This article needs additional citations for verification . (January 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Kangaroo Island bushfires | |
---|---|
A significant proportion of Flinders Chase National Park was burnt in this bushfire event | |
Location | Kangaroo Island, South Australia |
Statistics | |
Date(s) | 6 December 2007 – 14 December 2007 |
Burned area | 170 square kilometres (42,000 acres) |
Cause | Lightning, strong winds |
Land use | Mixed, residential, bush and tourist attractions |
Fatalities | 1 life |
The Kangaroo Island bushfires were a series of bushfires caused by lightning strikes on 6 December 2007 on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, resulting in 95,000 ha of land being destroyed. The fires occurred mainly across the western side of the island near Flinders Chase National Park, Vivonne Bay, D'Estrees Bay, Western River and Riverleas.
The D'Estrees Bay fire in Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park was contained by 12 December 2007, while intense fires in the west, which included the protected areas of Flinders Chase National Park and Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area, were more difficult to extinguish. [1]
On 14 December 2007, the Country Fire Service officially announced that all fires were contained. The event was South Australia's largest bush fire operation to date with over 800 personnel, 7 fixed wing water bombers and an Elvis Skycrane Helitanker all assisting in firefighting efforts, together with units from Victoria's Country Fire Authority and the Rural Fire Service of New South Wales.
A state of emergency had been considered but was rejected on 10 December 2007 due to cooler conditions. A state of emergency would have seen the Australian Army move in to assist the Country Fire Service and Department of Environment personnel.
Before being contained on 16 December 2007, over 900 km² ( or 20% of the Island ) had been burnt, principally within National Park and Conservation Reserves. The most serious outbreak occurred in Flinders Chase, with 630 km² ( or 85% of the total Park area ) having been burnt. The total damage bill is estimated at $2.3m. [2]
Flinders Chase National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about 177 kilometres west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and 110 kilometres west of the municipal seat of Kingscote. It is a sanctuary for endangered species and home to a few geological phenomena. It was the second national park to be declared in South Australia.
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia 112 km (70 mi) southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Point in Backstairs Passage which is 13.5 km (8.4 mi) from the Fleurieu Peninsula.
Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park, formerly the Cape Gantheaume National Park, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island. Attractions include Murray Lagoon and D'Estrees Bay. It also includes Pelorus Islet located about 7 kilometres southeast of Cape Gantheaume.
Investigator Strait is a body of water in South Australia lying between the Yorke Peninsula, on the Australian mainland, and Kangaroo Island. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his ship, HMS Investigator, on his voyage of 1801–1802. It is bordered by the Gulf St Vincent in the northeast.
The Kangaroo Island Council is a local government area in South Australia that covers the entirety of Kangaroo Island, 13 km off the coast of the mainland. The council was formed in 1996 by the amalgamation of the District Council of Kingscote and the District Council of Dudley.
The Eyre Peninsula bushfire of 2005, an event also known locally as Black Tuesday and by South Australian Government agencies as the Wangary bushfire, was a bushfire that occurred during January 2005 on the lower part of the Eyre Peninsula, a significant part of South Australia's wheat belt, where most of the land is either cropped or grazed. The fire resulted in 780 square kilometres (301 sq mi) of land being burnt, the loss of nine lives, injury to another 115 people, and huge property damage. It was South Australia's worst bushfire since the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983. Heat from the fire reached 1000°C, with speeds up to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).
The 2008–09 Australian bushfire season was the Australian bushfire season that 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.
Bushfires in Australia are common, impact extensive areas, and can cause property damage and loss of human life. However, 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.
The 2009–10 Australian bushfire season was the bushfire season which 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 2010–11 Australian bushfire season was notable for a relative lack of bushfires along Eastern Australia due to a very strong La Niña effect, which instead contributed to severe flooding, in particular the 2010–2011 Queensland floods and the 2011 Victorian floods. As a result of these weather patterns, most major fire events took place in Western Australia and South Australia. Some later significant fire activity occurred in Gippsland in eastern Victoria, an area which largely missed the rainfall that lead to the flooding in other parts of the state.
The 2013 New South Wales bushfires were a series of bushfires in Australia across the state of New South Wales primarily starting, or becoming notable, on 13 October 2013; followed by the worst of the fires beginning in the Greater Blue Mountains Area on 16 and 17 October 2013.
Cape Gantheaume is a headland located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It was named after Vice admiral Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume (1755–1818) by the Baudin expedition to Australia during 1803. It is currently located within the protected area known as the Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area.
Dudley Peninsula is the peninsula forming the eastern end of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia. It was occupied by Aboriginal Australians as recently as 3,100 years BP but was found to be unoccupied by the first European explorers to visit it in the early 19th century. It was first settled by Europeans as early as the 1830s. As of 2011, it had a population of 595 people.
Maupertuis Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-west coastline of Kangaroo Island.
Cape Borda is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on Kangaroo Island about 192 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide.
Flinders Chase is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-western coast of Kangaroo Island overlooking the body of water known in Australia as the Southern Ocean and by international authorities as the Great Australian Bight. It is located about 210 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide.
Karatta is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island overlooking the body of water known in Australia as the Southern Ocean and by international authorities as the Great Australian Bight. Karatta is located about 191 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide.
D’Estrees Bay is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island overlooking the body of water known in Australia as the Southern Ocean and by international authorities as the Great Australian Bight. It is located about 145 kilometres southwest of the state capital of Adelaide and about 32 kilometres south of the municipal seat of Kingscote.
Vivonne Bay is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island overlooking the body of water known in Australia as the Southern Ocean and by international authorities as the Great Australian Bight and which includes the bay known as Vivonne Bay. It is located about 174 kilometres southwest of the state capital of Adelaide and about 55 kilometres southwest of the municipal seat of Kingscote.