2020-03-01_Australian_Geographic

1000

Fatalities

Homes destroyed (>1000)

Area burnt (>10,000,000 hectares)

YEAR 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960

9

2

4

8

5

1969–70

Dry River–Victoria River

Northern Territory

1968–69

Killarney Top Spring

Northern Territory

1970

1

3

1939

Black Friday

Victoria

1300

71

2 million ha

1940

1926

Gippsland /

Black Sunday

Victoria

60

400,000ha

1967

Black Tuesday

Tasmania

1300

62

264,000ha

(^353223)
14
1970
40 million ha

7

1943–44

Bushfi re Season

Victoria

1962

Dandenongs

Victoria

1969

Lara

Victoria

1951–52

Bushfi re Season

NSW / ACT

13

Large area burnt, small human cost

Australia's largest fi res (in terms of area

burnt) have largely occurred in uninhabited

parts of central Australia that are adapted

to fi re, with minimal human cost.

How do we measure destruction?

Human cost takes precedence,

with fatalities and homes destroyed

being the most common measure of

a fi re's destructiveness. Cost to the

natural environment is more diffi cult

to quantify but can be gauged

by the amount of area burnt.

AUSTRALIA’S MOST

DESTRUCTIVE FIRES

46 Australian Geographic

Buxton

5.46 million

hectares burnt

of the national park estate has

been impacted. In key bioregions,

the fi gure is well over 40%

OVER 35%

of the World Heritage listed Greater Blue Mountains

Area and 54% of the NSW components of the Gondwana

Rainforests of Australia World Heritage property have

been affected by fi re

MORE THAN 80%

Area burnt is

larger than

The Netherlands

NEW SOUTH WALES

FACT

55

parks or

reserves

have had more than

99% of their area

aff ected by fi re

VICTORIA

1.53 million

FACT

More than half of

the habitat of 173

rare and threatened

species has been

impacted by fi re

hectares burnt

livestock losses in

North East and

6422 East Gippsland

residential and 653

non-residential

structures have

been either dam-

aged or destroyed

by the fi res

405

Fatalities:

20

Fatalities:

5

60

threatened

fauna species

affected

45

million ha

6.2%

of the entire state

has burnt