1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
5
9
4 5 55
1111
334443 3 44443 3
222
486,030ha
1983
Ash Wednesday
South Australia / Victoria
2400
75
2009
Black Saturday
Victoria
2000
173
400,000ha
2010
2019–20
Bushfi re Season
Nationwide
3000
33
2020
117
million ha
1974 –75
Bushfi re Season
Nationwide
2002
Northern Territory
2002
Northern Territory
Sources: Australian Disaster Resilience
Knowledge Hub; Forest Fire Management
Victoria; Victorian Department of
Sustainability and Environment; Risk
Frontiers Macquarie University; CSIRO;
Australian Bureau of Statistics;
Australian Institute of Criminology
Remote locations
Fires mostly located in
largely uninhabited
parts of Australia.
What makes the
2019–2020 fi res
so destructive?
These fi res were the
fi rst to burn such a large
amount of area close to
human populations, with
multiple fi res burning
simultaneously across the
country, many in areas not
previously prone to fi re.
This resulted in high levels
of destruction on many
levels: fatalities, homes
destroyed and area burnt,
refl ecting a huge cost
to humans and the
natural environment.
Most deaths
Australia's most destructive
fi re by number of fatalities,
with relatively small area burnt
March. April 47
50%
of the last, large,
chlamydia-free population
of koalas is estimated
to have perished in the
Kangaroo Island fi res
211,255
hectares burnt
KANGAROO ISLAND
dwellings
destroyed
vehicles
destroyed
outbuildings
destroyed
89
296
276
Livestock lost
32,000
fire perimeter
612 km
FACT
A total area of
448,685ha burnt
across the state of
of the island South Australia
affected
48%
280
Defence force
personnel
deployed
38 million ha
16
million ha
Fatalities:
2
SOUTH
AUSTRALIA
KANGAROO
ISLAND