Black Saturday was a period of bushfires that occurred in Victoria from February 7, 2009, to March 14, 2009. It is remembered as a series of approximately 400 individual fires that started on February 7, 2009. The majority of these fires were caused by power lines falling or clashing, lightning, discarded cigarette butts, and sparks from power tools. These fires burnt over 4,500 km² of land. The weather conditions during this time were extremely hot, with temperatures reaching 46 degrees and strong north-westerly winds exceeding 100 km/h. The immediate consequences of Black Saturday were as follows:
- 173 people lost their lives.
- Whole towns were destroyed.
- Over 1800 homes were destroyed.
- Victoria lost the 5 trees measured in 2001 at over 90m tall and a further 35+ trees that were over 85m tall.
- The fire had enough heat to burn down 99.9% of E.regnans forest. The long term effects of Black Saturday:
- Economic impacts from so much property loss.
- After 2 years, only 41% of house had been rebuilt or in the process of being rebuilt.
- The bushfires burned over 400,000 hectares of land, and thousands of native animals were killed.
- The bushfires destroyed 11,800 head of livestock, 62,000 hectares of grazing land and 32,000 tonnes of hay silage.
- The total cost, including insurance payouts is $4.4 Billion.
Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister during that period, extended aid to John Brumby, the premier of Victoria. This assistance was provided through the deployment of Australian Defence Force members to help in the state. In expressing his condolences for the bushfires, Kevin Rudd characterized it as a devastating tragedy specifically for Victoria. He acknowledged the significant devastation and suffering endured by the people of Victoria. Subsequently, measures were put in place by the Victorian government to enhance preventive methods against future incidents.
Over 4,000 fire-fighters from the Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment, responsible for fires on private property and public land respectively, have joined forces to combat the fires. Additionally, 73 fire-fighters from US agencies came to Victoria and provided assistance in fighting the fires.
