1996-97 Australian bushfire season
Encyclopedia
The 1996–97 Australian bushfire season was the season for bushfires in Australia
over the summer of 1996-1997. The most prominent fires during the season were in the Dandenong Ranges
and the Mornington Peninsula
in the state of Victoria
.
and the Mornington Peninsula
, precipitated by over forty degree Celsius dry heat and strong northerly winds. Three people were killed and forty injured. Forty-three houses were destroyed and another 45 damaged. Fires began at all locations except the Dandenongs on the 19th, the Dandenongs fires began on the morning of the 21st in the foothills of the western face of the ranges. It was suspected that the fires in the Dandenongs were deliberately lit.
The areas most affected by these fires included:
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
over the summer of 1996-1997. The most prominent fires during the season were in the Dandenong Ranges
Dandenong Ranges
The Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately 35 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
and the Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
in the state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
October 1996
In October 1996, 1 house was destroyed in a bushfire near Ravensbourne in southeast Queensland.January 1997
From 19–21 January 1997, fires burnt over 400 hectares through much of the Dandenong RangesDandenong Ranges
The Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately 35 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
and the Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
, precipitated by over forty degree Celsius dry heat and strong northerly winds. Three people were killed and forty injured. Forty-three houses were destroyed and another 45 damaged. Fires began at all locations except the Dandenongs on the 19th, the Dandenongs fires began on the morning of the 21st in the foothills of the western face of the ranges. It was suspected that the fires in the Dandenongs were deliberately lit.
The areas most affected by these fires included:
- CreswickCreswick, VictoriaCreswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485...
- Dandenong RangesDandenong RangesThe Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately 35 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
- three deaths
- Ferny CreekFerny Creek, VictoriaFerny Creek is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 33 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Ferny Creek had a population of 1536....
- KaloramaKalorama, VictoriaKalorama is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 35 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Kalorama had a population of 1,157....
- Mount Dandenong
- UpweyUpwey, VictoriaUpwey is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges and City of Knox. At the 2006 Census, Upwey had a population of 6,760.-History:...
- Dutson Downs
- GippslandGippslandGippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
- HeathcoteHeathcote, VictoriaHeathcote is a town in central Victoria, Australia, situated on the Northern Highway 110 kilometres north of Melbourne and 40 kilometres south-east of Bendigo via the McIvor Highway. Heathcote's local government area is the City of Greater Bendigo and it is part of the federal electorate of...
- Mornington PeninsulaMornington PeninsulaThe Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
- Arthurs SeatArthurs Seat, VictoriaArthurs Seat is a hill and locality on the Mornington Peninsula, within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula, about 75 km south east of Melbourne, Australia....
- Mount ElizaMount Eliza, VictoriaMount Eliza is an outer suburb south-east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is in the Local Government Area of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula...
- Mount MarthaMount Martha, VictoriaMount Martha is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 60 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula. It is located on the south-eastern shores of Port Phillip and offers a bathing beach...