| 2005–06 Australian bushfire season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date(s) | Winter (June) 2005 – Autumn (May) 2006 |
| Location | Australia |
| Statistics | |
| Burned area | >180,000 ha (440,000 acres) |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 5 total
|
| Non-fatal injuries | Numerous |
| Structures destroyed | 500+ total
|
A moderately extensive bushfire season, particularly in western Victoria where fires were most prominent, occurred in mid-late January 2006 as conditions persisted across the state.
Bushfires in Victoria were prominent in mid-late January 2006 as conditions permitted across the state. With the loss of 4 lives and 57 homes. On Australia Day, a CFA volunteer died in the Victorian fires. Arsonists were charged with lighting fires that spread through western Victoria in late January. Two people died in The Grampians when their car was overcome by the Mount Lubra bushfire. [1]
Over the month a total of 500 fires were recorded in Victoria with 359 farm buildings destroyed, stock losses of 64,000 and 1,600 square kilometres (618 sq mi) of private and public land burned out. [2]
| State | Start date | Deaths | Injuries | Houses lost | Area (ha) | Local govt. | Impacted communities & destruction | Duration | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIC | 31 December 2005 | 2 | 11 | 10,000 ha (25,000 acres) | Northern Grampians | Stawell | [3] [4] [5] | ||
| NSW | 1 January 2006 | 1 | 10 | 25,000 ha (62,000 acres) | Junee | Bethungra, Illabo & Junee
| 2 days | [6] [7] [8] | |
| 1 | 3 | 4,500 ha (11,000 acres) | Gosford | Woy Woy, Umina Beach & Phegans Bay
| 2 days | [7] [9] [10] | |||
| VIC | 19 January 2006 | 2 | 40 | 130,000 ha (320,000 acres) | Northern Grampians | Moyston, Pornonal, Dunkeld, Mafeking, Willaura & Halls Gap
| 32 days | [3] [11] [12] | |
| VIC | 22 January 2006 | 5 | 6,700 ha (17,000 acres) | Greater Geelong | Anakie
| [3] [13] | |||
| VIC | 23 January 2006 | 1 | 2 | Murrindindi | near Yea
| [14] | |||
| VIC | 17 February 2006 | 1 | Indigo | Barnawartha
| [15] [16] | ||||
| VIC | 13 March 2006 | 6 | 3,100 ha (7,700 acres) | Pyrenees | Snake Valley, Scarsdale & Smythesdale
| 8 days | [17] [18] | ||
The Linton Bushfire was a wildfire that burned through private land and state forests near the township of Linton, Victoria, Australia on 2 December 1998. Firefighters from the Victorian state government's Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Country Fire Authority (CFA) were deployed to put out the fire. At approximately 8.45pm, two firefighting appliances and their crews were entrapped and engulfed in fire following an unexpected wind change. The bushfire covered a maximum land of 660 hectares of private and public land.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state Victoria, Australia. CFA comprises over 1,200 brigades organised in 21 districts, and shares responsibility for fire services with Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), which employs full-time paid firefighters in major urban areas; and Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV), which manages fire prevention and suppression on Victoria's public lands. CFA operations and equipment are partly funded by the Victorian Government through its Fire Services Levy, and supplemented by individual brigades' fundraising for vehicles and equipment.
Kinglake is a town in Victoria, Australia, 56 km (35 mi) north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shires of Murrindindi and Nillumbik local government areas. Kinglake recorded a population of 1,662 at the 2021 census.
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales.
One of the most extensive bushfire seasons in Australia's history. Victoria experienced the longest continuously burning bushfire complex in Australia's history, with fires in the Victorian Alps and Gippsland burning over 1 million hectares of land over the course of 69 days. See Bushfires in Australia for an explanation of regional seasons.
Australia has had over 160,708 floods in the last 10 years, many of which have taken out homes, wildlife and many habitats.
The Australian bushfire season ran from late December 2008 to April/May 2009. Above average rainfalls in December, particularly in Victoria, delayed the start of the season, but by January 2009, conditions throughout South eastern Australia worsened with the onset of one of the region's worst heat waves. On 7 February, extreme bushfire conditions precipitated major bushfires throughout Victoria, involving several large fire complexes, which continued to burn across the state for around one month. 173 people lost their lives in these fires and 414 were injured. 3,500+ buildings were destroyed, including 2,029 houses, and 7,562 people displaced.
The Australian bushfire season over the summer of 2007–2008, experienced fire occurrence below average for the season as some regions experienced increased rainfall and reduced fuel as a result of extensive fires during the previous 2006–07 season, particularly in Victoria where the fires in the 2006–07 season burnt over 1.1 million hectares of land. Fires in Victoria during the 2007–08 season burnt less than a fifth of the land area usually burnt during an average bushfire season.
Bushfires in Australia are a widespread and regular occurrence that have contributed significantly to shaping the nature of the continent over millions of years. Eastern Australia is one of the most fire-prone regions of the world, and its predominant eucalyptus forests have evolved to thrive on the phenomenon of bushfire. However, the fires can cause significant property damage and loss of both human and animal life. Bushfires have killed approximately 800 people in Australia since 1851, and billions of animals.
A bushfire season occurred predominantly from June 2009 to May 2010. Increased attention has been given to this season as authorities and government attempt to preempt any future loss of life after the Black Saturday bushfires during the previous season, 2008–09. Long range weather observations predict very hot, dry and windy weather conditions during the summer months, leading to a high risk of bushfire occurrence.
The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of fires that ignited across the Australian state of Victoria during extreme weather conditions on 7 February 2009. Burning around 450,000 ha for over a month, the fires destroyed over 2,100 homes, destroyed several regional towns and were fought by over 5,000 firefighting personnel. The Fires devastated many.
The summer of 2012–13 had above average fire potential for most of the southern half of the continent from the east coast to the west. This is despite having extensive fire in parts of the country over the last 12 months. The reason for this prediction is the abundant grass growth spurred by two La Niña events over the last two years.
The summer of 2013–14 was at the time, the most destructive bushfire season in terms of property loss since the 2008–09 Australian bushfire season, with the loss of 371 houses and several hundred non-residential buildings as a result of wild fires between 1 June 2015 and 31 May 2016. The season also suffered 4 fatalities; 2 died in New South Wales, 1 in Western Australia and 1 in Victoria. One death was as a direct result of fire, 2 died due to unrelated health complications while fighting fires on their property, and a pilot contracted by the NSW Rural Fire Service died during an accident.
The bushfire season in the summer of 2014–15, was expected to have the potential for many fires in eastern Australia after lower than expected rainfall was received in many areas. Authorities released warnings in the early spring that the season could be particularly bad.
The most destructive bushfire season in terms of property loss since the 2008–09 Australian bushfire season, occurred in the summer of 2015–16, with the loss of 408 houses and at least 500 non-residential buildings as a result of wild fires between 1 June 2015 and 31 May 2016. The season also suffered the most human fatalities since the 2008–09 Australian bushfire season; 6 died in Western Australia, 2 in South Australia and 1 in New South Wales. 8 deaths were as a direct result of fire, and a volunteer firefighter died due to unrelated health complications while on duty.
The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, or Black Summer, was one of the most intense and catastrophic fire seasons on record in Australia. It included a period of bushfires in many parts of Australia, which, due to its unusual intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, was considered a megafire by media at the time. Exceptionally dry conditions, a lack of soil moisture, and early fires in Central Queensland led to an early start to the bushfire season, beginning in June 2019. Hundreds of fires burnt, mainly in the southeast of the country, until May 2020. The most severe fires peaked from December 2019 to January 2020.