Bushfires in Victoria
The state of Victoria in Australia has had a long history of catastrophic bushfires.
The most deadly of these, the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009 claiming 173 lives. Legislation, planning, management and suppression are the responsibilities of the Victorian State Government
By number of fires
[edit]
- Lightning - 26%
- Deliberate - 25%
- Agricultural - 16%
- Campfire - 10%
- Cigarettes/Matches - 7%
- Unknown Causes - 6%
- Misc - 5%
- Machinery/Exhausts - 3%
- Planned burn escapes - 2%
- Public Utilities - 1%
By area burnt
[edit]- Lightning - 46%
- Public Utilities - 14%
- Deliberate - 14%
- Misc - 9%
- Agricultural - 7%
- Planned burn escapes - 5%
- Unknown Causes - 3%
- Machinery/Exhaust - 2%
- Campfire - 1%
- Cigarettes/Matches - less than 1%
Major Victorian Bushfires
[edit]
Most extensive fires
[edit]- 1851 - 6 February "Black Thursday" (5 million hectares)
- 1938-39 - December - January "Black Friday" (2 million hectares)
- 2020 - 3 January "Victoria/NSW Mega Blaze" (1.5+ million hectares)
- 2003 - January - March "2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires" (1.3 million hectares)
- 2006-07 - 1 December - 6 February "Eastern Victoria Great Divide bushfires" (1.2 -1.3 million hectares)
- 1944 - January - February (1 million hectares)
- 1983 - 16 February "Ash Wednesday" (510,000 hectares)
- 2009 - 7 February "Black Saturday" (450,000 hectares)
- 1965 - Gippsland (300,000 hectares)
- 1898 - 1 February "Red Tuesday" (260,000 hectares)
Deadliest fires
[edit]- 2009 - 7 February - March "Black Saturday" (173 deaths)
- 1939 - December - January "Black Friday" (71 deaths)
- 1926 - 14 February - March "Black Sunday" (60 deaths)
- 1944 - December - February (51 deaths)
- 1983 - 16 February "Ash Wednesday" (47 in Victoria)
- 1962 - 14–16 January (33 deaths)
- 1969 - 8 January (23 deaths)
- 1942 - Western Victoria (20 deaths)
- 1905 - 1 December (12 deaths)
- 1898 - 1 February "Red Tuesday" (12 deaths)
- 1851 - 6 February "Black Thursday" (12 deaths)
- 1943 - 22 December (10 deaths)
- 1952 - January - March, Central Victoria (10 deaths)
- 1977 - 12 February, Western Victoria (8 deaths)
- 1965 - 17 January (7 deaths) Longwood, Northern Victoria
- 1998 - 2 December (5 deaths) Linton, Western Victoria
- 1985 - 14 January (3 deaths) Avoca, Central Victoria
- 1997 - 21 January (3 deaths) Dandenong Ranges
See also
[edit]- Wildfire
- Bushfires in Australia
- 2015–16 Australian bushfire season
- 2019–20 Australian bushfire season
- Aerial firefighting and forestry in southern Australia
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- State Library of Victoria's Bushfires in Victoria Research Guide Guide to locating books, government reports, websites, statistics, newspaper reports and images about Victorian bushfires from 1851 to the present.
- Country Fire Authority
- Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning: Fire & emergencies
- VicEmergency (Incidents and warnings)