Ash Wednesday fires

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The Ash Wednesday fires were a series of bushfires which occurred on February 16, 1983 in south-east Australia, resulting in a natural disaster. The fires occurred in Victoria, including the Dandenong Ranges and Macedon Ranges, as well as the Otway Ranges in the south west. They also occurred in South Australia, primarily in the Adelaide Hills, but also the Clare Valley and the pine forests of the state's south east. The Ash Wednesday fires remain the worst bushfire disaster in Australian history, claiming 75 lives and more than two thousand homes.

The fire was so severe that firefighters were unable to stop the massive blaze, and the fire only came to an end when it reached the ocean on Victoria's south coast. Melbourne was encircled by fires and remained covered in smoke for weeks, requiring drivers to use their headlights in the city during the day time. Outer metropolitan areas of both Melbourne and Adelaide were threatened, particularly those suburbs located towards the Dandenongs in Melbourne. The smoke reached as far north as Batemans Bay, New South Wales. Much of Mount Macedon to the north west of Melbourne was devastated, as were the townships of Cockatoo and Upper Beaconsfield in the Dandenongs, and many beachside towns along the Great Ocean Road.

Prior to these events south eastern Australia had experienced a prolonged drought caused by the El Niño climatic events. Another precipitating factor was an ongoing fire in eastern Victoria that went uncontrolled for almost a month.

The human loss was 75 lives: 47 in Victoria and 28 in South Australia. In the Dandenong Ranges, 17 firefighters also lost their lives while they were fighting the fires, on account of an abrupt change in wind direction. Many forested areas, such as Victoria’s eastern Otway Ranges, and the pine forests of southeastern South Australia were incinerated. The fierce conditions spawned freak effects: one survivor reported seeing a burning mattress hurtling through the air. [1] 2,545 individuals and families lost their homes. At the height of the blaze there were reports that fire fronts moved faster than 100 km/h. [2]

The total land area burnt was approximately 2,100 km² (518,921 acres) in Victoria and 2,080 km² (513,979 acres) in South Australia. The summer bushfires of 1982/1983 razed approximately 5,200 km² (1,284,000 acres).

In Victoria many fires were thought to have been caused by sparks between shorting power lines and tree branches connecting with power lines. A systematic review of fire safety was undertaken: areas were cleared under high tension pylons and local domestic lines considered to be at risk were replaced with insulated 3 phase supply lines. An emergency disaster plan was also legislated known as Displan.

[edit] Areas affected in Victoria

Area/town	Area (km²)	Fatalities	Buildings destroyed
Cudgee & Ballangeich	500	9	872
East Trentham & Mount Macedon	295	7	628
Otway Ranges	410	3	782
Belgrave Heights & Upper Beaconsfield	92	21	238
Cockatoo	18	6	307
Moniaive	31.81	0	many (total not known)
Branxholme	2	1	10
Warburton	400	0	57

Source: Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment

In South Australia, an inquest into the fires found that the communication systems used by the Country Fire Service were inadequate, and as a result, the Government radio network was installed (although this didn't happen until almost 20 years later)