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Bushfires in Australia facts for kids

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Bushfires Southeastern Australia
Smoke from bushfires can cover a large area. This is eastern Victoria.
Melb bush fire smoke
The city of Melbourne covered in smoke during the 2006-2007 bushfire season.
Trappe fg02
An Australian Bustard searching for food behind a bushfire.
Ladysmith-RFS
Ladysmith NSW RFS fire fighting tanker

Bushfires in Australia are frequent events during the warmer months of the year, due to Australia's mostly hot, dry climate. Each year, such fires impact extensive areas. On the one hand, they can cause property damage and loss of human life. On the other hand, certain native flora in Australia have evolved to rely on bushfires as a means of reproduction, and fire events are an interwoven and an essential part of the ecology of the continent. For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have used fire to foster grasslands for hunting and to clear tracks through dense vegetation.

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 Southern Australia heat wave, which precipitated the conditions during the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in which 173 people lost their lives. Other major conflagrations include the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, the 2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires and the 2006 December Bushfires.

Global warming is increasing the frequency and severity of bushfires.

Categories

The term "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.

Common causes of bushfires include lightning, 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.

Fire activity swifts creek 2007 edit
Looking towards Dargo, Victoria from Swifts Creek, 11 January 2006

History

Epicormic Shoots from an Epicormic Bud on Eucalyptus following Bushfire 2, near Anglers Rest, Vic, Aust, jjron 27.3.2005
Epicormic shoots sprouting vigorously from epicormic buds beneath the thick bushfire damaged bark of a Eucalyptus tree – one of the strategies evolved by plants to survive bushfires
Bushfire damage
Bushfire damage to forests in East Gippsland, Victoria from the Bogong Fire Complex of 2003, two years after fires swept through the area, showing the recovery of trees and undercroft

The natural fire regime in Australia was altered by the arrival of humans. Fires became more frequent, and fire-loving species—notably eucalypts—greatly expanded their range. It is assumed that a good deal of this change came about as the result of deliberate action by early humans, setting fires to clear undergrowth or drive game.

Plants have evolved a variety of strategies 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.

Some native animals are also adept at surviving bushfires.

Warnings

In 2009, a standardised Fire Danger Rating (FDR) was adopted by all Australian states. During the fire season the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) provides fire weather forecasts and by considering the predicted weather including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and dryness of vegetation, fire agencies determine the appropriate Fire Danger Rating. 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. See for example the following glossary

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.

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

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.

New South Wales

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of 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 Victorian bushfires in the 2000s
Major bushfires in Victoria in the 2000s

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.

Western Australia

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services of Western Australia (DFES) and the Department of Parks and Wildlife (P&W) have joint responsibility for bushfire management in Western Australia. DFES is an umbrella organisation supporting the Bush Fire Brigade volunteers, Emergency Services Cadets, Fire and Rescue Service, State Emergency Service, Volunteer Emergency Service, Volunteer Fire Service, Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service, and the Volunteer Marine Rescue Services.

Guidelines for survival

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

Seasonality

Bushfires in Australia can occur all year-round, though the severity and the "bushfire season" varies by region. These seasons are commonly grouped into years such as "2006-07 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. In northern Australia, bushfires usually occur during the dry season (April to September), 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.

Climate change

Burnt property after a bushfire
Boy looks at the burnt trees on his property after the South Australian bushfires in 2019

Australia's climate has been trending toward more bushfire weather over the last 30 years. The Climate Commission found that "The intensity and seasonality of large bushfires in south-east Australia appears to be changing, with climate change a possible contributing factor."

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." In 2007, a study by the CSIRO (the national government body for scientific research in Australia), found evidence that climate change will lead to increases in very high and extreme fire danger rating days and earlier onset of the fire season. Other studies investigating the historical record identify significant changes in Australia's bushfire season as a result of human activity.

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. In terms of monetary cost however, they rate behind the damage caused by drought, severe storms, hail, and cyclones, perhaps because they most commonly occur outside highly populated urban areas. However, the severe fires of the summer of 2019–2020 affected densely populated areas including holiday destinations leading NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, to claim it was "absolutely" the worst bushfire season on record.

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.

Date Name or description State(s) /
territories		 Area burned
(approx.)		 Fatalities Properties damaged Notes
ha acres Homes
(destroyed)		 Other buildings Other damage
6 February 1851 Black Thursday bushfires Victoria 5,000,000 12,000,000 approx. 12 0 0
  • 1 million sheep
  • thousands of cattle
9 September 1895 Upper Blue Mountains fires New South Wales 150 370 0 24 Sheds Main Western Railway Line at Mount Victoria
1 February 1898 Red Tuesday bushfires Victoria 260,000 640,000 12 0 2,000
February – March 1926 1926 bushfires Victoria 390,000 960,000 60 1,000 0
13 January 1939 Black Friday bushfires Victoria 2,000,000 4,900,000 71 3,700 0
14 January – 14 February 1944 1944 Victorian bushfires Victoria 1,000,000 2,500,000 15–20 approx. 500 0
18 November 1944 1944 Blue Mountains bushfire New South Wales 0 approx. 40 0
November 1951 – January 1952 1951–52 bushfires Victoria 4,000,000 9,900,000 11 0 0
2 January 1955 Black Sunday bushfires South Australia 39,000–160,000 96,000–395,000 2 40 0
30 November 1957 1957 Grose Valley bushfire, Blue Mountains New South Wales 4 0 0
2 December 1957 1957 Leura bushfire, Blue Mountains New South Wales 0 170 0
January – March 1961 1961 Western Australian bushfires Western Australia 1,800,000 4,400,000 0 160 0
14 – 16 January 1962 1962 Victorian bushfires Victoria 32 450 0
16 February – 13 March 1965 1965 Gippsland bushfires Victoria 315,000 780,000 0 more than 20 60 4,000 livestock
5 – 14 March 1965 Southern Highlands bushfires New South Wales 251,000 620,000 3 59 0
7 February 1967 Black Tuesday bushfires Tasmania 264,000 650,000 62 1,293 0
1968 – 69 1968-69 Killarney Top Springs bushfires Northern Territory 40,000,000 99,000,000 0 0 0
29 November 1968 1968 Blue Mountains Bushfire New South Wales 4 approx. 120 0
8 January 1969 1969 bushfires Victoria 23 230 0
1969 – 70 1969-70 Dry River-Victoria River fire Northern Territory 45,000,000 110,000,000 0 0 0
1974 – 1975 summer fire season

(defined as October 1974 to February 1975 in Queensland only)		 1974-75 Australian bushfire season
  • New South Wales
  • Northern Territory
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Western Australia
 117,000,000 290,000,000 6 unknown unknown 15% of Australia was burnt. The damage was mostly in central Australia and so it did not impact many communities.
  • 57,000 farm animals
  • approximately 10,200 kilometres (6,300 mi) of fencing
12 February 1977 Western Districts bushfires Victoria 103,000 250,000 4 116 340
17 December 1977 Blue Mountains Fires 1977 New South Wales 54,000 130,000 2 49 0
4 April 1978 1978 Western Australian bushfires Western Australia 114,000 280,000 2 0 6
December 1979 1979 Sydney bushfires New South Wales 5 28 0
3 November 1980 1980 Waterfall bushfire New South Wales 1,000,000 2,500,000 5 14 0
9 January 1983 Grays Point bushfire New South Wales 3 0 0
16 February 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires
  • South Australia
  • Victoria
 418,000 1,030,000 75 approx. 2,400 0
25 December 1984 1984 Western New South Wales grasslands bushfires New South Wales 500,000 1,200,000 0 0 0
  • 40,000 livestock
  • A$40 million damages
Mid-January 1985 1985 Cobar bushfire New South Wales 516,000 1,280,000 0
1984 – 1985 season 1984 - 85 New South Wales bushfires New South Wales 3,500,000 8,600,000 5
14 January 1985 Central Victoria bushfires Victoria 50,800 126,000 3 180 0
27 December 1993 – 16 January 1994 1994 Eastern seaboard fires New South Wales 400,000 990,000 4 225 0
8 January 1997 Wooroloo bushfire Western Australia 10,500 26,000 0 16 0
21 January 1997 Dandenongs bushfire Victoria 400 990 3 41 0
2 December 1997 Lithgow bushfire New South Wales 2 0 0
2 December 1997 Menai bushfire New South Wales 1 11 0
2 December 1997 Perth and South-West Region bushfires Western Australia 23,000 57,000 2 1 0
2 December 1998 Linton bushfire Victoria 5 0 0
25 December 2001 – 7 January 2002 Black Christmas bushfires New South Wales 753,314 1,861,480 0 121 0
August – November 2002 2002 NT bushfires Northern Territory 38,000,000 94,000,000 0 0 0
19 October 2002 Thurlgona Road Bushfire New South Wales 0 10 Numerous Sheds
20 October 2002 Abernathy Bushfire New South Wales 1,400 3,459 1 13 Numerous Sheds
4 December 2002 2002 NSW Bushfires New South Wales 1 20 Significant damage to Holsworthy Army Base
18 – 22 January 2003 2003 Canberra bushfires Australian Capital Territory 160,000 400,000 4 approx. 500 0
8 January – 8 March 2003 2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires Victoria 1,300,000 3,200,000 0 41 213 10,000 livestock
December 2003 Tenterden Western Australia 15,000 37,000 0 2 0
10 – 12 January 2005 2005 Eyre Peninsula bushfire South Australia 77,964 192,650 9 93 0
New Years Day 2006 Jail Break Inn Fire, Junee New South Wales 30,000 74,000 0 7 4
  • 20,000 livestock
  • 7 headers
  • 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) of fencing
December 2005 – January 2006 2005 Victorian bushfires Victoria 160,000 400,000 4 57 359 65,000 livestock
January 2006 Grampians bushfire Victoria 184,000 450,000 2 0 0
6 February 2006 Pulletop bushfire, Wagga Wagga New South Wales 9,000 22,000 0 0 2
  • 2,500 livestock
  • 3 vehicles
  • 50 kilometres (31 mi) of fencing
1 December 2006 – March 2007 The Great Divides bushfire Victoria 1,048,000 2,590,000 1 51 0
September 2006 – January 2007 2006–07 Australian bushfire season
  • New South Wales
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia
 1,360,000 3,400,000 5 83 approx. 20
4 February 2007 Dwellingup bushfire Western Australia 12,000 30,000 0 16 0
6 – 14 December 2007 2007 Kangaroo Island bushfires South Australia 95,000 230,000 1 0 0
30 December 2007 Boorabbin National Park Western Australia 40,000 99,000 3 0 0
  • Powerlines
  • Great Eastern Highway was closed for 2 weeks
7 February – 14 March 2009 Black Saturday bushfires Victoria 450,000 1,100,000 173 2,029 2,000
4 January 2013 Tasmanian bushfires Tasmania 20,000 49,000 1
18 January 2013 Warrumbungle bushfire New South Wales 54,000 130,000 0 53 118
17 – 28 October 2013 2013 New South Wales bushfires New South Wales 100,000 250,000 1 208 40
27 December 2011 – 3 February 2012 Carnarvon bushfire complex Western Australia 800,000 2,000,000 0 0 0 11 pastoral stations
(fences, watering systems, water points, stock feed)
2 – 9 January 2015 2015 Sampson Flat bushfires South Australia 20,000 49,000 0 27 140
29 January – 20 February 2015 2015 O'Sullivan bushfire (Northcliffe – Windy Harbour) Western Australia 98,923 244,440 0 2 5 Thousands of hectares of production forests (karri and jarrah) or national parks
January 2015 2015 Lower Hotham bushfire (Boddington) Western Australia 52,373 129,420 0 1 1
  • 1 bridge
  • Thousands of hectares of production forest (jarrah) or national parks
1–9 August 2015 2015 Wentworthfalls Winter Fire New South Wales 800 2,000 0 0 0
October – November 2015 2015 Esperance bushfires Western Australia 200,000 490,000 4 10 0
15 – 24 November 2015 Perth Hills bushfire complex – Solus Group Western Australia 10,016 24,750 0 0 0 Jarrah production forest and Conservation Park
25 November – 2 December 2015 2015 Pinery bushfire South Australia 85,000 210,000 2 91 0
January 2016 2016 Murray Road bushfire (Waroona and Harvey) Western Australia 69,165 170,910 2 181 Yarloop Workshops
  • Thousands of hectares of Lane Poole Reserve
  • Production forest (jarrah)
11 – 14 February 2017 2017 New South Wales bushfires New South Wales 52,000 130,000 0 35 0
Early February 2019 Tingha bushfire New South Wales 23,419 57,870 0 19
5 September 2019 – 2 March 2020 2019–20 Australian bushfire season (Black Summer) Nationwide 18,626,000 46,030,000 34 approx. 2,600 approx. 6,000 At least one billion wild animals are estimated to have died (not including frogs and insects) with some species thought to be facing extinction. Area Other
1 June 2020 – 1 June 2021 2020–21 Australian bushfire season Nationwide 250,000 617,763 0 85 Dozen outbuildings and 1 Service Station in Lucindale and dozens of out buildings in Bradbury.

Outbuildings, sheds and a nursery destroyed in Oakford.

Outbuildings lost in Wooroloo and surrounds.

 1 house in Northmead north west of Sydney was severely damaged.

Related pages

Images for kids

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    Wildfire near Yosemite National Park, United States, in 2013. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) of forest.

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    A surface fire in the western desert of Utah, United States

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    Charred landscape following a crown fire in the North Cascades, United States

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    Forest fires visible from a distance in Dajti National Park, Tirana, Albania

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    Experimental fire in Canada

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    A dirt road acted as a fire barrier in South Africa. The effects of the barrier can clearly be seen on the unburnt (left) and burnt (right) sides of the road.

  • 2011-08-04 20 00 00 Susie Fire in the Adobe Range west of Elko Nevada

    Lightning-sparked wildfires are frequent occurrences during the dry summer season in Nevada.

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    A wildfire in Venezuela during a drought.

  • Global Fires - August and February 2008

    Global fires during the year 2008 for the months of August (top image) and February (bottom image), as detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite.

  • Boreal pine forest after fire

    Ecological succession after a wildfire in a boreal pine forest next to Hara Bog, Lahemaa National Park, Estonia. The pictures were taken one and two years after the fire.

  • Wildfire in Yellowstone NP produces Pyrocumulus cloud

    A Pyrocumulus cloud produced by a wildfire in Yellowstone National Park

  • USA Groundwater and Soil moisture Drought Map

    National map of groundwater and soil moisture in the United States. It shows the very low soil moisture associated with the 2011 fire season in Texas.

  • Prescribed burn in a Pinus nigra stand in Portugal

    A prescribed burn in a Pinus nigra stand in Portugal

  • Drymountainlookout1930

    Dry Mountain Fire Lookout in the Ochoco National Forest, Oregon, circa 1930

  • Wildfires Balkans July 2007-NASA

    Wildfires across the Balkans in late July 2007 (MODIS image)

  • Global map of fire alerts April 13, 2021 screen dump from Global Forest Watch website

    Global map of fire alerts on April 13, 2021. Available from Global Forest Watch. Live updates.

  • RIAN archive 733844 Forest fires ravaging near Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant

    A Russian firefighter extinguishing a wildfire

  • Wildfire fighter

    Wildfire fighters cutting down a tree using a chainsaw

  • Wildland Firefighter

    Wildland firefighter working a brush fire in Hopkinton, New Hampshire

  • ACTbushfire03

    2003 Canberra firestorm

  • Sediment off the Yucatan Peninsula

    Sediment off the Yucatan Peninsula

  • Prospect Hill bushfire

    Charred shrubland in suburban Sydney (2019–20 Australian bushfires).

  • North Complex smoke in San Francisco - Bay Bridge and Financial District

    Smoke from the 2020 California wildfires settles over San Francisco

  • Deerfire high res

    Elk Bath, an award winning photograph of elk avoiding a wildfire in Montana

  • Burning mountains Thailand

    Aerial view of deliberate wildfires on the Khun Tan Range, Thailand. These fires are lit by local farmers every year to promote the growth of a certain mushroom

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Incendios forestales de Australia para niños

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