2019–20 Australian bushfire season

2019–20 Morrison Bushfires
NASA satellite imagery on 7 December 2019 showing bushfires across the east coast of Australia.
Date(s)	June 2019 – ongoing
Location	Australia (nationwide)
Statistics
Burned area	Over 6,500,000 hectares (16,000,000 acres)
Impacts
Deaths	27 total 24 civilians 3 volunteer firefighters (as of 7 January 2020)
Structures destroyed	2,500+
Ignition
Cause	Record-breaking heat Record-breaking drought Lightning strikes Positive Indian Ocean Dipole Alleged arson
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The 2019–20 Morrison Bushfires involves a series of bushfires that are currently burning across Australia, predominantly in south-east Australia. The 2019–20 bushfire season is of notable intensity compared to previous seasons as it has burned an estimated 6.5 million hectares (16 million acres; 65,000 square kilometres; 25,000 square miles), destroyed over 2,500 buildings (including over 1,900 houses) and killed 25 people as of 5 January 2020. The bushfires are regarded by the NSW Rural Fire Service as the worst bushfire season in memory. In December 2019, the New South Wales Government declared a state of emergency after record-breaking temperatures and prolonged drought exacerbated the bushfires. It was estimated that close to half a billion animals in New South Wales were affected by the ongoing fires. Other estimates, which include animals like bats, amphibians and invertebrates, put the number killed at over a billion.

From September 2019, fires heavily impacted various regions of the state of New South Wales, such as the North Coast, Mid North Coast, the Hunter Region, the Hawkesbury and the Wollondilly in Sydney's far west, the Blue Mountains, Illawarra and the South Coast, with more than 100 fires burnt across the state. In eastern and north-eastern Victoria large areas of forest burnt out of control for four weeks before the fires emerged from the forests in late December, taking lives, threatening many towns and isolating Corryong and Mallacoota. A state of disaster was declared for East Gippsland. Significant fires occurred in the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Moderately affected areas were South Eastern Queensland and areas of southwestern Western Australia, with a few areas in Tasmania, and the ACT being mildly impacted.

Reinforcements from all over Australia were called in to assist fighting the fires and relieve exhausted local crews in New South Wales. On 11 November it was reported that the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) was sending in a large contingent of up to 300 firefighters and support staff to assist. By mid-November 2019, more than 100 firefighters were sent from Western Australia. Contingents were also sent from South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. On 12 November the Australian Government announced that the Australian Defence Force would provide air support to the firefighting effort, as well as prepare to provide manpower and logistical support. Firefighters from New Zealand, the United States and Canada helped fight the fires, especially in New South Wales.

Overview

On 12 November 2019, catastrophic fire danger was declared in the Greater Sydney region for the first time since the introduction of this level in 2009 and a total fire ban was in place for seven regions, including Greater Sydney. The Illawarra and Greater Hunter areas also experienced catastrophic fire dangers, and so did other parts of the state, including the already fire ravaged parts of northern New South Wales. The political ramifications of the fire season have been significant. A decision by the New South Wales Government to cut funding to fire services based on budget estimates, as well as a holiday taken by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, during a period in which two volunteer firefighters died, and his perceived apathy towards the situation, resulted in controversy.

Since the start of the season, the ongoing bushfires have destroyed 1,298 homes, as well as 48 facilities and more than 2,000 outbuildings in New South Wales alone. Twenty people are confirmed to have been killed in New South Wales since October. The latest fatality was reported on 5 January 2020 following the death of a man in Batlow. Ecologists from The University of Sydney estimated 480 million mammals, birds, and reptiles were lost since September with concerns entire species of plants and animals may have been wiped out by bushfire, later expanded to more than a billion.

In New South Wales, the fires had burned through more land than any other blazes in the past 25 years, in addition to be being the state's worst bushfire season on record. NSW also experienced the longest continuously burning bushfire complex in Australia's history, having burned more than 4 million hectares (9,900,000 acres), with 70-metre (230 ft) high flames being reported. In comparison, the 2018 California wildfires consumed 800,000 hectares (2,000,000 acres) and the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires burnt 900,000 hectares (2,200,000 acres) of land.

Due to safety concerns and significant public pressure, New Year's Eve fireworks displays were cancelled across New South Wales including highly popular events at Campbelltown, Liverpool, Parramatta, and across the Northern Beaches, and as well in the nation's capital of Canberra. As of 1 January 2020, 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) has been burnt or is burning in New South Wales. As temperatures were reached 49 °C (120 °F), the New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian called a fresh seven-day state of emergency with effect from 9am on 3 January 2020.

State / territory	Deaths	Missing	Homes lost	Area (estimated)		Notes
				ha	acres
Australian Capital Territory	1	0	0	0	0	No major bushfires in ACT. NSW bushfire smoke blew into the ACT causing dangerous pollution, leading to one death.
New South Wales	20	n/a	1,588	4,900,000	12,100,000
Northern Territory	0	0	5	n/a	n/a	Fires have occured in this region, no official area confirmed
Queensland	0	0	45	250,000	618,000
South Australia	4	0	88	200,000	494,000
Tasmania	0	0	2	30,000	74,100
Victoria	2	0	200+	1,200,000	2,970,000
Western Australia	0	0	1	1,500,000	3,710,000
Total	27	0	1929+	8,400,000	20,800,000	Total area estimate from 7 January 2020, current figure may be more

Fire potential advice

Former Australian fire services chiefs in April 2019 warned that Australia was not prepared for the upcoming fire season. They called on the next prime minister to meet the former emergency service leaders “who will outline, unconstrained by their former employers, how climate change risks are rapidly escalating”.

In August 2019 the Federally funded Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC provided advice of above normal fire potential for southern and southeast Queensland, the east coast areas of New South Wales and Victoria, for parts of Western Australia and South Australia. The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC updated their advice of above normal fire potential in December 2019.

Regions affected

New South Wales

North Coast

On 6 September, the northern parts of the state experienced extreme fire dangers. Fires included the Long Gully Road Fire near Drake which burnt until the end of October, killing two people and destroying 43 homes; the Mount McKenzie Road Fire which burnt across the southern outskirts of Tenterfield, and severely injured one person, destroyed one home and badly damaged four homes; and the Bees Nest Fire near Ebor which burnt until 12 November and destroyed seven homes.

Mid North Coast

At the Port Macquarie suburb of Crestwood a fire started on 26 October from a dry electrical storm, Water Bombers were brought in on Sunday in attempts to bring the fire burning in swampland to the southwest of Port Macquarie under control. A back burn on 28 October got away from RFS volunteers after a sudden wind change pushing the fire south towards Lake Cathie and west over Lake Innes. Port Macquarie and surrounding areas were blanketed in thick smoke on 29 October with ongoing fire activity over the following week caused the sky to have an orange glow. During this time the Lindfield Park fire burning in dry peat swamp flared up and threatened homes at Sovereign Hills and crossed the Pacific Highway at Sancrox. These fires burnt 4,500 hectares (11,120 acres).

File:AwabaFire2019.jpg

Smoke caused by a fire in Awaba

On the Carrai Plateau west of Kempsey, a fire burned in wilderness areas were locked up and poorly maintained fire trails made combating it difficult. This fire joined up with the Stockyard Creek fire and together with the Coombes Gap fire and swept east towards Willawarrin, Temagog, Birdwood, Yarras, Bellangary, Kindee and Upper Rollands Plains. Land around Nowendoc and Yarrowich was also burned. This fire burnt more than 40,000 hectares (98,842 acres), destroying numerous homes and claiming the lives of three people.

North-west of Harrington near the Cattai Wetlands a fire started on 28 October, this fire threatened the towns of Harrington, Crowdy Head and Johns River as it burnt north towards Dunbogan. This fire claimed one life at Johns River, where it also destroyed homes, and burnt more than 12,000 hectares (29,653 acres).

At Hillville, a fire grew large due to hot and windy conditions, resulting in disorder in the nearby town of Taree, to the north. Buses were called in early to take students home before the fire threat became too dangerous. On 9 November, the fire reached Old Bar and Wallabi Point, threatening many properties. The following two days saw the fire reach Tinonee and Taree South, threatening the Taree Service Centre. Water bombers dropped water on the facility to protect it. The fire briefly turned in the direction of Nabiac before wind pushed it towards Failford. Other communities affected included Rainbow Flat, Khappinghat, Kooringhat and Purfleet. A spot fire jumped into Ericsson Lane, threatening businesses. It ultimately burnt 31,268 hectares (77,260 acres).

At Dingo Tops National Park, a small fire turned into a massive bushfire emergency as it impacted the small village of Bobin; numerous homes and the Bobin Public School were destroyed in the fire. Fourteen homes were lost on one street in Bobin. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service sent out alerts to people in Killabakh, Upper Lansdowne, Kippaxs, Elands, and Marlee to monitor conditions.

2019 Rally Australia, planned to be the final round of the 2019 World Rally Championship, was a motor racing event scheduled to be held in Coffs Harbour on the NSW Mid North Coast across 14–17 November. A week before the rally was due to begin, the bushfire began to affect the region surrounding Coffs Harbour, with event organisers shortening the event in response to the deteriorating conditions. With the situation worsening, repeated calls from competitors (most of which were European-based) to cancel the event prevailed with the event called off on 12 November.

In Late December 2019, fires started on both sides of the Pacific Highway around the Coopernook region. They burnt 278 hectares (687 acres) before they were brought under control.

Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury

Gospers Mountain bushfire in December 2019

A large fire in November at Gospers Mountain in the Wollemi National Park had burnt over 496,976 ha (1,228,050 acres) and threatened homes in the Hawkesbury and Lithgow areas. The fire was projected to burn towards the Central Coast and potentially threaten properties in Wisemans Ferry and other townships.

In an attempt to protect the Blue Mountains from the Gospers Mountain bushfire, firefighters commenced a large backburn on 14 December in the Mount Wilson and Mount Irvine area. Due to heavy fuel loads and erratic weather conditions, the backburn quickly grew out of control, threatening houses in Mount Wilson and Mount Irvine. The fire eventually jumped Mount Irvine Road and on 15 December, under deteriorating conditions, the fire impacted Mount Tomah, Berambing and Bilpin. The fire destroyed numerous houses and buildings in this area, and then jumped the Bells Line of Road into the Grose Valley.

Damaged road infrastructure along Bells Line of Road

On 19 December the Gospers Mountain Fire impacted on the Darling Causeway between Mount Victoria and Bell, it later jumped the Darling Causeway and impacted the Grose Valley and the fire would be split into two fires: Grose Valley fire and Gospers Mountain fire. On 21 December, a catastrophic day, the Grose Valley Fire impacted Mount Victoria, Blackheath, Bell, Clarence, Dargan and Bilpin with resultant destruction of dozens of homes. On the same days both the Gospers Mountain fire and the Grose Valley fire moved towards Kurrajong, backburning operations were put in place to save Kurrajong and surrounds and to save all Blue Mountains towns from Katoomba to Winmalee.

By 15 December, the Gospers Mountain fire had grown to 350,000 hectares (860,000 acres), making it the biggest forest fire in Australian history. As of 27 December, the Gospers Mountain Fire had burnt over 500,000 hectares (1,200,000 acres).

On 4 January, Sydney’s south-western suburb Penrith recorded its hottest day on record at 48.9 °C (120.0 °F) making it the hottest place on Earth at the time.

Metropolitan Sydney

Bushland in Prospect Hill, Sydney charred after grass fire.

Firefighters work to save a burning house from an out of control bushfire in South West Sydney

Fire crews move in to protect properties from an out of control bushfire in South West Sydney

On 12 November, under Sydney's first-ever catastrophic fire conditions, a fire broke out in the Lane Cove National Park south of Turramurra. Under strong winds and extreme heat, the fire spread rapidly, growing out of control and impacting the suburban interface across South Turramurra. One house caught alight in Lyon Avenue but was saved by quick responding firefighters. As further crews arrived and worked to protect properties, a C-130 Air Tanker made several fire retardant drops directly over firefighters and houses, saving the rest of the suburb. The fire was ultimately brought under control several hours later, with one firefighter injured suffering a broken arm.

Because of the bushfires occurring in the surrounding regions, the Sydney metropolitan area suffered from dangerous smoky haze for several days throughout December, with the air quality being 11 times the hazardous level in some days, making it even worse than New Delhi's, where it was also compared to "smoking 32 cigarettes" by Associate Professor Brian Oliver, a respiratory diseases scientist at the University of Technology Sydney.

On 10 December the fire impacted the south-western Sydney suburbs of Nattai and Oakdale, followed by Orangeville and Werombi, threatening hundreds of houses and resulting in the destruction of one building. The fire continued to flare up sporadically, coming out of the dense bush and threatening properties in Oakdale and Buxton on 14 and 15 December.

The fire moved south-east towards the populated areas of the Southern Highlands and impacted the townships of Balmoral, Buxton, Bargo, Couridjah and Tahmoor in far south-western Sydney. Substantial property losses occurred across these areas, in particular, multiple fire trucks were overrun by fire, with several firefighters taken to hospital and two airlifted in critical condition. Later that night, two firefighters were killed when a tree fell onto the road and their tanker rolled, injuring three other crew members. The situation deteriorated on 21 December when the fire changed direction and attacked Balmoral and Buxton once more from the opposite side, with major property losses in both areas. On New Year's Eve there were fears of this fire impacting the towns of Mittagong, Braemar, and surrounding areas.

On 31 December, a grass fire broke out in the sloped woodlands of Prospect Hill, in Western Sydney, where it headed north towards Pemulwuy along the Prospect Highway. The fire impacted a large industrial area and threatened numerous properties before being brought under control by 9:30 pm. Approximately 10 hectares (25 acres) and a number of historic Monterey pine trees were burnt.

The Sydney City fireworks display was allowed to continue with a special exemption from fire authorities, despite protests. Despite warnings from authorities, numerous fires were sparked across Sydney as a result of illegal fireworks, including a blaze which threatened properties at Cecil Hills in Sydney's South West.

On 5 January, a fire broke out in bushland at Voyager Point in Sydney's south-west, spreading rapidly under a strong southerly wind and impacting numerous houses in Voyager Point and Hammondville. As the fire moved north, authorities closed the M5 Motorway due to smoke conditions and prepared for the fire to impact the New Brighton housing estate. Firefighters on the ground assisted by numerous waterbombing aircraft held the fire south of the motorway and prevented any property losses, containing the fire to 60 hectares (150 acres).

Southern Highlands

In late October, several fires started in remote bushland near Lake Burragorang in the Kanangra-Boyd National Park southwest of Sydney. Due to the extreme isolation of the area and rugged inaccessible terrain, firefighters struggled to contain the fires as they began to spread through the dense bushland. These multiple fires ultimately all merged to become the 'Green Wattle Creek Fire'. The fire continued to grow in size and intensity, burning towards the township of Yerranderie. Firefighters undertook to backburn around the town whilst helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft worked to control the spread of the fire. The fire passed Yerranderie but continued to burn through the National Park towards South Western Sydney. On 5 December under severe weather conditions, the fire jumped the Lake Burragorang and began burning towards populated areas within the Wollondilly area.

Large out of control bushfire approaches the New South Wales township of Yanderra

On 19 December, the fire continued east towards the Hume Highway (resulting in its closure for several hours), impacting the township of Yanderra. Over the following days as the fire continued to progress to the south east, both Yerrinbool and Hill Top were threatened by the fire.

As well as expanding to the south and east, the fire also spread in a westerly direction, headed towards Oberon. The Oberon Correctional Centre was evacuated in anticipation of the advancing fire impact along its western flank. On 2 January, the fire hit the popular and historic Jenolan Caves area, destroying multiple buildings including the local fire station. The centrepiece of the precinct, Jenolan Caves House, was saved.

South Coast

On 30 December weather conditions drastically deteriorated across the south eastern areas of the state, with major fires breaking out and escalating in the Dampier State Forest, Deua River Valley, Badja, Bemboka, Wyndham, Talmalolma and Ellerslie, hampering firefighters already stretched by the Currowan, Palerang and Clyde Mountain fires. As temperatures were forecast to reach 41 °C (106 °F) on the South Coast, Premier Berejiklian declared a seven-day state of emergency on 2 January 2020 with effect from 9 am on the following day, including an unprecedented "tourist leave zone" for 14,000 square kilometres (5,400 sq mi) from Nowra to the edge of Victoria's northern border.

A blaze on the South Coast started at Currowan and traveled up to the coastline after jumping across the Princes Highway, threatening properties around Termeil. Residents in Bawley Point, Kioloa, Depot Peach, Pebbly Beach, North Durras and Pretty Beach were told to either evacuate to Batemans Bay or Ulladulla or stay to protect their property. One home was lost. As of 2 January 2020, the Currowan fire was burning between Batemans Bay in the south, Nowra in the north, and east of Braidwood in the west. The fire had burnt more than 258,000 hectares (640,000 acres) and was out of control. The Currowan fire had merged with the Tianjara fire in the Morton National Park to the southwest of Nowra, and the Charleys Forest fire had grown along the fire's western flank; and on the fire's southern flank, the fire had merged with the Clyde Mountain fire.

By 26 December, the Clyde Mountain fire was burning on the southern side of the Kings Highway, into the Buckenbowra and Runnyford areas. Around 4 am on 31 December, the fire had crossed the Princes Highway near Mogo, and the highway was closed between Batemans Bay and Moruya.

Around 7 am on 31 December, the fire impacted the southern side of Batemans Bay, causing the loss of around ten businesses and damage to many others, including the local Bunnings Warehouse. The fire also crossed the Princes Highway in the vicinity of Round Hill and impacted the residential suburbs of Catalina, as well as beach suburbs from Sunshine Bay to Broulee. Residents and holidaymakers were forced to flee to the beaches.

At nearby Lake Conjola, numerous homes were lost as the embers jumped across the lake, landing in gutters and lighting up houses. On one street there were only four houses still standing. As of 2 January 2020, at least two people died and a woman was missing. Isolated hamlets of Bendalong and Manyana and Cunjurong Point were additionally ablaze, with holiday-makers evacuated on 3 January 2020. As of 6 January 2020, all are still without power.

As of 5 January 2020, in the Bega Valley Shire, the border fire that started in north-eastern Victoria was burning north into New South Wales towards the major town of Eden, and had impacted the settlements of Wonboyn and surrounding areas including Kiah, Lower Towamba and parts of Boydtown. Part of the fire was burning in inaccessible country and continued to head in a north-westerly direction towards Bombala as well as northerly to just south of Nethercote. The fire had burnt more than 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) and was out of control. Around this time, the NSW Rural Fire Service issued a evacuation for residents in Eden.

Riverina

On 30 December, the Green Valley fire burning east of Albury near Talmalmo (which had started the day prior) developed into an unprecedented fire event as a result of extreme local conditions. The smoke plume rose to an estimated 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) and developed a pyro-cumulonimbus cloud, becoming a firestorm. The result was extreme, the wind was described by crews on the ground as more than 100 km/h (62 mph) (yet to be officially verified), with spot fires starting over 5 km (3.1 mi) ahead of the main fire front.

Firefighters described what they believed to be a tornado generated by the fire storm, which began flattening trees and flipped a small fire vehicle. The tornado then impacted a crew of firefighters working to protect a property, flipping their tanker over and trapping the crew inside, who were then overrun by fire. One firefighter was killed with multiple others injured, with one airlifted to Melbourne and two to Sydney.

In the Snowy Valleys local government area, on 2 January 2020 the Dunns Road fire was burning south of the Snowy Mountains Highway in the Ellerslie Range near Kunama. Over 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) had been burnt and the fire was out of control. The Rural Fire Service issued an evacuation order to residents in the Batlow and Wondalga areas. Residents and visitors to the Kosciuszko National Park were evacuated and access to the national park was closed. 155 inmates from the Mannus Correctional Centre near Tumbarumba were evacuated.

Victoria

NASA satellite imagery on 4th January 2020 showing bushfires on the southeast coast of Australia

On 21 November, lightning strikes ignited a series of fires in East Gippsland, initially endangering the communities of Buchan, Buchan South and Sunny Point. On the night of 20 December, the Marthavale-Barmouth Spur expanded, greatly endangering the community of Tambo Crossing.

The first day of two day cricket tour match between a Victoria XI and New Zealand in Melbourne, was called off due to extreme heat conditions.

On 30 December, there were three active fires in East Gippsland with a combined area of more than 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres), and another in the north east of the state near Walwa heading south-east towards Cudgewa. An evacuation warning was issued for the East Gippsland town of Goongerah, which is surrounded by high-value old growth forests, as well as Cudgewa. On the same day, a fire broke out in the Plenty Gorge Parklands, situated in Melbourne's northern suburbs between Bundoora, Mill Park, South Morang, Greensborough and Plenty.

Fires reached the town of Mallacoota by around 9:00 AEDT on 30 December 2019. At 11:00 AEDT 31 December, fires had begun to approach the vacation town of Lakes Entrance. Despite evacuation of large portions of East Gippsland being recommended, approximately 30,000 holiday makers chose to remain in the region. Approximately 4,000 people, including 3,000 tourists, remained in Mallacoota as the fire began making its closest approach to the town, cutting off roads in the process; Mallacoota had not been issued with an evacuation warning on 29 December. On 3 January, approximately 1,160 people from Mallacoota were evacuated on naval vessels HMAS Choules and MV Sycamore.

On 2 January at 23:00 AEDT Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews declared a state of disaster under the provisions of the Victorian Emergency Management Act for the shires of East Gippsland, Mansfield, Wellington, Wangaratta Rural, Towong, and Alpine, and the alpine resorts of Mount Buller, Mount Hotham, and Mount Stirling. Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp stated that 780,000 hectares (1,900,000 acres) had burnt including 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) near Corryong in the state's north-east and that fifty fires were burning. On 3 January, Premier Daniel Andrews said two people were confirmed dead from the East Gippsland fires.

On 6 January Premier Daniel Andrews said that bushfires had burnt through 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) in Victoria's east and north-east and that 200 homes have been confirmed lost.

Queensland

Satellite image of the smoke from the southeastern Queensland and northern New South Wales bushfires in November 2019. At the time, the smoke spread eastward and reached Tasman Sea.

On 7 September 2019 multiple out of control blazes threatened townships across South Eastern and Northern Queensland, destroying eleven houses in Beechmont, seven houses in Stanthorpe, and one house at Mareeba. On the following day the heritage listed lodge and cabins at the iconic Australian nature-based Binna Burra Lodge were destroyed in the bushfire that consumed residential houses in Beechmont the previous day.

On 9 September a large fire impacted the Peregian Beach area on the Sunshine Coast, severely damaging 10 houses. In December 2019 Perigian Springs and the surrounding areas came under threat by bushfires for the second time in a couple of months. No homes were confirmed lost in this bushfire.

On 9 November, due to deteriorating fire conditions and fires threatening homes across the state, a State of Fire Emergency was Declared across 42 Local Government areas across Southern, Central, Northern and Far Northern Queensland.

On 11 November a fire started in the Ravensbourne area near Toowoomba, which burnt through over 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres) of bush across several days, destroying 6 houses. At 8am the air quality in Brisbane reached unprecedentedly poor levels (Woolloongabba PM2.5 238.8 μg/m³). Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeanette Young, urged residents to stay indoors and to not physically exert themselves.

On 13 November a water-bombing helicopter crashed while fighting the blazes threatening the small community of Pechey. While the Bell 214 helicopter was destroyed, the pilot walked away with minor injuries.

On 23 November the state of fire emergency was revoked and extended fire bans were put in place in local government areas that were previously affected under this declaration.

On 6 December a house fire broke out in Bundamba and quickly spread to nearby bushland and was placed under a watch and act alert by the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services that afternoon. The following day, after worsening conditions, the fire was upgraded to an emergency warning and began to threaten homes in the local community. The fire destroyed a shipping container filled with fireworks, and residents within the 3-square-kilometre (1.2 sq mi) exclusion zone were ordered to evacuate. One home was destroyed.

South Australia

On 11 November 2019 ABC News reported that an emergency bushfire warning was issued for people in Port Lincoln in the Lower Eyre Peninsula, with an uncontrolled fire traveling towards the township. The South Australian Country Fire Service ordered ten water bombers to the area to assist 26 ground crews at the scene. SA Power Networks disconnected power to the township.

A large fire broke out on Yorke Peninsula on 20 November 2019 and threatened the towns of Yorketown and Edithburgh. It destroyed at least 11 homes and burnt approximately 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres). The fire was believed to have started from a sparking electrical transformer. A Boeing 737 water bombing aircraft from New South Wales in addition to South Australian Air Tractor AT-802s were used to protect the town of Edithburgh.

On 20 December serious fires took hold in the Adelaide Hills, and near Cudlee Creek in the Mount Lofty Ranges. Initial south-easterly winds put the towns of Lobethal and Lenswood in the line of the fire, and by the next morning the winds had changed to north-north-west, threatening other towns. On the first day the fires killed one person, more than 70 houses were destroyed, as well as over 400 outbuildings and 200 cars. Fires are still burning and the yearly Christmas celebrations at Lobethal were cancelled.

Also on 20 December, an out-of-control bushfire took hold near Angle Vale, starting from the Northern Expressway and burning through Buchfelde and across the Gawler River. At 11:07 am ACDT the fire was burning under catastrophic weather conditions and an emergency warning was issued for Hillier, Munno Para Downs, Kudla, Munno Para West and Angle Vale. One house was destroyed.

Another emergency warning was issued on the evening of 3 January for a fire near Kersbrook. At its largest extent, the warning area overlapped with areas that a few days earlier had been in warnings for the Cudlee Creek fire. Water bombers delivered 21 loads in just over an hour before darkness fell, and 150 firefighters on 25 trucks plus bulk water carriers and earthmoving equipment limited the advance of the fire to 18 hectares (44 acres).

In early January 2020, the government announced plans to cull some 5,000-10,000 feral camels in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara to reduce competition for drinking water and food. They will be shot by snipers from helicopters over five days.

NASA satellite imagery on 3rd January 2020 showing bushfires on Kangaroo Island.

Kangaroo Island

On Kangaroo Island in the Flinders Chase National Park, the Ravine bushfire burnt in excess of 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) and a bushfire emergency warning was issued on 3 January 2020 as the fire advanced towards Vivonne Bay and the town of Parndana was evacuated. On 4 January it was confirmed at least two people died on Kangaroo Island due to the fires.

As of Monday 6 January, it was reported that 170,000 hectares (about a third of the island) had burnt so far. Fires were still burning out of control, with firefighters working to contain and control fires before potentially hot windy weather arrived on Thursday. A water treatment plant was damaged in the fire, so residents were asked to conserve water, and some water was carted into island towns. There were concerns for the future of endangered wildlife (one of Kangaroo Island's main tourism draws) such as glossy black cockatoos, kangaroo Island dunnarts, and koalas. Breton Greer, the bushfire emergency coordinator for the island, said that any koalas taken to the mainland for treatment cannot return to the island in case they bring diseases back with them (Kangaroo Island koalas are free of chlamydia which affects koalas on the mainland).

Western Australia

Two bushfires were burning in Geraldton on 13 November, damaging homes and small structures.

A fire broke out in Yanchep at 2:11 pm on 11 December, immediately triggering an emergency warning for Yanchep and Two Rocks. Ultimately the fire led to a service station exploding. On 12 December, temperatures in excess of 40 °C (104 °F) exacerbated the fire, and the emergency warning area doubled including parts of Guilderton and Brenton Bay further north. On 13 December, more hot temperatures increased the size of the fire to in excess of 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres), with the fire front over 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) in length. As of 13 December 2019, the emergency warning area stretched from Yanchep north to Lancelin over 40 km (25 mi) away. By 16 December, the fire was considered contained and the alert downgraded to watch and act. Approximately 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres) were burned, with only two buildings were damaged, both within the first day of the fire starting. In December fires in the region around Norseman blocked access to the Eyre Highway and the Nullarbor and caused the highways of the region to be blocked, so as to prevent any recurrence of the 2007 death of truck drivers on the Great Eastern Highway.

Smoke in central Canberra in December 2019

Australian Capital Territory

In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the national capital Canberra was blanketed by thick bushfire smoke on New Year's Day, from bushfires burning nearby in New South Wales. That day, air quality in the capital was the worst of any city in the world, at around 23 times the threshold to be considered hazardous. Conditions continued the next day, and Australia Post stopped deliveries in the ACT to keep postal workers safe from smoke. The first death directly linked to the poor air quality was also recorded on 2 January. An elderly woman had been traveling from Brisbane to Canberra by plane, when she exited the plane onto the smoke-flooded tarmac, she suffered respiratory distress and then died. On 2 January 2020, the ACT declared a state of alert.

Tasmania

In late October 2019, four bushfires were burning near Scamander, Elderslie and Lachlan. Emergency warnings were issued at Lulworth, Bothwell and Lachlan. A large fire near Swansea also burnt over 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres). Lighting strikes subsequently started multiple fires in Southwest Tasmania. On 20 December 2019, a fire was started in the north east, which spread to 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) and destroyed one home; a man was charged with starting the fire.

Two fires continued to burn at the beginning of 2020. A fire in the Fingal Valley, in northeastern Tasmania, which started on the 29th of December, and a fire at Pelham, north of Hobart, which started on the 30th of December. As of the 7th of January, the Fingal fire had burned over 16,000 hectares and the Pelham fire over 2,100 hectares.

International effects

In mid December 2019, a NASA analysis revealed that since 1 August, the New South Wales and Queensland bushfires had emitted 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂). As of 2 January 2020, NASA estimated that 306 million tonnes of CO₂ had been emitted. By comparison, in 2018 Australia's total carbon emissions were equivalent to 535 million tonnes of CO₂. While the emitted carbon would normally eventually be reabsorbed by forest regrowth, this would take decades, and might not fully happen if prolonged drought damaged the ability of forests to fully regrow.

On New Year's Day 2020 in New Zealand, a blanket of smoke from the Australian fires covered the whole South Island, giving the sky an orange-yellow haze. People in Dunedin reported smelling smoke in the air. MetService stated that the smoke would not have any adverse effects on the weather or temperature in the country. The smoke moved over the North Island the following day, but began breaking up and was not as intense as it was over the South Island the previous day; meanwhile, wind from the Pacific Ocean dissipated the smoke over the South Island. The smoke affected glaciers in the country, giving a brown tint to the snow. On 5 January more smoke wafted over the North Island, turning the sky in Auckland orange.

CO emitted by 2019-20 south-east bushfire captured by NASA Aqua AIRS instrument

File:Smoke cloud over New Zealand, 1 January 2020.jpg

Smoke cloud covering the South Island of New Zealand on 1 January 2020; landmasses outlined in blue.

Domestic response

New South Wales

File:Firefighters - NSW Bushfires 2019.jpg

NSW RFS firefighters in Manyana having a break

The two primary firefighting agencies for New South Wales, Fire and Rescue NSW and the NSW Rural Fire Service, formed the bulk of the primary response to the fires, mobilizing thousands of firefighters and several hundred firefighting vehicles. They were heavily supported by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Forestry Corporation of NSW, who holds jurisdiction over national parks and forests across the state. Additional local firefighting resources were also utilized from agencies such as Air Services Australia and Sydney Trains.

Numerous interstate agencies deployed firefighting resources into New South Wales, including several hundred firefighters from the Victorian Country Fire Authority, along with crews from the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade, the South Australian Country Fire Service, the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service, the South Australian Department of Environment and Water, and the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service.

Despite the substantial loss of property and tragic loss of life, firefighters have so far managed to save over 16,000 structures from direct fire impact in addition to countless lives.

Multiple other New South Wales emergency services assisted in the response, including NSW Ambulance who provided ongoing pre-hospital care to victims of the fires including firefighters, NSW Police who worked to ensure public safety was maintained through road closures and evacuations and the NSW State Emergency Service who assisted with logistical support.

The response of volunteer organisations and charities was also considerable, with WIRES Wildlife Rescue working to rescue and treat injured wildlife, Rapid Relief Team Australia raising money for victims, providing meals for firefighters and assisting with two bulk water tankers, Team Rubicon Australia providing debris removal and helping with the cleanup of fire affected areas, the Animal Welfare League fundraising and assisting injured animals, and St John Ambulance Australia providing support at evacuation centres across New South Wales.

Commonwealth

On 24 December 2019, the Morrison Government announced that volunteer firefighters employed in the Commonwealth public service would be offered at least 20 working days paid leave. On 29 December 2019, it announced that volunteer firefighters who have been called out for more than 10 days would be able to receive financial compensation. On 4 January 2020, it announced that it would lease four waterbombing planes including two long-range DC-10s and two medium-range for use by state and territory governments.

On 5 January 2020, the Prime Minister announced the establishment of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, funded initially with A$2 billion, under the control of former Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Andrew Colvin.

Military

On 5 December 2019, the Australian Defence Force commenced Operation Bushfire Assist to support state fire services in logistics, planning, capability, and operational support. Activities the ADF has undertaken as part of the Operation have included Air Force aircraft transporting firefighters and their equipment interstate, Army and Navy helicopters transporting firefighters, conducting night fire mapping, impact assessments and search and rescue flights, use of various defense facilities as coordination and information centers and for catering and accommodation for firefighters, liaison between state and federal government services, reloading and refueling for waterbombing aircraft, deployment of personnel to assess fire damage and severity and provision of humanitarian supplies.

On 31 December 2019, the Defence Minister announced the ADF would provide assistance to East Gippsland, in particular the isolated high fire risk town of Mallacoota, deploying helicopters including a CH-47 Chinook and C-27J Spartan military transport aircraft to be based at RAAF Base East Sale and two naval vessels, HMAS Choules and MV Sycamore, with the vessels also able to assist in south-east New South Wales if required. On 1 January 2020, the ADF deployed additional military staff establishing the Victorian Joint Task Force 646 (Army Reserve 4th Brigade) and the following day the New South Wales Joint Task Force 1110 (Army Reserve 5th Brigade). On 3 January 2020, HMAS Choules and MV Sycamore evacuated civilians from Mallacoota bound for Westernport.

On 4 January 2020, following a meeting of the National Security Committee, the Morrison Government announced a compulsory call-out of Army Reserve brigades for the first time in the nation's history to deploy up to 3,000 reserve personnel full-time to assist with in the Operation. Additionally, Defence announced that it would deploy HMAS Adelaide to support other Navy ships in evacuations and relief, as well additional Chinook helicopters and military transport aircraft to RAAF Base East Sale.

On 4 January 2020, Chinook helicopters evacuated civilians from Omeo and Spartan aircraft evacuated civilians from Mallacoota on 5 January.

International response

Political figures from outside Australia including Cory Booker, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Piers Morgan, Bernie Sanders, Greta Thunberg, and Elizabeth Warren have all publicly commented about the fires. People in the entertainment industry such as Tina Arena, Patricia Arquette, Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Ellen DeGeneres, Selena Gomez, Halsey, Nicole Kidman, Lizzo, Bette Midler, PINK, Margot Robbie, Paul Stanley, Jonathan Van Ness, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge have also made statements about the fires.

International aid

Four deployments for a total of 87 Canadian firefighters were sent through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. It was the first time that Canadian personnel have been deployed to Australia since 2009. Over 50 New Zealanders were deployed to Australia in both direct fire fighting and support roles. 20 firefighters from the United States Department of the Interior were deployed to Australia to help combat the fires. Malaysia also offered its assistance to deploy firefighters through the statement by Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Singapore deployed two Chinook helicopters and 42 Singapore Armed Forces personnel stationed at Oakey Army Aviation Centre to RAAF Base East Sale in Victoria. On 6 January 2020, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Romania informed Romania responded to the Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM) and will deploy forces and 70 firefighters in Australia through the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) of the European Union.

Political response

Causes

Maximum temperature deciles, January to November 2019

Rainfall deciles, January to November 2019

FFDI (Forest Fire Danger Index), Spring 2019

Political and social debate surrounded the primary causes of the extent and nature of fire activity. Amid the crisis, conservative politicians and media blamed a lack of prescribed burning and fire break management. Accompanying this was the assertion that environmental groups were responsible for the crisis by inhibiting prescribed burning, despite environmental groups holding relatively negligible political power compared to the Liberal and National parties. Furthermore, the amount of prescribed burning in southeastern Australia has been stated to have increased in recent years, following the recommendation for increased prescribed burning from the 2009 Black Saturday Royal Commission. Experts suggested that prescribed burning has been more difficult to achieve given recent trends towards warmer and dryer conditions. Experts have also cast skepticism on the effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments, citing research that suggests that prescribed burning does little to stop bushfire and save property in southeast Australia, with climate and weather conditions having primary influence.

The effect of previous prescribed burns in slowing the 2019-20 Australian fires and assisting fire suppression efforts remains unclear, although in many instances the fires were observed to burn through cleared agricultural land and forest recently affected by unplanned and prescribed burns, owing to the extreme weather conditions and dryness of vegetation. Of particular note, the damaging Currowan fire burnt though a large area of Morton National Park subject in 2017 to one of the largest prescribed burns ever successfully conducted in NSW. About the blame of prescribed burning, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science David Bowman stated "These are very tired and very old conspiracy theories that get a run after most major fires," and that they were "an obvious attempt to deflect the conversation away from climate change.". In the lead up to another Federal inquiry into state land management, Professor of Bushfire Behaviour and Management Trent Penman added "If there was a silver bullet on bushfires we'd have found it by now, after the 51 [bushfire] inquiries since 1939," and that "blindly putting money into prescribed burning won't stop the problem". Despite evidence to suggest that fuel loads played a minimal role in the 2019-20 Australian fires, there are calls to open up Australian protected lands to industry, particularly logging and grazing, to reduce fire fuel, with these calls having so far mainly stemmed from individuals and businesses with interests in such industries, and have resulted in the circulation of large amounts of disinformation.

A likely contributor to the bushfire crisis was the ongoing drought in eastern Australia–the most severe on record for some fire affected areas. Exacerbating the effects of diminished rainfall in this drought has been a record breaking run of above average monthly temperatures, lasting 36 months to October 2019. The combination of heat and drought caused critical low fuel moisture content, with Victoria Country Fire Authority Response Controller Gavin Freeman stating that the "underlying dryness" of the bush has led to exceptionally high fire danger. Although Australia has naturally experienced high rainfall variability and hot summers for millennia, the country has experienced an increase of nearly 1 °C in average annual temperatures since 1900, decreases in average rainfall in southeastern Australia since 1990, with the country's worst recorded droughts occuring within the 21st century. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) states that on account of projected future climate change, hot days will become more frequent and hotter (very high confidence), and the time in drought is projected to increase over southern Australia (high confidence). In 2019, the drought and water resources minister of Australia David Littleproud, said, that he "totally accepts" the link between climate change and drought in Australia, and is someone who experiences it first hand.

Climate and fire experts agree that climate change is a factor known to result in increased fire frequency and intensity in southeast Australia, and although it should not be considered as the sole cause of the 2019-20 Australian fires, climate change is considered very likely to have contributed to the unprecedented extent and severity of the fires. The crisis has led to calls for more action to combat climate change. In December 2019, Australia had been ranked worst out of 57 countries assessed on the Climate Change Performance Index, with the Morrison government labeled "an increasingly regressive force." Originally downplaying the role of climate change is causing the fires, Prime Minister Scott Morrison eventually conceded that climate change was one of "many factors" involved and added that Australia was "playing its part" in the international effort against climate change. Several members of the governing Liberal Party were criticized internationally for climate change denial, with backbencher Craig Kelly called "disgraceful" during an interview with the hosts of Good Morning Britain for denying any link between climate change and the fires, and the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation receiving "angry" feedback from listeners after airing an interview in which former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott said the world was "in the grip of a climate cult." Before the worst phases of the bushfires, in an interview in November 2019, former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said the party had struggled with the issue of climate change denial for more than a decade because it had become an issue of "identity" rather than fact, and criticized News Corporation for being a "long-time promoter" of climate denialism. The chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia said bushfire preparations had been "stymied" by the federal government, because "there are people within government who firmly believe there is no such thing as climate change or that human beings don't have an impact upon it, and they are adamant that no extra work or extra effort should ever happen because they don't believe in climate change."

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service referred numerous individuals to the NSW Police, some of whom were charged with arson, allegedly starting bushfires. The role of arsonists as a primary cause of the fires has been reportedly exaggerated as part of an online disinformation campaign to downplay the role of climate change, according to research conducted by the Queensland University of Technology.

Criticism

The political ramifications of this fire season have been significant, driven by incorrect reports that the New South Wales Government, led by Premier Gladys Berejiklian, had cut funding to fire services. NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, in response to the funding cut claims, stated "that it is rubbish, it is misinformation, it's being misrepresented and I think it is disgracefully being misrepresented here today". He also stated that "not only has our budget not been cut, we are enjoying record budgets. We have got more money today then we have ever had before in the history of the organisation". Debate and controversy continue to surround previous funding cuts to fire management agencies, with other reports noting recent funding cuts to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which is responsible for the planning and enforcement of prescribed burns in NSW national parks.

Further controversy has surrounded Prime Minister Scott Morrison for taking an overseas family holiday to Hawaii, United States, during the bushfires. These criticisms also applied to New South Wales Minister for Emergency Services David Elliot, who went for a holiday in Europe. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was also criticised for holidaying on a cruise ship, while fires were active in the state.

While travelling throughout fire-affected towns in New South Wales, Morrison was filmed attempting to shake the hands of two residents in Cobargo who had refused to shake his outstretched hand. Morrison has been criticised for grabbing and then shaking their hands despite their refusals. In an interview with Andrew Constance, NSW Liberal MP for Bega, Constance described the incident stating "the locals probably gave him the welcome he probably deserved". Morrison did not appear concerned with the criticism, later stating, "people are angry, and if people want to direct that at me, that is up to them".

Soon after, Morrison released a video on behalf of the Liberal Party regarding deployment of military assets to respond to the bushfire crisis, for which he was widely criticized. The video was perceived as an inappropriate and an untimely political advertisement, with former ABC broadcaster Barrie Cassidy calling it "absolutely obscene," journalist Peter van Onselen saying it was "beyond inappropriate", and British political commentator Piers Morgan characterising it as "one of the most tone-deaf things I've ever seen a country's leader put out during a crisis." The Australian Defence Association, a public-interest watchdog dealing with defence issues, said the video was "milking ADF support to civil agencies fighting bushfires" and was a "clear breach of the (reciprocal) non-partisanship convention applying to both the ADF & Ministers/MPs." NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Fitzsimmons said it was "disappointing" to learn of the announcement of military assistance from the media and not the government directly. Morrison was further criticised for a "donate" button on a Liberal Party website page which misleadingly led to a donations page for the Liberal Party itself, rather than bushfire relief; the button was later removed.

Donations

Celebrities, sportspeople and Australian citizens donated generously to various fundraising appeals for bushfire victims and firefighters.

In November, James Packer pledged A$1 million to support the NSW Rural Fire Service. As the impact of the bushfire season spread, the Crown Resorts Foundation and the Packer Family Foundation pledged a further A$4 million to volunteer fire services in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia – all states in which Crown has resorts – and to charitable organisations that provided relief to affected people and wildlife nationally. Philanthropists John and Pauline Gandel pledged A$1 million, split among national bushfire appeals led by the Australian Red Cross, The Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul Society, to assist with relief to affected communities, as well as volunteer firefighters across Australia. Tim Cook also pledged a donation from Apple of an undisclosed amount.

American singer P!nk donated US$500,000 (A$720,000) to support local fire fighting authorities in Australia, tweeting that she is "totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now." Actor Nicole Kidman and her husband, singer-songwriter Keith Urban also donated A$500,000 to the Rural Fire Services. Singer-songwriter and actor Kylie Minogue and her family pledged A$500,000 towards the firefighting efforts and ongoing support. Actor Chris Hemsworth and his family donated A$1 million.

Tennis champion, Australian Ashleigh Barty, pledged all of her prizemoney at the 2020 Brisbane International to the Red Cross bushfire appeal. She had already donated a significant amount to RSPCA Australia to care for animals displaced by the fires. Other tennis players, led by Nick Kyrgios, pledged to donate money for every ace served during the Australian summer of tennis. Many cricket players, such as international representatives Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, D'Arcy Short, Matthew Renshaw and Fawad Ahmed pledged to donate money for every wicket and/or six during the remainder of the Australian cricket season, whilst Australian Test bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Nathan Lyon pledged to donate $1,000 for each wicket they took during the 3rd Test against New Zealand. Shane Warne, a retired Australian cricketer, placed his baggy green up for online auction, with aspirations of A$500,000.

Comedian Celeste Barber launched a fundraising appeal which raised over A$40 million. A telethon conducted with the controversial Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks raised more than A$2 million.

See also

• List of Australian bushfire seasons
• Major bushfires in Australia
• Wildfire prevention
• List of wildfires
• Fire ecology: eucalypt forests
• Climate of Australia
• Climate change in Australia

External links

• EarthWindMap – Current global map of airborne particulates less than 1 micrometer in diameter, including smoke, centered on Australia
• MyFireWatch – Government of Western Australia site mapping fires and vegetation every 2–4 hours from satellite data