Black Saturday bushfires

February 2009 Victorian bushfires
MODIS Aqua satellite image of the fires in eastern Victoria during the afternoon of 7 February. By 8 February, smoke from the bushfires had reached as far as New Zealand.
Date(s)	7 February – 6 March 2009 (ongoing)
Location	Victoria, Australia
Statistics
Burned area	over 4,500 km² (450,000 hectares, 1.1 million acres)
Land use	Urban/Rural Fringe Areas, Farmland, and Forest Reserves/National Parks
Impacts
Deaths	210 (Current as of 0950 AEDT, 06/03/2009, still being counted.)
Non-fatal injuries	500+, 100+ in hospital

The February 2009 Victorian bushfires are a series of bushfires that were ignited or were burning across the Australian state of Victoria on and around Saturday 7 February 2009, resulting in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire. The fires have so far killed at least 210 people and injured over 500 more. One hundred people have been admitted to hospitals across Victoria with burns. Twenty are in a critical condition with nine in intensive care. Victoria Police estimate that the number of people still missing may number over 30.

The fires have destroyed at least, 2,029 homes, 3,500 structures in total and damaged thousands more. Many towns north-east of the state capital Melbourne have been badly damaged or almost completely destroyed, including Kinglake, Marysville, Narbethong, Strathewen and Flowerdale. Many houses in the towns of Steels Creek, Humevale, Wandong, Callignee, and Koornalla were also burnt, with several fatalities recorded at each location. The fires have left an estimated 7,500 people homeless.

Suspected causes of the fires include lightning, arson, discarded cigarette butts and sparks from a power tool in combination with an intense heat wave contributing to the extreme fire hazard conditions. More distantly implicated is an Australian drought that has persisted for more than a decade, as well as a domestic 50-year warming trend that has been linked to human-induced climate change.

Background

McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index

The McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) was developed in the 1960s by CSIRO scientist A.G. McArthur to measure the degree of danger of fire in Australian forests and grasslands. A fire danger rating of between 12 and 25 on the index is considered a "high" degree of danger, while a day having a danger rating of over 50 is considered an "Extreme" fire danger day. McArthur used the conditions of the Black Friday fires of 1939 as his example of a 100 rating.

On 7 February 2009, the FFDI reached unprecedented levels in Victoria, ranging from 120 to 190. This was higher than the fire weather conditions experienced on both Black Friday and the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfire disaster.

Heat wave

Main article: 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave

Temperature graph for Melbourne during the peak of the heatwave.

The National Climate Centre has released a Special Climate Statement detailing the exceptional January-February 2009 heatwave in south-eastern Australia.

Commencing in late January, an exceptional heat wave affected south-eastern Australia. It was caused by a slow moving high-pressure system that settled over the Tasman Sea, with a combination of an intense tropical low located off the North West Australian coast and a monsoon trough over Northern Australia, which produced ideal conditions for hot tropical air to be directed down over Southeastern Australia.

The February fires commenced on a day when several localities across the state, including Melbourne, recorded their highest temperatures since records began in 1859. On 6 February 2009—the day before the fires started—the Premier of Victoria John Brumby issued a warning about the extreme weather conditions expected on 7 February: "It's just as bad a day as you can imagine and on top of that the state is just tinder-dry. People need to exercise real common sense tomorrow". Brumby went on to state that it was expected to be the "worst day [of fire conditions] in the history of the state".

Gippsland fires

See also: 2008-09 Australian bushfire season

In late January, several fires broke out in the Gippsland region of Victoria.

On the night of 28 January, CFA fire crews dealt with a small fire near Delburn which had burnt 30 hectares (74 acres) of land, and on the afternoon of 29 January, attended two more fires in the same area, one of which threatened a local pine plantation. Also on 29 January, the CFA attended, and soon controlled, two small grass fires near the city of Sale, which were thought to have been deliberately lit.

Late on 29 January and into the following morning, the two fires at Delburn (and several other smaller fires) had joined, and were being fought by over 500 personnel; the fires had burnt 10 km² 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) in the area near Boolarra and Darlimurra, south of the city of Morwell, though no property losses were reported. A cool change late on 30 January eased conditions, but also produced winds which led to spot fires. On the evening of 31 January, fire crews focused on containing the fire's northern flank, which was within 2 km of the main power transmission lines supplying electricity to Melbourne from the Latrobe Valley; the fires also threatened the Hazelwood Power Station.

By 1 February, containment lines had been established around the Boolarra fires, although it was not yet under control. The fire had burned through 65 km² 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) and destroyed 29 houses, along with various outbuildings and also livestock. On 3 February, authorities had divided the fires into six sectors, five of which were classified as contained, and only one, near Mirboo North, remained uncontained.

On 2 February, twenty-three new fires were lit – mostly due to lightning strikes – including three in the Bunyip State Park, and further fires near Drouin West and Leongatha. However, increased humidity helped contain the fires, according to a DSE duty officer.

Police believed that the fires that formed the Delburn/Boolarra complex were deliberately lit, and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of suspected arsonists.

In the wake of the Gippsland fires, Bruce Esplin, the Victorian Emergency Services Commissioner, proposed a review of building regulations applicable in certain fire-prone areas, saying that "I believe that with the changes and the frequency and the severity of the bushfires we're experiencing, I think the community is going to have a rethink about where we build or if you build in a place like that". Also following those fires, Bob Cameron, the Victorian Minister for Emergency Services, announced that the Victorian government was considering ways to tackle arsonists, including the potential for a register of arsonists accessible to police.

Chronology

File:2009-02-07 Fawkner Beacon wind chart.jpg

Fawkner Beacon wind chart of February 7, 2009

Wednesday 28 January 2009

Delburn fire started in Gippsland, arson suspected.

Wednesday 4 February 2009.

Bunyip State Park fire started, arson suspected.

Saturday 7 February 2009.

11:20 Smoke and flames first observed in a hilltop paddock in Kilmore East.

12:30 Horsham fire started.

15:00 Fires that claimed Marysville first seen from Mt Despair fire tower.

16:20 Fire front arrives at Strathewen.

16:30 Fire front arrives at Kinglake

17:00 Wind direction changed from northerly to southerly in Melbourne (see Fawkner Beacon Wind chart for February 7, 2009)

17:30 Fire commences at Eaglehawk, near Bendigo

18:00 Fire front approaching Marysville.

18:00 Beechworth fire started.

19:00 (approx). Fire front hits Marysville

19:30 Southerly wind associated with cool change passes through southerly regions of the Kilmore fire, changing the fire front direction to the north east.

Sunday 8 February 2009.

Kilmore and Murrindindi Mill fires merge to form the Kinglake fire complex.

Wilsons Promontory fire started by lightning.

Sunday 15 February 2009.

With temperatures in the low 30s, a new fire, alegedly deliberatesly lit with several ignition points, started in the late afternoon near Peters Road and Terrys Avenue intersection in Belgrave, spreading in a northerly direction to around the Terrys Avenue and Sandells Road Tecoma intersection, with between 4 – 5 hectares of mainly Dandenong Ranges N.P. burnt.

Tuesday 17 February 2009.

Six fires are still burning out of control with another 19 contained fires still burning.

Containment lines surrounded 85 per cent of the Kinglake Murrindindi Complex.

The Kilmore East - Murrindindi Complex South fire was burning in Melbourne's O'Shannassy and Armstrong Creek water catchments.

The Bunyip and Beechworth fires were close to being contained.

Monday 23 February 2009

Temperatures in the mid 30s, northerly winds and a cool change precipitated several new fires the most major being in the southern Dandenong Ranges near Upwey, South of Daylesford and the Otway Ranges, and directed previously burning fires in the Yarra Ranges towards settlements in the upper Yarra Valley. New fires were contained and control lines held existing fires away from settlements.

Friday 27 February 2009

The Bunyip Ridge fire was still burning within control lines in the Bunyip State Park and State Forest areas

The Kilmore East - Murrindindi Complex North fire is burning within containment lines on the South Eastern flank.

Kilmore East - Murrindindi Complex South Fire activity continues in the areas close to several towns in the Yarra Valley and the Warbuton Valley.

The Wilsons Prom Cathedral Fire was 24,150 hectares in size and still burning.

The French Island fire was slowly burning in uninhabited grass and scrub bushland on the North East end of the island.

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Extreme bushfire conditions were predicted for Monday night and early Tuesday morning, involving very strong northerlies, with a change to arrive by Tuesday morning. Approximately 3 million SMS messages warning of extreme fire danger conditions were sent from Victoria Police to Victorians with mobile phones as a technology trial.

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Cooler conditions and rain from the 4th to the 6th of March enabled firefighters to control and contain several fires, the Kilmore-Murrindindi Complex South being completely contained. Predictions for favourable weather signal the easing of the threat to settlements from the major fires that have been burning since February 7.

Major fires

Map of fire locations on 10 February.

The worst day for fires occurred on Saturday 7 February, now being referred to by some as Black Saturday, when the Kilmore and Murrindindi Mill fires both started, then merged to form the Kinglake fire complex. The Bendigo and Churchill fires also started on this day.

The major fires include:

North and central

Kinglake fire complex

Melbourne air temperature on 7 February 2009 and the preceding and following days.

The Kinglake fire complex was named after two earlier fires, the Kilmore fire and the Murrindindi Mill fire, which merged following the wind change on 7-8 February. The complex had burned out over 2100 km² 210,000 hectares (520,000 acres) as of 8 February. 196 people have died in the Kinglake Complex thus far.

On the morning of 7 February, a fire starting at Kilmore East pushed 30 kilometres (19 mi) south-east towards St. Andrews through Wandong and Clonbinane. As many as 30 houses were feared destroyed at Wandong and Heathcote Junction on 7 February. By 8 February, it was estimated that 150 houses had been destroyed at Wandong, and four people killed. The fire led to the closure of the Seymour railway line and parts of the Hume Highway near Kilmore. The Wandong railway station was damaged, as were two rail bridges, closing the line until 16 February. The north-westerly winds pushed a narrow fire front a long distance towards St Andrews before the cool change passed through the area around 7.30 pm, bringing south-westerly winds. The wind change turned the initial long and narrow fire band into a wide fire front that moved in a north-east direction through Kinglake and towards Marysville.

By the evening of 8 February, as many as 100 people displaced by the Kilmore fire were sheltering at an emergency relief centre established in a basketball stadium at Wallan, many of them unable to return to their homes because of safety roadblocks.

The fire front pushed through the Kinglake area late on 7 February, and it was to be the worst impacted area in the state with more than 550 houses destroyed.

The town of Marysville (at the eastern end of the complex) was almost entirely destroyed by the Murrindindi Mill fire. Late in the afternoon of 7 February, residents had anticipated that the fire front would bypass Marysville but within minutes the town was enveloped in fire. At about 5 pm, power was lost to the town and the wind dropped away; minutes later the wind returned from a different direction, bringing the fire up the valley with it. About 30 residents waited out the night at Gallipoli Park, and were evacuated to Alexandra on the afternoon of 8 February. A police sergeant said that the main street in Marysville had been destroyed: "The motel at one end of it partially exists. The bakery has survived. Don't ask me how. Everything else is just nuked." Unknown damage to the water treatment plant at Marysville probably rendered local water supplies unsafe to drink. Reports on 11 February gave estimates that around 100 of the town's approximate population of 500 are believed to have perished, and that only "a dozen" buildings were left. Premier Brumby described: "There's no activity, there's no people, there's no buildings, there's no birds, there's no animals, everything's just gone. So the fatality rate will be very high." 45 fatalities had been confirmed in Marysville as at February 20.

A NASA image of the Kinglake complex near Yan Yean Resevoir, 14 February.

An eyewitness reported that 95 per cent of the houses in nearby Narbethong were also destroyed. Other localities affected by the same fire included Taggerty and Buxton.

To the south, visitors and residents were stranded at Yarra Glen when fire surrounded the town on three sides. Houses just to the north of Yarra Glen were destroyed and large areas of grassy paddocks burnt.

Fire destroyed two bridge decks and seriously damaged the station pit at Wandong station on the Seymour rail line, but each was rapidly repaired, along with around 1,200 burnt sleepers replaced, in time for the re-opening of the line on Monday 16 February.

Investigators strongly believe that the cause of the fire that originated near the Murrundindi Mill and swept through Narbethong and Marysville was arson, with several suspects under investigation.

Beechworth fire

Smoke from the initial northwesterly fueled Kilmore Fire, being blown across Melbourne's north-east, prior to the southwesterly change, on 7 February.

In Beechworth, a fire has burnt over 300 km² 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) and threatens the towns of Yackadandah, Stanley, Bruarong, Dederang, Kancoona, Kancoona South, Coralbank, Glen Creek and Running Creek. The fire started around 6 pm on 7 February, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Beechworth, before being driven south through pine plantations by hot northerly winds.

The fire destroyed an unknown number of buildings at Mudgegonga, south-east of Beechworth; 2 have been confirmed dead. Dense smoke and cloud cover had hindered assessment of the Beechworth fire, but as conditions cleared late on 8 February, aerial crews were anticipating being able to commence surveys of the situation.

Smoke mixes with cloud over Warrandyte, looking north-east across the Yarra River, towards the Kinglake Fire Complex on 8 February.

Strong winds fuelled the fire on the night of 8 February, and lightning ignited a new fire near Kergunyah around midday on 9 February. More than 440 personnel worked to contain a separate front that threatened Gundowring and Eskdale, having jumped the Kiewa River; late on the night of 9 February the greatest threat was to Eskdale, and fires were also burning in pine plantations 8 km from the large town of Myrtleford, at the opposite, western end of the fire area. While smaller towns to the east, including Gundowring and Kergunyah, remained under threat, the CFA said that there was no immediate danger to the larger towns of Beechworth and Yackandandah on the northern fringe of the fire area.

By 10 February firefighters had completed a 115-kilometre (71 mi) containment line around the Beechworth fire, and sought to construct 15 km (9.3 mi) more, though the fire continued to burn out of control. By that afternoon, threat messages for the area had been downgraded, though firefighters were tackling a separate fire near Koetong, to the east of the main Beechworth fire, of between 50 to 80 hectares (120 to 200 acres). Residents of Beechworth and surrounding towns were advised on the evening of 10 February to expect increased smoke cover as 250 firefighters would be undertaking backburning to eliminate fuel within the control lines.

The Beechworth Correctional Centre minimum-security prison offered up to thirty of its inmates to provide assistance to firefighters; a local DSE manager said that though untrained personnel would not be allowed at the fire front, the prisoners would be welcome in support roles.

Bendigo fire

Fire threatening houses near Dean Street in Long Gully, west of Bendigo.

A fire to the west of the city of Bendigo burned out 5 km² 500 hectares (1,200 acres). The fire broke out at about 4:30 pm on the afternoon of 7 February, and burned through Long Gully and Eaglehawk, coming within 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of central Bendigo, before it was brought under control late on 8 February. It destroyed around 61 houses in Bendigo's western suburbs, and damaged an electricity transmission line, resulting in blackouts to substantial parts of the city. One Long Gully resident, ill and confined to his house, was killed in the fire despite the efforts of his neighbours to rescue him. A second person was later confirmed dead. The fire changed direction late on 7 February with the cool change, and headed back towards Eaglehawk; it was contained around lunchtime on 8 February, though it was still burning within containment lines later that day.

A relief centre was set up at Kangaroo Flat Senior Citizens Centre. During the fire, residents from Long Gully, Eaglehawk, Maiden Gully, California Gully and West Bendigo were evacuated and advised to assemble at the centre. A town meeting was held for the affected residents on 8 February. On the same day, the Victoria Police indicated that they were investigating whether arson was the cause of the fire.

The CFA suspected that the most likely cause was a cigarette butt discarded from a car or truck on the highway. However, the arson squad and local Bendigo detectives spent 9 February investigating the fire scene, and while they could not determine exactly what had caused the fire as of 10 February, they suspected arson.

Redesdale fire

In Redesdale, there has been 100 km² 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) burnt, with the fire starting 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) west of the town. The fire was reported as threatening the towns of Baynton and Glenhope. Glenhope was threatened again on 9 February from a smaller fire that broke away from the main front, resulting in extra fire crews being brought in from Bendigo and Kyneton.

By 10 February the fire had been contained, having destroyed 12 houses and various outbuildings.

East

File:09 Victorian bushfires locator map.png

Map of locations affected by bushfires in Central Victoria and West Gippsland.

Bunyip fire

A fire started at Bunyip Ridge in the Bunyip State Park on 4 February, originating near walking tracks; it was thought to have been deliberately lit. There were lightning strikes in the area at the time, By 6 February the fire had burned out 1 km² 123 hectares (300 acres), and emergency services personnel engaged in fighting the fire feared that, despite efforts to establish containment lines in the park, once the extreme weather conditions of 7 February arrived, the fire was likely to escape the confines of the park and threaten surrounding towns.

By the morning of 7 February, the fire had indeed broken through containment lines. According to the DSE incident controller for the fire, the weather conditions deteriorated much more quickly than had been predicted, saying that "Conditions overnight and in the early hours are usually mild, but our firefighters are reporting strong winds and flame heights of five to 10 metres". Ground-based fire crews had to retreat from the front, as the escalating conditions made firefighting in the bushland terrain impossible. The fire broke out of the park around 4:00pm, and by 6:00pm had burnt out 24 km² 2,400 hectares (5,900 acres) of forest and farmland; it threatened the towns of Labertouche, Tonimbuk, Drouin and Longwarry, and embers from it were starting spot fires up to 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the south.

The fire destroyed approximately a dozen houses at Labertouche, Tonimbuk and Drouin West, in addition to various outbuildings and a factory. The progress of the fire had been stopped by the afternoon of 9 February, though it had burned through 245 km² 24,500 hectares (61,000 acres). DSE crews conducted backburning operations to ensure containment of the fire on 9 February, warning residents of areas between Pakenham and Warragul about smoke from those fires.

Farmers, unable to keep stock on their farms because of fire damage, were storing stock at nearby saleyards; by 9 February, hundreds of head of cattle affected by the Bunyip fire were en route to saleyards at Pakenham.

Gippsland

Churchill fire

The Churchill fire complex began in a pine plantation 1 kilometre (1,100 yd) south-east of Churchill on the afternoon of 7 February. Within 30 minutes it had spread to the south-east, threatening Hazelwood South, Traralgon South, Jeeralang, and Budgeree East; by late afternoon the fire was approaching Yarram and Woodside on the south Gippsland coast. The cool change came through the area about 6pm, but the south-westerly winds it brought pushed the fire north-east towards Gormandale and Willung South on the Hyland Highway. About 500 evacuees from the area sheltered at an emergency centre established in a theatre in Traralgon.

The fire threatened the Loy Yang Power Station, particularly the station's open-cut coal mine. On the night of 7 February, the fire approached the mine's overburden dump, but did not damage any infrastructure, nor did it affect the station's operations. Several small fires broke out in the bunker storing raw coal from the mine, but were contained with no damage. The threat eased by the evening of 8 February as temperatures cooled and some light rain fell; one small spot fire broke out to the south of the power station, but it was contained by water bombing aircraft.

By 9 February, the Churchill fire complex was still burning out of control, with fronts through the Latrobe Valley and the Strzelecki Ranges. By late that afternoon, the complex had burnt out 323 km² 32,860 hectares (81,200 acres) and had killed eleven people. Wind changes that evening exacerbated parts of the Churchill complex, causing the CFA to issue further warnings to residents at Won Wron and surrounding areas.

Investigators revealed that they strongly believed arson is the most likely cause of the Churchill fire. A man from Churchill was arrested by police at 4:00pm on 12 February, in relation to the Churchill fires, and was questioned at the Morwell police station, before being charged on 13 February with one count each of arson causing death, intentionally lighting a bushfire and possession of child pornography. On 16 February, a suppression order was lifted and the accused arsonist was named as Churchill resident Brendan Sokaluk, 39.

Dandenong Ranges fires

Upper Ferntree Gully

Fire-damaged bushland surrounds the Ringwood - Belgrave Rail Trail in Upper Ferntree Gully.

A car burnt as a result of the Upper Ferntree Gully Fires 2009

Smoke from the southern Dandenongs and Daylesford fires over Melbourne on the 23rd of February

In Ferntree Gully and Upper Ferntree Gully all major roads were closed. Located within the Dandenong Ranges, fire damaged the rail track around Upper Ferntree Gully, causing the closure of the Belgrave railway line. The fire, which was contained by CFA crews within three hours, burned at least 2 hectares (4.9 acres) along the railway.

Belgrave / Tecoma

On 15 February, Ferny Creek, Sherbrooke, Kallista, Tecoma and Belgrave residents were warned by the CFA to remain alert due to a 5-hectare fire in the Belgrave / Tecoma area. This was quickly contained without homes being threatened, though residents in those areas were warned of possible ember attack.

Upwey / Lysterfield / Belgrave South

On 23 February, precipitated by erratic wind conditions and high temperatures, new fires started in the southern Dandenong Ranges on the southern perimeter of Upwey, quickly spreading in a south-easterly direction through the Lysterfield Park and into parts of Belgrave South and Belgrave Heights including part of Birdsland park (where the Ash Wednesday fire had originated in 1983). A CFA fire truck was destroyed, another damaged and several firefighters admitted to hospital with minor injuries. No homes were lost, but at least 1 building and further structures are suspected to have been damaged or destroyed.

Narre Warren

On 7 February, a couple of bushfires ignited in Narre Warren, one of which was caused by sparks from a power tool. Six homes were destroyed in Narre Warren South and three in Narre Warren North.

Wilsons Promontory

On 8 February lightning sparked a fire in Wilsons Promontory which has as of the 17th burnt more than 110 km² 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres). This fire posed no immediate threat to campers but due to excessive fuel and inaccessibility authorities chose to evacuate the park, with some campers being evacuated by boat.

At a community meeting on 11 February, DSE and Parks Victoria authorities revealed a plan to backburn across the entrance to the promontory, in order to prevent any possibility of the fire burning out of the park and into farmland and towards the towns of Yanakie and Sandy Point. Crikey reported that locals were divided on the merits of the plan, some concerned as to why the backburning had not been carried out earlier, and some worried at the large scale of the proposed burns, that were reportedly to be larger than both the existing fire and also the April 2005 fires that affected the park Strong easterly winds on 12 February, however, forced authorities to postpone the proposed burns lest they themselves pose a danger to surrounding communities, though they did proceed with preparatory work..

As of 16 February, the fire had advanced to be 7.5 km away from the park entrance, but was not threatening any towns..

West

Horsham fire

The Horsham fire burnt 5,700 hectares (14,000 acres), including the golf club and eight homes. The Dimboola fire ute was also destroyed.

The fire was started at 12.30 pm on 7 February when strong winds felled a power pole at Remlaw, west of the city, before heading south-west and then south-east, across the Wimmera Highway and Wimmera River to the Horsham Golf Course and then to Haven, south of the city. Firefighters managed to save the general store, town hall and school at Haven, though flames came within metres of those buildings. Winds of up to 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph), that changed direction three times throughout the day, produced conditions described by the local CFA incident controller as the worst he had ever seen. To the south-west of Horsham, a taxi driver collected his fare, an 82-year-old wheelchair-bound woman and her daughter, from her house as the fire was no more than 100 metres (110 yd) away; the house was alight as the taxi drove off, and burned down within minutes.

At 3 pm more than 400 personnel were engaged in fighting the fire, as well as two water-bombing aircraft, 54 Country Fire Authority (CFA) tankers and 35 Department of Sustainability and the Environment (DSE) units. By 6 pm the front had moved east, and as the wind changed, was then pushed north-east across the Western Highway to Drung, east of Horsham.

Coleraine fire

Near Coleraine, a fire started beside the Glenelg Highway around 12:30pm on 7 February, near the intersection with Balochile Road, 2 km north-west of the township. The fire was started when power lines clashed and sparked. Over 230 firefighters, with 43 appliances and two water bombing aircraft, worked to contain the fire which burnt 770 hectares (1,900 acres). The fire destroyed one house and a hayshed, as well as injuring livestock, but firefighters were able to save six other homes, including that of the parents of Victorian Premier John Brumby. The fire threatened to burn through the township, but a wind change around 2pm pushed the fire to the north-east instead. The regional CFA operations officer said of the wind change that "[a]ll that happened within about an hour and we were lucky; we thought it would go through Coleraine, but it headed off at the last minute." At about 6pm the fire was controlled.

A local man was badly burned while helping a farmer move livestock out of harms way; the man was caught when the same wind change that saved the town pushed the fire in his direction, and suffered burns to 50% of his body. As of 12 February, the man remained in The Alfred Hospital in a critical condition.

Responses

Government

While the federal parliament was suspended due to the emergency, the Governor-General in Council continued to address the disaster. The Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, accepted an offer from the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to advise the Governor-General to dispatch members of the Australian Defence Force to provide assistance in that state. Rudd described the bushfires as an "appalling tragedy for Victoria," saying "Hell and all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours."

Queen Elizabeth II– monarch of all Commonwealth realms, including Australia– made a donation to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Fund, and stated that she "was shocked and saddened to learn of the terrible toll being exacted by the fires this weekend," and sent "heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who have died and... deep sympathy to the many that have lost their homes in this disaster," as well as expressing admiration for the firefighters and other emergency personnel. Similarly, her son and heir to the Australian throne, Prince Charles, stated at a reception he hosted for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia: "Both my wife and I were so horrified along with so many other people in this country by the extent of the bush fires because I know every year Australia suffers from dreadful events, but this year somehow it's even more dreadful... We just wanted people to know how deeply we feel for all those families who have suffered so terribly... The sheer extent of the horrors is hard to comprehend I think to people who don't live in Australia or know Australia." It was then announced on 18 February that Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, would represent the Queen at a memorial service to be held in the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, and to tour some of the areas affected by the fires.

Australian Greens Party leader Bob Brown told Sky News, that "[the fires] are a sobering reminder of the need for [Australia] and the whole world to act and put at a priority the need to tackle climate change," and Chief Commissioner of the Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, who was due to retire in March 2009, announced on 10 February that she would be stepping down early in order to lead a state government committee charged with rebuilding the fire-affected areas.

Fire fighting

More than 4,000 firefighters from the Country Fire Authority (CFA)– which is primarily responsible for fires on private property– and the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE)– primarily responsible for fires on public land– have worked to battle the fires. These groups were assisted by the military aid offered by the Commonwealth Governor-in-Council, and the firefighters sent not only by the states of NSW, South Australia, ACT, Tasmania, and Western Australia, but also from firefighting personnel from New Zealand, the latter being limited in number by the extreme fire risk that was concurrent in parts of New Zealand.

Aid efforts

See also: 2009 Victorian bushfire donations

Humanitarian responses to the fires came quickly from government, businesses and aid agencies, including direct relief efforts as well as fundraising.

The Victorian Government's Department of Human Services offered immediate assistance of up to $1,067 for affected people. The federal government announced a $10 million package of emergency assistance, available from 9 February, providing $1,000 per adult and $400 per child for those who had been hospitalised with injuries or who had lost their homes.

The appeal started by the Australian Red Cross had, by 8:00pm on 23 February, raised over $156 million. 3,733 people have registered with the Red Cross after evacuating their properties. The Red Cross Blood Service received 6,000 offers of blood donations on the morning of 9 February alone.

Major banks National Australia Bank, ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac each announced $1 million in donations for fire victims. Bendigo Bank donated $100,000 to seed a public donations appeal. The ANZ announced further relief for its farm customers, with cash grants available to those whose infrastructure or livestock have been partially ($5,000) or wholly ($10,000) destroyed. Banking & Insurance giant Suncorp-Metway donated $500,000. The chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry encouraged workplaces to take up collections to benefit victims.

Telstra, Australia's largest telecommunications company, donated $500,000 and pledged to match employee donations to the value of $250,000, bringing the total to over $1 million. Telstra also provided free telephone diversions to those affected and offered free local and mobile calls on selected public phone boxes in bushfire areas for people to contact relatives and friends.

The Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and Cricket NSW announced that a Twenty20 Cricket match would be held at the SCG between the Waugh XI and the Taylor XI. All funds raised would be donated to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. For the record, The Waugh XI won the match.

Cricket Australia announced that a match scheduled for 10 February between Australia and New Zealand would be used to raise money for fire victims, with the broadcaster Nine Network to appeal for donations during the match. Woolworths Inc. donated $1 million to the Vic Bushfire Appeal. Football Federation Australia has donated $100,000 to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal and will provide replacement football (soccer) equipment to Victorian schools and junior clubs affected by the disaster.

The Australian Football League (AFL) changed the location of the NAB Cup match between Essendon Bombers and Western Bulldogs from Darwin on 13 February, to play the fixture at Telstra Dome in Melbourne instead, as a bushfire appeal match. Various estimates have the game being played in front of between 35,000 and 37,000 people, with early estimates suggesting that approximately $1,200,000 was raised for the relief effort.

V8 Supercars Australia announced that it would donate $100,000 to the aid effort, and they have donated the use of their main transporter as a communications centre and command post for the duration of the crisis.

ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) contributed $150,000 to assist bushfire victims, and opened a fund for donations, according to a press release.

The ACCC warned people to be wary of potential scammers exploiting the fires by posing as representatives of fake charities as similar scams had occurred after the 2003 Canberra bushfires.

Wesfarmers announced a $500,000 donation to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. Coles, Westfarmer's supermart division, are donating profits from all stores on Friday 13 February while Kmart, their discount department store chain, has donated $100,000 to the Salvation Army.

Connex Melbourne announced it will be donating $250,000 to the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Appeal, and its parent company, Veolia Environnement is donating a further $100,000.

Bombardier Transportation has pledged that it will match 3 to 1 every dollar its employees donate, totalling around 75 thousand dollars.

Schools all over Australia will be participating in donating money to those affected by the fires. East Doncaster Secondary College has donated $6,800 from the students and the Principal has pleged to match dollar for dollar so in total over $13,600 has been donated. Ruyton Girls' School has donated more than $8000.

The Bushfire Housing website was established to connect more than 5000 people left homeless by the fires with people offering temporary lodgings. On the bushfirehousing site, people can offer their spare rooms to those left homeless. But some have even offered their own homes and holiday houses to victims.

The charity Operation Angel has trucked in several loads of relief supplies, including toiletries, clothing (supplied by Mitch Dowd, GazMan and Funtastic), furniture, nappies and other items.

On 12 February, the Nine Network held a special telethon to benefit the victims of the bushfires, through the Australian Red Cross. Titled Australia Unites - The Victorian Bushfire Appeal, the event was hosted by Nine Network personality Eddie McGuire, and accompanied by many celebrities, athletes and entertainers. Some of the celebrities to have appeared included Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Orlando Bloom, Hugh Jackman, Anthony La Paglia, Rachel Griffiths and Simon Baker. Rove McManus from rival Ten Network made a special guest appearance. The telethon has raised about A$20.5 million from pledges.

Aid for injured wildlife

As a result of the bushfires, many hundreds of burnt animals are in care in wildlife centres in Victoria. Also, 6 wildlife care centres were destroyed by the bushfires. Wildlife Victoria needs help to treat and feed the animals through the Wildlife Victoria Bushfire Appeal.

National Parks and Wildlife Service has also requested donations be made for burnt and injured wildlife.

Media and community action

The Yellow Ribbon has become a symbol of support for those affected by the bushfires.

Australian national flags were lowered to half-mast in remembrance of the victims, and members of the Australian parliament gave speeches and observed a moment of silence, while Roman Catholic Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide pledged that Saint Vincent de Paul and other Catholic aid organisations would offer assistance, and offered prayers and condolences on behalf of the Australian Catholic conference of bishops. Pope Benedict XVI, through his Secretary of State, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, offered assistance and assurance of prayers and spiritual support to the Governor General.

At the same time, from 7 February onwards, all major Australian television channels increased their nightly bulletin times to cover the fires in more detail, such as ABC Local Radio in Victoria, which postponed programs to relay up to the minute news of the fires, {{citation}}: Empty citation (help) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation set up a message board where people could offer or request help, and which was inundated with replies. Similarly, several organisations and individuals used the microblogging service Twitter to post updates on the developing situation, using a conversion of the Country Fire Authority's RSS stream, @cfa_updates, and the ABC's @774melbourne, the local emergency radio station.

The Yellow Ribbon has become a symbol of support for the emergency services involved in the disaster.

On the 2nd of March, in anticipation and to create awareness of the extreme bushfire weather conditions predicted for the following days, many residents around Victoria received a text message that read: Msg from Vic Police:Extreme weather in Vic expected Mon night & Tues.High wind & fire risk.Listen to local ACB Radio for emergency updates.Do not reply to this. The message was sent to around 5 million phones throughout Victoria.

International reaction

See International reaction to the 2009 Victorian bushfires

Investigations

Investigations began almost immediately following the fires to identify victims, and by 10 February the Victoria Police were engaged in investigating the origin of the fires and people who might have started them.

Forensic

Chief Commissioner of the Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, formed a taskforce to assist in identifying victims, coordinated by Inspector Greg Hough. The Australian Federal Police, New South Wales Police Force, Western Australia Police and Tasmania Police have sent officers trained in disaster victim identification (DVI) to assist in this task. New Zealand has also sent a team of DVI-trained police officers on a three-week assignment.

Criminal

Some of the fires are suspected to have been deliberately lit by arsonists — whose action has been described as "mass murder" by the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Commissioner Nixon stated on 9 February that all fire sites would be treated as crime scenes. On that day a man was arrested in connection with the fires at Narre Warren; it was alleged by police that he had been operating a power tool, sparks from which ignited a grass fire, destroying two houses.

On 12 February, two people were arrested in connection with the fires, having been observed by members of the public acting suspiciously in areas between Yea and Seymour; although they were both released without charges laid.

A man from Churchill was arrested by police on 12 February, in relation to the Churchill fires, and was questioned at the Morwell police station, before being charged on 13 February with one count each of arson causing death, intentionally lighting a bushfire and possession of child pornography. At a file hearing in the Magistrates' Court in Melbourne on 16 February, the man was remanded in custody ahead of a committal hearing scheduled for 26 May. Following the hearing, a suppression order on the 39-year-old man's identity was lifted, though the order remained in force with respect to publishing his address or any images of him. Despite the order, several members of the social networking website Facebook published the man's photograph (obtained from his MySpace profile) and address on the site, and others made threats of violence against him. The man's lawyer said that, as a consequence of that information being published, threats were made against the man's family. The man's ex-girlfriend and her family were also harassed after the Herald Sun newspaper published a photograph and a story about her. On 17 February, after requests from Victoria Police, the man's MySpace profile was removed; Facebook commenced deleting postings containing threats, and deleted a photo from one group.

Royal Commission

Premier John Brumby announced that there will be a Royal Commission into the fires, which will examine "all aspects of the government's bushfire strategy", including whether climate change contributed to the severity of the fires.

On 13 February Brumby announced that Justice Bernard Teague, former judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, would chair the Commission, to be assisted by two other Commissioners. On 16 February, the assistant Commissioners were appointed: Ron McLeod, former Commonwealth Ombudsman and the head of an inquiry concerning the 2003 Canberra bushfires; and Susan Pascoe, the Commissioner of the State Services Authority. The Commission was given very broad terms of reference, with Premier Brumby saying that the Commission would be "[t]he most open inquiry that is possible. No stone unturned. Every bit of information on the table. And if that means calling ministers or premiers, or whoever it is, we will be happy to assist."

Consequences

Bushfire damage to property just north of Yarra Glen. The Hills Hoist is still standing.

Bushfire damage to property just north of Yarra Glen.

Bushfire damage to property in Steels Creek.

MODIS imagery shows smoke plumes from the fires are blown by winds over the Tasman Sea and New Zealand.

Casualties

A total of 210 people have been confirmed to have been killed by the fires, including one ACT firefighter. The death toll is now not expected to rise significantly despite earlier police fears of a final toll of up to 300.As of 25 February, Victoria Police estimate that the number of people still missing may number over 30.

Brian Naylor, former Seven Network and Nine Network television personality and his wife Moiree, were confirmed amongst the dead in the Kinglake West area. Actor Reg Evans and his partner, artist Angela Brunton, residing on a small farm in the St Andrews area, also died in the Kinglake area fire. Ornithologist Richard Zann perished in the Kinglake fire, together with his wife Eileen and daughter Eva.

It has also been reported that over 500 people have been treated for burns and other injuries, with 100 people admitted to hospital with major burns.

A temporary morgue was established at the Coronial Services Centre at Southbank, capable of holding up to three hundred bodies, which the Victorian Coroner compared to a similar facility established after the July 2005 London bombings. Various funeral homes assisted with transporting bodies to Melbourne. By the morning of 10 February, 101 bodies had been transported to the temporary morgue. As of that day, there were more than fifty unidentified bodies either stored in the morgue or yet to be recovered from the fire areas; the director of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine stated that it may well be impossible to identify some of the remains. As of 16 February, over one hundred and fifty forensic investigators were still engaged in searching the ruins of Marysville, which was almost completely destroyed in the fires. A senior lecturer in fire ecology from the University of Melbourne estimated that the fires may have been burning at temperatures of 1,200 ^oC, and said that as a result, the remains of some people caught in the fires may have been obliterated.

On 11 February, Commissioner Nixon indicated that she hoped that searches for bodies would be completed by 15 February, but that the prospect of asbestos being present in some of the destroyed buildings would hinder the progress of the searches. The fire authorities have estimated that in Marysville, in which virtually every structure has been razed by the fires, as many as 100 of the town's 519 residents may have perished.

On 21 February, new sets of human remains were reported found in some areas already searched. Victoria's state coroner Jennifer Coate has ordered a tightening of security and access restrictions at bushfire-ravaged sites including Marysville, Kinglake and Hazeldene until they can be searched again.

On 26 February , it was reported that the death toll in the Black Saturday bushfires could rise to 240 with up to 30 people still missing. Authorities are having difficulty sorting through reports of missing people due to complications with data and that some victims' remains may never be found because the ferocity of the fires left no trace. Disaster Victim Identification teams have begun a second sweep of an estimated 3000 buildings in and around Kinglake and Marysville, a process that could take weeks.

Foreign nationals killed in the bushfire include citizens of:

• Greece - 2
• Philippines - 2
• Chile - 1
• New Zealand - 1
• United Kingdom - 1

Fatalities

Kinglake complex (196)

• 45 – Marysville
• 43 – Strathewen
• 38 – Kinglake
• 22 – St Andrews
• 10 – Steels Creek
• 8 – Flowerdale
• 7 – Kinglake West
• 7 – Humevale
• 4 – Narbethong
• 2 – Whittlesea
• 2 – Toolangi
• 2 – Strath Creek
• 1 – Heathcote Junction
• 1 – Mittons Bridge
• 1 – Reedy Creek
• 1 – Upper Plenty
• 1 – Cambarville
• 1 – Yarra Glen

Churchill (11)

• 4 – Callignee
• 4 – Koornalla
• 2 - Churchill
• 1 - Jerralang Junction

Bendigo (1)

• 1 – Eaglehawk

Beechworth (2)

• 2 – Mudgegonga

TOTAL 210

Firefighter fatality

An ACT firefighter was killed, near Marysville, on the night of 17 February, when a burnt-out tree collapsed onto the fire tanker. He was the first firefighter killed in the line of duty during the 2009 Victorian bushfires.

Other statistics

• 4500 km² (450,000+ ha) burned out
• Over 3,500 structures destroyed, including;

2,029+ houses

59 commercial properties

12 community buildings (including 2 police stations, 3 schools, 3 churches, 1 fire station)

399 machinery sheds, 729 other farm buildings, 363 hay sheds

19 dairies, 26 woolsheds

• 25,600 tonnes of stored fodder and grain
• 2 km² (190 ha) of standing crops
• 1680 km² (168,000 ha) of pasture
• 8 km² (735 ha) of fruit trees, olives and vines
• 70 km² (7,000 ha) of plantation timber
• 39 km² (3,921 ha) of private bushland
• 2,150 sheep, 1,207 cattle, and an unknown number of horses, goats, alpacas, poultry and pigs
• 8,000 km of boundary and internal fencing

Environmental impacts

Millions of animals are estimated to have been killed by the wildfires. Additionally, of the surviving wildlife, many more have suffered from severe burns. For example, large numbers of kangaroos were afflicted with burned feet due to territorial instincts that drew them back to the recently-burned and smoldering homes. The affected area, particularly around Marysville, contains the only known habitat of Leadbeater's Possum, Victoria's faunal emblem.

Forested catchment areas supplying five of Melbourne's nine major dams were affected by the fires, with the worst affected being Maroondah Reservoir and O'Shannassy Reservoir. As of 17 February, over ten billion litres of water had been shifted out of affected dams into others. A Melbourne Water spokesperson said that affected dams may need to be decommissioned if the contamination from ash and other material were serious enough, and also said that forest regrowth in the burnt-out catchment areas could reduce runoff yields by up to 30% over three decades.

Climate change

While it is difficult to attribute an individual weather event, such as the current extended drought in southeastern Australia, to an overall climatic pattern such as global warming, it is possible to correlate patterns with other patterns. Although the current drought could be the result of natural weather pattern variability, it is embedded in a 50-year warming trend that can be attributed with confidence to human-induced increases in greenhouse gas emissions. This warming trend is, in turn, expected to continue in proportion to an increase in the intensity and frequency of Australian fires. Following the fires, commentators such as author and scientist Tim Flannery, Greens Senator Bob Brown, and the national secretary of the Australian firefighters union argued that the number of extreme fire days in Australia is likely to increase substantially due to climate change and that governments should therefore invest more energy combating it.

Fire policy

In the wake of the fires, and the mounting casualty toll, there was debate about policies for dealing with bushfires.

In announcing that the fires would be investigated by a Royal Commission, Victorian Premier John Brumby suggested that the long-standing 'stay-and-defend-or-leave-early' policy would be reviewed, saying that while it had proven reliable during normal conditions, the conditions on 7 February had been exceptional. Brumby said that "There were many people who had done all of the preparations, had the best fire plans in the world and tragically it didn't save them." However, Commissioner Nixon defended the policy, saying that it was "well thought of and well based and has stood the test of time and we support it." Similarly, Commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service Shane Fitzsimmons said that "Decades of science, practice and history show that a well-prepared home provides the best refuge in the event of fire". Nixon also dismissed potential policies involving forced evacuations, saying "There used to be policies where you could make people leave but we're talking about adults". Former Victorian police minister Pat McNamara argued that forced evacuations could have worsened the death toll, as many of the dead appeared to have been killed while attempting to evacuate the fire areas by car.

Naomi Brown, chief executive of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council, argued that the high number of fatalities in these fires, as opposed to earlier fires such as the Ash Wednesday fires, was partly attributable to increased population densities at Melbourne's fringes. David Packham, research fellow at Monash University, argued that high fuel loads in bushland led to the destructive intensity of the fires, saying that "There has been total mismanagement of the Australian forest environment". Federal member of parliament and former forestry minister Wilson Tuckey also identified high fuel loads as a key contributor to the destruction, saying "Governments who choose to lock up these forests and... treat them with benign contempt, well, others pay the penalty". Tuckey put the blame for fuel loads on the two major parties – Labor and the Coalition – asserting that they "go running around putting in more reserves to get Green preferences". Nationals Senator Ron Boswell also argued for changes to forestry management policies, saying that "I'm not blaming anyone for this, I just think we need to look at some areas we turn into parks and then can't defend them".

Building codes debate

The Victorian government intends to debate new fire related planning and building code standards. In response to the Victorian bushfires new building regulations for bushfire-prone areas have been fast tracked by Standards Australia. Victoria has no separate building code for bushfire-prone areas. In New South Wales building laws for bushfire-prone areas are incorporated in planning legislation using a 1090 Kelvin(K) (817°C) level as the assumed temperature to which houses are subject when hit by bushfire. A draft national building code for bushfire-prone areas is proposing to use 1000K (727°C) as the standard. Fire engineers say that standards should be based on a 1090K (817°C) temperature. The temperature of fires can peak at approximately 1600K/1300°C.

Economic impact

Insurance companies including Suncorp Metway and IAG said on 9 February that it was too early to tell what the costs of the fires to insurers would be. Some claims adjusters suggested that the total insurance costs for the fires could amount to $1.5 billion. Other industry analysts suggested that the fires would lead to rises in insurance premiums, so that insurers might recover some of their losses. At the close of trading on 9 February, Suncorp Metway shares had dropped by more than a quarter, and IAG shares were down nearly ten per cent.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard called on insurers to respond in a sensitive fashion to claims relating to the fires, saying "I am sure that anybody from an insurance company that has looked at their TV screens today is going to see the devastation and understand it is going to trigger claims and that those claims need to be responded to sympathetically and quickly."

An economist from Goldman Sachs JBWere said that an upside of the fire situation was that reconstruction efforts were likely to produce a stimulus effect on the economy of between 0.25 and 0.4 per cent of GDP over 18 months, saying that "As tragic as the events of the past two days have been, the rebuilding phase will provide a catalyst for economic growth in coming months, even if the personal and environmental cost takes years to recover".

Looting

By the morning of 11 February, reports of looting had been posted. Witnesses reported seeing acts of looting occurring at a property at Heathcote Junction, shortly after the removal of the body of a victim from the property. That evening, via a report on ABC Local Radio, a number of residents of Kinglake who had been allowed back into the area to inspect the damage, revealed that a "Looters Will Be Shot" sign had been posted in the town, after a number of suspicious people and vehicles were seen moving through the town.

On 12 February, a small number of arrests were made, and charges laid against people in relation to "looting offences", as announced by Christine Nixon.

Lawsuits

A class action lawsuit was initiated in the Supreme Court of Victoria on 13 February by Slidders Lawyers against electricity distribution company SP AusNet, in relation to the Kilmore East fire that became part of the Kinglake complex, and the Beechworth fires. A partner at the firm indicated that the claim would centre on alleged negligence by SP AusNet in its management of electricity infrastructure. On 12 February police had taken away a section of power line as well as a power pole from near Kilmore East, part of a two-kilometre section of line that fell on the morning of 7 February and was believed to have started the fire there.

A separate class action claim was expected to be commenced by Gadens Lawyers some time after 16 February, and Slater & Gordon indicated that they were awaiting the report of the to-be-established Royal Commission, expected in late 2010, before initiating any claims.

Also on 13 February, five law firms from Victoria's Western Districts held a meeting to discuss a potential class action in relation to the Horsham fire, which was also thought to have been started by fallen power lines.

See also

• Country Fire Authority (Victoria)
• List of disasters in Australia by death toll
• Sam the Koala

External links

• CFA's Statewide Current Incident Summary
• Victorian Police media releases
• CFA video footage on YouTube
• V/Line media information on rail services
• Kininmonth, William (26 February 2009). "Anatomy of a Firestorm, an article on the conditions and air movements of 7 February 2009". The Age. Fairfax. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
• Another long chase for the fire brigade

Maps

• Live fire map
• DSE maps of the 08-09 season fires
• The Herald Sun interactive fire map
• CFA Map of Kilmore East - Murrindindi Complex as of 17/02/09
• CFA Map of Churchill Fire area 13/02/09
• CFA Map of Horsham Fire area 13/02/09
• CFA Map of Beechworth Fire area 13/02/09
• CFA Map of Bunyip Fire area 27/02/09

Weather information

• Weather charts from 7 February:
  • MSLP Analysis (Manual) Australian Region 2009-02-07 11AM
  • MSLP Analysis (Manual) Australian Region 2009-02-07 5PM
• Radar imagery from 7 February:
  • Melbourne Airport radar animation, 12:20pm to 9:40pm
  • Melbourne radar animation, 12:20pm to 2:36pm and 6:06pm to 9:40pm