This article includes three reviews of three major bushfires in Australia’s history. There is considerable information provided in relation to each of the documents linked to this article. Source: John O’Donnell
These bushfires are:
- 1851 Black Thursday bushfires.
- 1974–75 Australian bushfires.
- 1952 Mangoplah bushfire.
The 1851 Black Thursday bushfires were a devastating series of fires that swept the state of Victoria, Australia, on 6 February 1851, burning up 5 million hectares. Twelve human lives were lost, along with one million sheep, thousands of cattle and countless native animals. The Black Thursday bushfires were caused in part by an intense drought that occurred throughout 1850 when the continent suffered from extreme heat. On 6 February 1851, a strong furnace-like wind came down from the north and gained power and speed as the hours passed. The year preceding the fires was exceptionally hot and dry and this trend continued into 1851. The weather reached record extremes. By eleven it was about 47 °C in the shade. The air cooled to 43 °C by one o’clock and rose to 45 °C around four o’clock.
In 1974–75 Australian a series of bushfires burned across Australia over many months. They burned an estimated 117 million hectares, approximately 15% of Australia’s land mass suffered fire damage, and included areas of New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. The fires killed six people, approximately 57,000 farm animals, farmers’ crops, and destroyed nearly 10,200 kilometres of fencing. One of the bushfires, the Moolah-Corinya fire in western NSW was “the largest fire ever contained by man at the time in New South Wales without the help of the weather.” It burned 1.166 million hectares and its perimeter was over 1,000 kilometres. In contrast to the temperate southern regions of Australia, fire events in Central Australia are driven by above average rainfall in the preceding years, rather than below average rainfall or drought in the current year. Widespread fire events in central Australia were found to be associated with two or more consecutive years of above-average rainfall. Fuel loads in long-unburnt grassland can get to high levels.
The 1952 Mangoplah bushfire burned an estimated 390,000 hectares. Property damage included 37 houses; 203 sheds and dairies; 1,841 km of fencing as well as 110,000 sheep, with financial impacts estimated at $18 million adjusted to 1970 CPI. The Mangoplah bushfire burnt from Mangoplah, north of Holbrook, NSW, to Corryong in north-eastern Victoria, a distance of 98 km, during two consecutive days of extreme fire danger. The fire commenced on the 22 January 1952 from fettlers burning-off on the Rock-Westby railway line near Mangoplah. The original fire was brought under control by local bushfire brigades after burning an area of 150 ha. However, on the 24 January, under extreme conditions (grass curing 100%, temperature 42.5°C, relative humidity 29%, wind speed 40 km/h, Grassland Fire Danger Index (GFDI) 60), the fire broke away from sparks from either a stump reported to be 350 m inside the burnt country or smouldering clover as the ignition point of the bushfire, the latter believed by the coroner. On the 25 January the mean wind speed increased to around 48 km/h, still from the north-west. With a temperature of 41°C and a relative humidity of 15%, the maximum GFDI reached 115. The fire crossed the Murray River near Jingellic at 1030 hrs and burnt in a south-easterly direction for another 13 km before a cold front with a westerly wind change passed through the area at 1130 hrs.
The fire continued to burn in timbered country until 10 February 1952 before it was totally brought under control. The Mangoplah bushfire started 22/ 1/ 52, 2 pm, was mopped up 10/ 2/ 52, 9.00 am and patrol ended 11/ 2/ 52, 1.00 pm. The bushfire activities lasted for 18 days, 19 hrs. Blow up days were January 24 (Thursday and Thursday night), January 25, January 31 and February 5.
The fire was of world significance at the time insofar as it was the largest recorded area bunt by a fire originating from a single source. The scale and extent of this major bushfire was due to a long period of drought, 100 % grass curing, extreme weather on a number of days during the bushfire, very high wind speeds, with maximum GFDI reached 115, inadequate equipment in many cases, inadequate prescribed burning and other factors.
Prescribed burning/ Aboriginal cultural burning are important programs for reducing fuel loads, providing bushfire buffers, in setting up healthy and safe landscapes and reducing fauna kills in large bushfires.
The three reviews have identified a number of learnings and adaptive management strategies in relation to the bushfires and also for the future. Understanding these bushfires and identified learnings assists in optimising performance and reducing risks with current and future bushfires. This information is also valuable to use in large bushfires training opportunities in conjunction with other major bushfires. The information is valuable for land managers and foresters in the applicable regions but also more broadly.
Download Bushfires in Australian history The 1851 Victorian Bushfire
Download John-ODonell-Maj-Bushfires-in-Australian-history-1974-and-1975
