006 during the Victorian Alpine fires
Intense bushfires can seriously impact the environment, such as here by the Big River, near Anglers Rest, East Gippsland, after the 2003 Victorian fires

Bushfires in Australia impact extensive areas and cause property damage and have accounted for the deaths of 800 people in Australia since 1851,[1] and millions of animals.[2]

A small amount of Australia's native flora have evolved to rely on bushfires as a means of reproduction – for example grass trees following fire duress will send up large flower spikes to assist in procreation of the species, however the mother plants usually die off the following season – and fire events were in the past an interwoven part of the ecology of the continent. For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have used fire to clear grasslands for hunting and to clear tracks through dense vegetation, however this was only in periods of high rainfall and in very small grassland zones bordering desert. The food thus gained provided much needed protein to nomadic tribes.

Major firestorms that result in severe loss of life are often named based on the day on which they occur, such as Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday. Some of the most intense, extensive and deadly bushfires commonly occur during droughts and heat waves, such as the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave, which precipitated the conditions during the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in which 180 people died. Other major conflagrations include the 1851 Black Thursday bushfires, the 2006 December bushfires and the ongoing 2019–20 bushfires.[3]

Categories

A hilly bushfire that charred Prospect Hill, in Sydney.

The word "bushfire" builds on the concept of "the bush", referring to sparsely-inhabited regions. Bushfires in Australia are generally defined as uncontrolled, non-structural fires burning in a grass, scrub, bush, or forested area. Australia, being a geographically and meteorogically diverse continent, experiences many types of bushfires. There are two main categories, depending on local topography.

  • Hilly/mountainous fires – burn in hilly, mountainous or alpine areas which are usually densely forested. The land is less accessible and not conducive to agriculture, thus many of these densely forested areas have been saved from deforestation and are protected by national, state and other parks. The steep terrain increases the speed and intensity of a firestorm. Where settlements are located in hilly or mountainous areas, bushfires can pose a threat to both life and property.
  • Flat/grassland fires – burn along flat plains or areas of small undulation, predominantly covered in grasses or scrubland. These fires can move quickly, fanned by high winds in flat topography, and they quickly consume the small amounts of fuel/vegetation available. These fires pose less of a threat to settlements as they rarely reach the same intensity seen in major firestorms as the land is flat, the fires are easier to map and predict, and the terrain is more accessible for firefighting personnel. Many regions of predominantly flat terrain in Australia have been almost completely deforested for agriculture, reducing the fuel loads which would otherwise facilitate fires in these areas.

Impact on wildlife

Bush fires kill animals directly and also destroy local habitats, leaving the survivors vulnerable even once the fires have passed. Professor Chris Dickman at Sydney University estimates that in the first three months of the 2019-2020 bushfires, over 480 million animals died in NSW. This figure includes mammals, birds and reptiles but does not include insects, bats or frogs. Many of these animals were burnt to death in the fires, with many others dying later due to the depletion of food and shelter resources and predation by feral cats and red foxes. Dickman adds that Australia has the highest rate of species lost of any area in the world.[4]

Koalas are perhaps the most vulnerable because they are slow-moving. In extreme fires koalas tend to climb up to the top of a tree and curl into a ball where they become trapped. Wildlife ecologist Professor Euan Ritchie from Deakin University says that when fires have passed, frogs and skinks are left vulnerable when their habitats have been destroyed. Loss of habitat also affects already endangered species such as the western ground parrot, the Leadbeater's possum, the Mallee emu-wren (a bird which cannot fly very far), and Gilbert's potoroo. Beekeepers have also lost hives in bushfires.[5]

Kangaroos and wallabies can move quickly to escape from fires but the most resilient animals are those that can burrow or fly. Possums often get singed, but can sometimes hide in tree hollows. Wombats and snakes tend to go underground.[5]

Goannas can actually benefit from bushfires. Dickman says: "In central Australia we've seen goannas coming out from their burrows after a fire and picking off injured animals – singed birds, young birds, small mammals, surface dwelling lizards and snakes."[5]

Causes

Bushfires can be triggered by natural causes such as lightning, but more frequently by man-made events such as arcing from overhead power lines, arson, accidental ignition in the course of agricultural clearing, grinding and welding activities, campfires, cigarettes and dropped matches, sparks from machinery, and controlled burn escapes.

Some reports indicate that a changing climate could also be contributing to the ferocity of the 2019–20 fires with hotter, drier conditions making the country’s fire season longer and much more dangerous. [6] Strong winds also promote the rapid spread of fires by lifting burning embers into the air. This is known as spotting and can start a new fire up to 40km downwind from the fire front.[7] Fires can also be spread by black kites, whistling kites and brown falcons. These birds have been spotted picking up burning twigs, flying to areas of unburned grass and dropping them to start new fires there. This exposes their prey attempting to flee the blazes: small mammals, birds, lizards and insects.[8]

Looking towards Dargo, Victoria from Swifts Creek, 11 January 2006

Climate change

See also: Climate change in Australia

A 2006 report by the Bushfire CRC acknowledges the complexity of climate predictions pointing out "Much of [Australia's] vegetation has a complex evolutionary and dependent relationship with fire. Fire has been part of these environments for tens of thousands of years and much native flora and fauna remains dependent on it in various ways."[9]

However, Australia’s climate has warmed by more than one degree Celsius over the past century, causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves and droughts.[10] Eight of Australia's ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2005.[11] A study in 2018 conducted at Melbourne University found that the major droughts of the late 20th century and early 21st century in southern Australia are "likely without precedent over the past 400 years".[12] Across the country, the average summer temperatures have increased leading to record breaking hot weather, [13] with the early summer of 2019 the hottest on record.[14]

Heatwaves and droughts dry out the undergrowth and create conditions that increase the risk of bushfires. This has got worse in the last 30 years.[15] Since the mid-1990s, southeast Australia has experienced a 15% decline in late autumn and early winter rainfall and a 25% decline in average rainfall in April and May. Rainfall for January to August 2019 was the lowest on record in the Southern Downs (Queensland) and Northern Tablelands (New South Wales) with some areas 77% below the longterm average.[16]

More than a decade ago the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that ongoing anthropogenic climate change was virtually certain to increase in intensity and frequency of fires in Australia – a conclusion that has been endorsed in numerous reports since.[10] In November 2019, the Australian Climate Council published a report titled This is Not Normal[17] which also found the catastrophic bushfire conditions affecting NSW and Queensland in late 2019 have been aggravated by climate change.[18] According to Nerilie Abram writing in Scientific American "the link between the current extremes and anthropogenic climate change is scientifically undisputable".[10]

Carbon emissions

Main article: Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia

Until the 2019–2020 Australian bushfire season, the forests in Australia were thought to reabsorb all the carbon released in bushfires across the country. This would mean the forests achieved net zero emissions. However, scientists now say that global warming is making bushfires burn more intensely and frequently and believe the current fires have already released about 350 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – as much as two-thirds of Australia's average annual carbon dioxide emissions (530 million tonnes in 2017)[19] in just the past three months. David Bowman, professor of pyrogeography and fire science at the University of Tasmania warns that so much damage has been done that Australian forests may take more than 100 years to re-absorb the carbon that has been released so far this fire season.[20]

These bushfire emissions increase Australia's contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating the problems associated with global warming.

Seasonality

Bushfires in Australia can occur all year-round, though the severity and the "bushfire season" varies by region.[21] These seasons are commonly grouped into years such as "2019–2020 Australian bushfire season" and typically run from June one year until May the next year.

In southeast Australia, bushfires tend to be most common and most severe during summer and autumn (December–March), in drought years, and particularly severe in El Niño years. Southeast Australia is fire-prone, and warm and dry conditions intensify the probability of fire.[22] In northern Australia, bushfires usually occur during the dry season (April to September),[23] and fire severity tends to be more associated with seasonal weather patterns. In the southwest, similarly, bushfires occur in the summer dry season and severity is usually related to seasonal growth. Fire frequency in the north is difficult to assess, as the vast majority of fires are caused by human activity, however lightning strikes are as common a cause as human-ignited fires and arson.

History

Further information: Eucalyptus § Fire hazard
Epicormic shoots sprouting vigorously from epicormic buds beneath the thick bushfire damaged bark of a Eucalyptus tree – one of the mechanisms evolved by plants to survive bushfires
Bushfire damage to forests in East Gippsland, Victoria from the 2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires, two years after fires swept through the area, showing the recovery of trees and undergrowth

According to Tim Flannery (The Future Eaters), fire is one of the most important forces at work in the Australian environment. Aboriginal people used fire-stick farming to burn vegetation to facilitate hunting and promote the growth of bush potatoes and other edible ground-level plants. In central Australia, they used fire in this way to manage their country for thousands of years.[24] Flannery writes that "The use of fire by Aboriginal people was so widespread and constant that virtually every early explorer in Australia makes mention of it. It was Aboriginal fire that prompted James Cook to call Australia 'This continent of smoke'."

However Flannery goes on to say: "When control was wrested from the Aborigines and placed in the hands of Europeans, disaster resulted."[25] Fire suppression became the dominant paradigm in fire management leading to a significant shift away from traditional burning practices. A 2001 study found that the disruption of traditional burning practices and the introduction of unrestrained logging meant that many areas of Australia were now prone to extensive wildfires especially in the dry season.[26] A similar study in 2017 found that the removal of mature trees by Europeans since they began to settle in Australia may have triggered extensive shrub regeneration which presents a much greater fire fuel hazard.[27] Another factor was the introduction of Gamba grass imported into Queensland as a pasture grass in 1942, and planted on a large scale from 1983. This can fuel intense bushfires, leading to loss of tree cover and long-term environmental damage.[28][29]

Plants have evolved a variety of mechanisms to survive or even require bushfires (possessing epicormic shoots or lignotubers that sprout after a fire, or developing fire-resistant or fire-triggered seeds), or even encourage fire (eucalypts contain flammable oils in the leaves) as a way to eliminate competition from less fire-tolerant species.[30]

Warnings

During the fire season the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) provides fire weather forecasts. Fire agencies determine the appropriate Fire Danger Rating by considering the predicted weather including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and dryness of vegetation. These Fire Danger Ratings are a feature of weather forecasts and alert the community to the actions they should take in preparation of the day. Ratings are broadcast via newspapers, radio, TV, and the internet.[31]

In 2009, a standardised Fire Danger Rating (FDR) was adopted by all Australian states. This included a whole new level – catastrophic fire danger. The first time this level of danger was forecast for Sydney was in November 2019 during the 2019–2020 Australian bushfire season.[32] In 2010, following a national review of the bush fire danger ratings, new trigger points for each rating were introduced for grassland areas in most jurisdictions.

Fire Danger Rating
Category Fire Danger Index
Catastrophic / Code Red Forest 100+ Grass 150+
Extreme Forest 75–100 Grass 100–150
Severe Forest 50–75 Grass 50–100
Very high 25–50
High 12–25
Low to moderate 0–12

Remote monitoring

Remote monitoring of wildfires is done in Australia. Geoscience Australia developed the (real-time) Sentinel bushfire monitoring system. It uses data from satellites to help fire-fighting agencies assess and manage risks.[33][34][35] There is also MyFireWatch, which is a program based on an existing Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) program, redeveloped by Landgate and Edith Cowan University (ECU) for use by the general public.[36][37] Besides the use of satellites, Australian firefighters also make use of UAV's as a tool for combating fire.[38]

Regional management

The Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) is the peak body responsible for representing fire, emergency services and land management agencies in the Australasian region.

Queensland

The Rural Fire Service (RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and operates as part of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.[39]

New South Wales

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW), the Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW), the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) work together to manage and respond to fires across New South Wales.

South Australia

The Country Fire Service is a volunteer based fire service in the state of South Australia. The CFS operates as a part of the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM).

Victoria

Major bushfires in Victoria in the 2000s
Main article: Bushfires in Victoria

In Victoria, the Country Fire Authority (CFA) provides firefighting and other emergency services to country areas and regional townships within the state, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne not covered by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.[40]

Responsibility for fire suppression and management, including planned burning on public land such as State Forests and National Parks, which makes up about 7.1 million hectares or about one third of the State, sits with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

Western Australia

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) and the Department of Parks and Wildlife (P&W) have joint responsibility for bushfire management in Western Australia.[41] DFES is an umbrella organisation supporting the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS), Bush Fire Service (BFS), Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service (VFRS), State Emergency Service (SES), Volunteer Fire and Emergency Service (VFES), Emergency Services Cadets and the Volunteer Marine Rescue Service (VMR).

Tasmania

The Tasmania Fire Service manages bushfires in Tasmania with the help of Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and Forestry Tasmania.[42][43]

Guidelines for survival

Local authorities provide education and information for residents in bushfire-prone regions regarding the location of current fires,[44] preservation of life and property[45] and when to escape by car.[46]

Major bushfires in Australia

Bushfires have accounted for over 800 deaths in Australia since 1851 and, in 2012, the total accumulated cost was estimated at $1.6 billion.[47] In terms of monetary cost however, they rate behind the damage caused by drought, severe storms, hail, and cyclones,[48] perhaps because they most commonly occur outside highly populated urban areas, although the severe fires of the summer of 2019–2020 affected densely populated areas including holiday destinations.[49]

Some of the most severe Australian bushfires (single fires and fire seasons), in chronological order, have included: note 2019/2020 bushfires have a combined total of hectares burned for the States names not single State totals.

Name or description State(s) /
territories 		Area burned (Approx.) Date Fatalities Properties damaged Notes
ha acres

2019–20 Australian bushfire season

  • New South Wales
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia
 8,400,000 21,000,000 5 September 2019 – present 25 (including 3 NSW firefighters) 1525 homes currently confirmed destroyed (as of 1 January 2020)

(NSW 1298+ homes destroyed )

(SA 86 homes destroyed)

(Vic 54+ homes destroyed)*

*However this number expected to rise significantly pending updated count in East Gippsland region of Victoria

500,000,000 wild animals are estimated to have died. (Not including frogs and insects) [50] [51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59]
Black Thursday bushfires Victoria 5,000,000 12,000,000 6 February 1851 about 12 1 million sheep; thousands of cattle [60][61]
Red Tuesday bushfires Victoria 260,000 640,000 1 February 1898 12 2,000 buildings [61]
1926 bushfires Victoria February–March 1926 60 1,000 [62]
Black Friday bushfires Victoria 2,000,000 4,900,000 December 1938 – January 1939 71 3,700
1944 bushfires Victoria 1,000,000 2,500,000 14 January – 14 February 1944 15–20 more than 500 houses [61]
Woodford/Springwood Bushfire 1944, Blue Mountains New South Wales 18 November 1944 Nil 27 homes
1951–52 bushfires Victoria 4,000,000 9,900,000 November 1951 – January 1952 11 [63]
Black Sunday bushfires South Australia 39,000–160,000 96,000–395,000 2 January 1955 2 40 dwellings including the Governor's summer residence at Marble Hill
Grose valley bushfire, Blue Mountains 1957 New South Wales 30 November 1957 4 4 boys were killed on a bush walk out to Perrys look down 5 others survived, the leader of the group got help at Blackheath[citation needed]
1957 Leura bushfire, Blue Mountains New South Wales 2 December 1957 Nil 170 homes in parts of Katoomba, Leura and Wentworth falls One building that was destroyed was the Chateau Napier.[citation needed]
1961 Western Australian bushfires Western Australia 1,800,000 4,400,000 January–March 1961 Nil 160 homes [64]
1962 bushfires Victoria 14–16 January 1962 32 450 houses [62]
1965 Gippsland bushfires Victoria 315,000 780,000 21 Feb – 13 March 1965 Nil 60 buildings, 4000 stock [65]
Southern Highlands bushfires New South Wales 5–14 March 1965 3 59 homes
Tasmanian "Black Tuesday" bushfires Tasmania 264,000 650,000 7 February 1967 62 1,293 homes [61]
Dandenong Ranges bushfire Victoria 1,920 4,700 19 February 1968 53 homes; 10 other buildings
1968 Blue Mountains Bushfire New South Wales 29 November 1968 4 over 120 homes
1969 bushfires Victoria 8 January 1969 23 230 houses [62]
1974 Moolah-Corinya bushfires, Far West NSW New South Wales 1,117,000 2,760,000 Mid-December 1974 3 40 homes, 10,170 kilometres (6,320 mi) of fencing, 50,000 livestock [66][67][68][69]
1974 Cobar bushfire New South Wales 1,500,000 3,700,000 Mid-December 1974 [66][67][68][69]
1974 Balranald bushfire New South Wales 340,000 840,000 Mid December 1974 [67][68][69]
1974–75 New South Wales bushfires 1974–1975 New South Wales 4,500,000 11,000,000 1974–1975 season 6 [70][71][72]
1974–1975 Northern Territory bushfires Northern Territory 45,000,000 110,000,000 1974–1975 season [73]
1974–1975 Queensland bushfires Queensland 7,500,000 19,000,000 1974–1975 season [73]
1974–1975 South Australia bushfires South Australia 17,000,000 42,000,000 1974–1975 season [73]
1974–1975 Western Australia bushfires Western Australia 29,000,000 72,000,000 1974–1975 season [73]
Western Districts bushfires Victoria 103,000 250,000 12 February 1977 4 116 houses, 340 buildings
Blue Mountains Fires 1977 New South Wales 54,000 130,000 17 December 1977 2 49 houses
1978 Western Australian bushfires Western Australia 114,000 280,000 4 April 1978 2 6 buildings (drop in wind in early evening is said to have saved the towns of Donnybrook, Boyup Brook, Manjimup, and Bridgetown.)
1979 Sydney bushfires New South Wales December 1979 5 28 homes destroyed, 20 homes damaged [74]
1980 Waterfall bushfire New South Wales 1,000,000 2,500,000 3 November 1980 5 firefighters 14 homes [75]
Grays Point bushfire New South Wales 9 January 1983 3 volunteer firefighters [76]
Ash Wednesday bushfires
  • South Australia
  • Victoria
 418,000 1,030,000 16 February 1983 75 about 2,400 houses
1984 Western New South Wales grasslands bushfires New South Wales 500,000 1,200,000 25 December 1984 40,000 livestock, $40 million damage [67][68][69]
1985 Cobar bushfire New South Wales 516,000 1,280,000 Mid January 1985 Nil [67][68]
1984/85 New South Wales bushfires New South Wales 3,500,000 8,600,000 1984–1985 season 5 [67][68][69][70][71][72]
Central Victoria bushfires Victoria 50,800 126,000 14 January 1985 3 180+ houses
1994 Eastern seaboard fires New South Wales 400,000 990,000 27 December 1993 – 16 January 1994 4 225 homes [77]
Wooroloo bushfire Western Australia 10,500 26,000 8 January 1997 Nil 16 homes
Dandenongs bushfire Victoria 400 990 21 January 1997 3 41 homes [78]
Lithgow bushfire New South Wales 2 December 1997 2 firefighters [78]
Menai bushfire New South Wales 2 December 1997 1 firefighter 11 homes destroyed, 30 homes damaged [79]
Perth and SW Region bushfires Western Australia 23,000 57,000 2 December 1997 2 1 home lost
Linton bushfire Victoria 2 December 1998 5
Black Christmas bushfires New South Wales 300,000 740,000 25 December 2001 – 2002 Nil 121 homes
2002 NT bushfires Northern Territory 15,000,000 37,000,000 August–November 2002 [80]
2003 Canberra bushfires Australian Capital Territory 160,000 400,000 18–22 January 2003 4 almost 500 homes [80][78]
2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires Victoria 1,300,000 3,200,000 8 January – 8 March 2003 3 41 homes
Tenterden Western Australia 2,110,000 5,200,000 December 2003 2 [citation needed]
2005 Eyre Peninsula bushfire South Australia 77,964 192,650 10–12 January 2005 9 93 homes
2006 Central Coast bushfire New South Wales New Years Day, 2006
Jail Break Inn Fire, Junee New South Wales 30,000 74,000 New Years Day 2006 Nil Livestock losses estimated to be over 20,000. Seven homes, seven headers and four shearing sheds destroyed. 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) of fencing damaged. [81][82]
2005 Victorian bushfires Victoria 160,000 400,000 December 2005 – January 2006 4 57 houses, 359 farm buildings, 65,000 stock losses, fires occurred in the Stawell, Moondarra, Anakie, Yea, and Kinglake regions. [83]
Grampians bushfire Victoria 184,000 450,000 January 2006 2
Pulletop bushfire, Wagga Wagga New South Wales 9,000 22,000 6 February 2006 Nil 2,500 sheep and 6 cattle killed, 3 vehicles and 2 hay sheds destroyed as well as 50 kilometres (31 mi) of fencing.
The Great Divides bushfire Victoria 1,048,000 2,590,000 1 December 2006 – March 2007 1 51 homes
2006–07 Australian bushfire season
  • New South Wales
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia
 1,360,000 3,400,000 September 2006 – January 2007 5 Over 100 structures including 83 houses; numerous non-residential structures [84][85][86][87][88][89][90]
Dwellingup bushfire Western Australia 12,000 30,000 4 February 2007 Nil 16
Kangaroo Island bushfires South Australia 95,000 230,000 6–14 December 2007 1
Boorabbin National Park Western Australia 40,000 99,000 30 December 2007 3 Powerlines and Great Eastern Highway, forced to close for 2 weeks.
Black Saturday bushfires Victoria 450,000 1,100,000 7 February 2009 – 14 March 2009 173 2,029+ houses, 2,000 other structures.
Toodyay bushfire Western Australia 3,000 7,400 29 December 2009 Nil 38
Lake Clifton bushfire Western Australia 2,000 4,900 11 January 2011 Nil 10 homes destroyed.
Roleystone Kelmscott bushfire Western Australia 1,500 3,700 6–8 February 2011 Nil 72 homes destroyed, 32 damaged, Buckingham Bridge on Brookton Highway collapsed and closed for 3 weeks whilst a temporary bridge was constructed and opened a month after the fires.
Margaret River bushfire Western Australia 4,000 9,900 24 November 2011 Nil 34 homes destroyed including the historic Wallcliffe House. [91]
Tasmanian bushfires Tasmania 20,000 49,000 4 January 2013 1 At least 170 buildings
Warrumbungle bushfire New South Wales 54,000 130,000 18 January 2013 Nil At least 53 homes, 118 sheds, agricultural machinery and livestock. Infrastructure destroyed at Siding Spring Observatory. [92]
2013 New South Wales bushfires New South Wales 100,000 250,000 17–28 October 2013 1 As of 19 October 2013 at least 248 buildings destroyed statewide (inc. 208 dwellings), another 109 damaged in Springwood, Winmalee and Yellow Rock. Major fires also occurred in the Hunter, Central Coast, Macarthur and Port Stephens regions causing significant damage. [93][94][95]
Carnarvon bushfire complex Western Australia 800,000 2,000,000 27 December 2011 – 3 February 2012 Nil 11 pastoral stations (fences, watering systems, water points, stock feed).
2014 Parkerville bushfire Western Australia 386 950 12 January 2014 Nil 56 homes.
2015 Sampson Flat bushfires South Australia 20,000 49,000 2–9 January 2015 Nil 27 homes, 140 outbuildings
2015 O'Sullivan bushfire (Northcliffe – Windy Harbour) Western Australia 98,923 244,440 29 January – 20 February 2015 Nil 1 home and 1 inhabited shed, 5 farm sheds and thousands of hectares of production forests (karri and jarrah) or national parks.
2015 Lower Hotham bushfire (Boddington) Western Australia 52,373 129,420 January 2015 Nil 1 house, 1 farm shed, 1 bridge and thousands of hectares of production forest (jarrah) or national parks.
2015 Esperance bushfires Western Australia 200,000 490,000 October–November 2015 4 About 10 houses and public buildings (Scaddan), 15,000 stock losses, 5 Nature Reserves et most area of Cape Arid national park. [96][97]
Perth Hills bushfire complex – Solus Group Western Australia 10,016 24,750 15–24 November 2015 Nil Jarrah production forest and Conservation Park.
2015 Pinery bushfire South Australia 85,000 210,000 25 November – 2 December 2015 2 91 dwellings.
2016 Murray Road bushfire (Waroona and Harvey) Western Australia 69,165 170,910 January 2016 2 181 dwellings (166 only in Yarloop), historical Yarloop Workshops and thousands of hectares of Lane Poole Reserve and production forest (jarrah). [98]
2017 New South Wales bushfires New South Wales 52,000 130,000 11–14 February 2017 Nil 35 dwellings. [99]
2017 Carwoola bushfire New South Wales 3,500 8,600 17–18 February 2017 Nil 11 dwellings destroyed; 12 damaged. [100]
2018 Tathra bushfire New South Wales 1,200 3,000 18–19 March 2018 Nil 69 houses and 30 caravans/cabins destroyed; 39 damaged. [101]
Tabulam bushfire New South Wales 4,000 9,900 early February 2019 Nil 10 homes and 23 outbuildings destroyed.
Tingha bushfire New South Wales 17,000 42,000 early February 2019 Nil 8 homes and 18 outbuildings destroyed.
Yorke Peninsula bushfires South Australia 5,500 14,000 20–21 November 2019 Nil 11 homes destroyed.
Cudlee Creek bushfire South Australia 23,234 57,410 20–31 December 2019 1 87 homes, 500 outbuildings and 278 vehicles destroyed. [102]
Kangaroo Island bushfires South Australia 155,889 385,210 20 December 2019 – present 2 Unknown at this stage. [103]

See also

References

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  33. ^ Real-time bushfire monitoring satellite system to be developed by Geoscience Australia
  34. ^ Bushfire tracking with Sentinel Hotspots
  35. ^ Sentinel bushfire monitoring system webpage
  36. ^ MyFireWatch brings better bushfire information to regional communities
  37. ^ MyFireWatch
  38. ^ Drones to assist firefighters in emergencies
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