Bushfires in Australia are frequently occurring events during the hotter months of the year due to Australia's

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...

 mostly hot, dry climate. Large areas of land are ravaged every year by bushfires, which also cause property damage and loss of life.
Certain native flora

Flora of Australia

The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 20,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens...

 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. In some eucalypt

Eucalypt

Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...

 and banksia

Banksia

Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...

 species, for example, fire causes seed pods to open, which allows them to germinate. Fire also encourages the growth of new grassland plants. Other species have adapted to recover quickly from fire.

For many thousands of years, Indigenous Australians people have used fire for a variety of purposes. These included the encouragement of grasslands for hunting purposes and the clearing of 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

Ash Wednesday fires

The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km per hour caused widespread destruction across the states...

 and Black Saturday. Some of the most intense, extensive and deadly bushfires commonly occur during drought

Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

s and heat wave

Heat wave

A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...

s, 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.

Definition

Bushfires in Australia, are generally defined as any uncontrolled, non-structural fire burning in a grass, scrub, bush or forested area. Australia, being a geographically and meteorogically diverse continent, experiences many types of bushfires. Fires can be divided into two main categories, depending on topography of the area.

• 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, 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 in these areas.

Common causes of bushfires include lightning

Lightning

Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...

, arson

Arson

Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

, accidental ignition from agricultural clearing, campfire

Campfire

A campfire is a fire lit at a campsite, to serve the following functions: light, warmth, a beacon, a bug and/or apex predator deterrent, to cook, and for a psychological sense of security. In established campgrounds they are usually in a fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of...

s, cigarettes and dropped matches, machinery, and controlled burn

Controlled burn

Controlled or prescribed burning, also known as hazard reduction burning or Swailing is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for...

 escapes.

History

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

Fire-stick farming

Fire-stick farming is a term coined by Australian archaeologist Rhys Jones in 1969 to describe the practice of Indigenous Australians where fire was used regularly to burn vegetation to facilitate hunting and to change the composition of plant and animal species in an area.Fire-stick farming had...

, setting fires to clear undergrowth or drive game.

Plants have evolved

Evolution

Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...

 a variety of strategies to survive (or even require) bushfires, (possessing epicormic shoot

Epicormic shoot

An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant.-Epicormic buds:...

s or lignotuber

Lignotuber

A lignotuber is a starchy swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem by fire. The crown contains buds from which new stems may sprout, and a sufficient store of nutrients to support a period of growth in the absence of...

s that sprout after a fire, or developing fire-resistant or fire-triggered seed

Seed

A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

s) or even encourage fire (eucalypt

Eucalypt

Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...

s 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 on websites.

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

Australasian Fire Authorities Council

The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council , or AFAC is the peak body responsible for representing fire, emergency services and land management agencies in the Australasian region...

 (AFAC) is the peak body responsible for representing fire, emergency services and land management agencies in the Australasian region.

New South Wales

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service

New South Wales Rural Fire Service

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the NSW Government. The NSW RFS is responsible for the general administration of rural fire management affairs including administration of the Rural Fire Fighting Fund, co-ordination with local...

 (RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales

Government of New South Wales

The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...

.

South Australia

The Country Fire Service

Country Fire Service

The SA Country Fire Service is a volunteer based fire service in the state of South Australia in Australia. Many parts of Australia are sparsely populated whilst at the same time they are under significant risk of bushfire. Due to economics, it is prohibitively expensive for each Australian town...

 is a volunteer based fire service in the state of South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

.

Victoria

In Victoria, the Country Fire Authority

Country Fire Authority

Country Fire Authority, or CFA, is the name of the fire service that provides firefighting and other emergency services to all of the country areas and regional townships within the state of Victoria, Australia, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne...

 (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

Metropolitan Fire Brigade (Melbourne)

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade , also known as the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board, provides firefighting, rescue, and hazardous material incident response services to the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...

.

Western Australia

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia

Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia is a statutory government authority created in January 1999 to administer the following legislation within the state of Western Australia:...

 (FESA) is the prime organisation managing bushfire in that state. The Authority supports other organisation including the Bush Fire Service, 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.

Seasonality

Bushfires in Australia can occur all year-round, however 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 south east Australia, bushfires tend to be most common and most severe during summer and autumn (December–March), in drought

Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

 years, and particularly severe in El Niño years. Southeast Australia is fire prone, and warm and dry conditions intensify the probability of fire. In the north of 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

Lightning

Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...

 strikes are as common a cause as human ignited fires and arson

Arson

Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

.

Major bushfires in Australia

Bushfires have accounted for over 800 deaths in Australia since 1851 and the total accumulated cost is estimated at $1.6 billion. In terms of monetary cost however, they rate behind the damage caused by drought

Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

, severe storms

Storm

A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...

, hail

Hail

Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...

, and cyclone

Cyclone

In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...

s, perhaps because they most commonly occur outside highly populated urban areas.

Some of the most severe Australian bushfires in chronological order, have included:

Fire	Location	Area burned	Date	Deaths	Properties damaged
Black Thursday bushfires Black Thursday (1851) The Black Thursday bushfires were a devastating series of fires that swept the state of Victoria, Australia on 6 February 1851. They are considered the largest Australian bushfires in a populous region in recorded history, with approximately 5 million hectares, or a quarter of Victoria, being burnt...	Victoria, Australia	approximately 5 million ha	6 February 1851	about 12	1 million sheep; thousands of cattle
Red Tuesday bushfires Red Tuesday The Red Tuesday bushfires took place on February 1, 1898 in South Gippsland, Victoria. The bushfires claimed 12 lives, destroyed over 2,000 buildings and affected about 15,000 people, leaving 2,500 homeless.-External links:...	Victoria	260,000 ha	1 February 1898	12	2,000 buildings
1926 bushfires	Victoria		February – March 1926	60	1000
Black Friday bushfires Black Friday (1939) The Black Friday fires of 13 January 1939, in Victoria, Australia, were considered one of the worst natural bushfires in the world, and certainly the single worst in Australian history as a measure of land affected...	Victoria	2,000,000 ha	December 1938 – January 1939, peaking 13 January 1939	71	3,700
1944 Bushfires	Victoria	estimated 1 million ha	14 January – 14 February 1944	15–20	more than 500 houses
1951-2 Bushfires	Victoria		Summer 1951–52	at least 10
Black Sunday Bushfires Black Sunday (1955) The Black Sunday Bushfires of 1955 were a series of bushfires that broke out across South Australia on 2 January, 1955. Extreme morning temperatures coupled with strong north-westerly winds contributed to the breakout of numerous fires in the Adelaide Hills, Jamestown, Waterloo, Kingston and...	South Australia South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...		2 January 1955	2
1961 Western Australian bushfires	Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...	1,800,000 ha	January–March 1961	0	160 homes
1962 bushfires	Victoria		14–16 January 1962	32	450 houses
Southern Highlands bushfires Chatsbury bushfire The Chatsbury/Bungonia Bushfire of 1965 was a series of devastating bushfires that raged from 5th through 14 March 1965 and destroyed the Southern Highlands, New South Wales villages of Tallong and Wingello as well as most of the surrounding orchards. Three people were killed.28 homes were...	New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...		5–14 March 1965	3	59 homes
Tasmanian "Black Tuesday" bushfires 1967 Tasmanian fires The 1967 Tasmanian fires were an Australian natural disaster which occurred on 7 February 1967, an event which became known as the Black Tuesday bushfires...	Tasmania Tasmania Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...	Approximately 264,000 ha	1967	62	1,293 homes
Dandenong Ranges Bushfire	Victoria	1,920 ha	19 February 1968		53 homes 10 other buildings
1969 bushfires	Victoria		8 January 1969	23	230 houses
Western Districts Bushfires	Victoria	103,000 ha	12 February 1977	4	116 houses 340 Buildings
1978 Western Australian Bushfires	Western Australia	114,000 ha	4 April 1978	2	6 buildings (drop in wind in early evening is said to have saved the towns of Donnybrook, Boyup Brook, Manjimup and Bridgetown.)
Northern Sydney bushfires	Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , NSW		1979
Ash Wednesday bushfires Ash Wednesday fires The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km per hour caused widespread destruction across the states...	South Australia and Victoria	418,000 ha	16 February 1983	75	about 2,400 houses
Central Victoria Bushfires	Victoria	50,800 ha	14 January 1985	3	180+ houses
1994 Eastern seaboard fires 1994 Eastern seaboard fires The 1994 Eastern seaboard fires were bushfires in New South Wales, Australia between 27 December 1993 and 16 January 1994 were widespread along the NSW coast from Bega to the Queensland border and inland as far as Bathurst. Over 80 separate fires encouraged by extreme hot dry and windy conditions...	New South Wales		27 December 1993 – 16 January 1994	4	225 homes
Wooroloo Bushfire	Western Australia	10,500 ha	8 January 1997	0	16 homes
Dandenongs bushfire	Victoria	400	21 January 1997	3	41 homes
Lithgow bushfire	New South Wales		2 December 1997	2
Perth and SW Region bushfires	West Australia	23,000 ha	2 December 1997	2 (21 injuries)	1 home lost
Linton bushfire Linton bushfire 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 Country Fire Authority were deployed to put out the fire...	Victoria		1998	5
Black Christmas (bushfires) Black Christmas (bushfires) The Black Christmas bushfires were bushfires that burnt for almost three weeks from 25 December 2001 across New South Wales, Australia. It was the longest continuous bushfire emergency in NSW history....	New South Wales	740000 acres (2,994.7 km²)	2001–02	0	121 homes
2003 Canberra bushfires 2003 Canberra bushfires The Canberra bushfires of 2003 caused severe damage to the outskirts of Canberra, the Australian capital city. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory’s pasture, forests and nature parks were severely damaged, and most of the renowned Mount Stromlo Observatory was destroyed...	Canberra Canberra Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne... , Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...		2003	4	almost 500 homes
2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires 2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires The Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires, also known as the Great Divide Fire Complex, started with eighty seven fires that were started by lightning in the north east of Victoria on 8 January 2003...	Victoria	over 1.3 million ha	8 January – 8 March 2003		41 homes
Tenterden	Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...		December 2003	2	(2,110,000 ha of forest burnt during the 2002-2003 bushfire season in the S/W of WA)
Eyre Peninsula bushfire Eyre Peninsula bushfire In January 2005, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, was the scene of a devastating bushfire in which nine people were killed and at least 113 injured. It was one of Australia’s worst bushfires since the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983....	South Australia South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...	145,000 ha	2005	9	93 homes
2006 Central Coast bushfire	Central Coast, New South Wales Central Coast, New South Wales The Central Coast is an urban region in the Australian state of New South Wales, located on the coast north of Sydney and south of Lake Macquarie....		New Years Day, 2006
Jail Break Inn Fire Jail Break Inn Fire The Jail Break Inn Fire was suspected to be started by a cigarette butt near the Jail Break Inn 8 km west of Junee, New South Wales Australia on New Years Day 2006. The fire was reported around mid afternoon but quickly spread due to temperatures into the mid to high 40's , low humidity and gusty...	Junee, New South Wales Junee, New South Wales Junee is a medium sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in particular correctional services...	30,000 ha Hectare The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...	New Years Day 2006	0	Livestock losses estimated to be over 20,000. Seven homes, seven headers Combine harvester The combine harvester, or simply combine, is a machine that harvests grain crops. The name derives from the fact that it combines three separate operations, reaping, threshing, and winnowing, into a single process. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn ,...  and four shearing sheds destroyed. 1500 kilometres (932.1 mi) of fencing damaged.
2005 Victorian bushires	Victoria	160,000 ha	December 2005 – January 2006	4	57 houses, 359 farm buildings, 65,000 stock losses, fires occurred in the Stawell, Moondarra, Anakie, Yea and Kinglake regions
Grampians Bushfire Mount Lubra bushfire The Mount Lubra bushfire was started by a lightning strike in January 2006 near The Grampians in Australia. The fire began late on the 19th of January, 2006. By the time it was extinguished it had burned for approximately two weeks and covered approximately 130,000 hectares of land.The fire burned...	Victoria	184,000	January 2006	2
Pulletop bushfire Pulletop bushfire Pulletop bushfire started on the 6 February 2006 in hot dry and windy weather conditions about 30 km southeast of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. The fire was thought to have been started by sparks from a tractor on a property at Pulletop which quickly got out of control...	Wagga Wagga, New South Wales Wagga Wagga, New South Wales Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, and with an urban population of 46,735 people, Wagga Wagga is the state's largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia...	9,000	6 February 2006	0	2,500 sheep and 6 cattle killed, 3 vehicles and 2 hay sheds destroyed as well as 50 km of fencing.
The Great Divides Fire	Victoria	1,048,000 ha	1 Dec 2006 - March 2007	1	51 homes
2006-07 Australian bushfire season			September 2006 – January 2007
Dwellingup bushfire	Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...	12,000 ha	4 February 2007	0	16
Kangaroo Island Bushfires Kangaroo Island bushfires The Kangaroo Island Bushfires were a series of bushfires caused by lightning strikes on the 6 December 2007 on Kangaroo Island South Australia, resulting in 95,000 ha of land being destroyed...	South Australia	95,000 ha	6–14 December 2007	1
Boorabbin National Park Boorabbin National Park Boorabbin National Park is a national park in Western Australia, between Coolgardie and Southern Cross. It is located along the Great Eastern Highway for a distance of approximately 25 km with a width of 5 km on each side in Western Australia's eastern goldfields...	Western Australia	40,000 ha	30 December 2007	3	Powerlines and Great Eastern Highway Great Eastern Highway The Great Eastern Highway is a major road between the Western Australian cities of Perth and Kalgoorlie. It is a key route for vehicles accessing the eastern wheatbelt and the eastern goldfields... , forced to close for 2 weeks
Black Saturday bushfires	Victoria	450,000+ ha	7 February 2009 – 14 March 2009	173	2,029+ houses, 2,000 other structures
Toodyay Bushfire	Western Australia	3,000+ ha	29 December 2009	0	38
Lake Clifton Bushfire	Western Australia	2,000+ ha	11 January 2011	0	10 homes destroyed
Roleystone Kelmscott Bushfire	Western Australia	1500+ ha	6-8 February 2011	0	72 homes destroyed, 32 damaged, Buckingham Bridge on Brookton Highway collapsed and closed for 3 weeks whilst a temporary bridge was constructed and opened a month after the fires

External links