| Black Saturday Bushfires | |
|---|---|
 MODISAqua satellite image of smoke plumes and apyrocumulus cloud northeast ofMelbourne during the morning of 7 February 2009. | |
| Date(s) | 7 February – 14 March 2009 |
| Location | Victoria,Australia |
| Statistics | |
| Burned area | 450,000 hectares (1,100,000 acres)[1] |
| Land use | Urban/Rural Fringe Areas, Farmland, and Forest Reserves/National Parks |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 173[2][3][4] |
| Non-fatal injuries | 414[5] |
| Structures destroyed | 3,500+ (2,029 houses) |
| Ignition | |
| Cause | Various confirmed sources including: |
TheBlack Saturday bushfires were a series ofbushfires that either ignited or were already burning across theAustralian state ofVictoria on Saturday, 7 February 2009, and was one of Australia's all-time worst bushfire disasters. The fires occurred during extreme bushfire weather conditions and resulted in Australia's highest-ever loss of human life from a bushfire,[10] with 173 fatalities.[11] Many people were left homeless and family-less as a result.
As many as 400 individual fires were recorded on Saturday 7 February; the day has become widely referred to in Australia as Black Saturday.
Then Deputy Prime MinisterJulia Gillard described Black Saturday as "a tragedy beyond belief, beyond precedent and beyond words … one of the darkest days in Australia’s peacetime history."[12]
The2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, headed by JusticeBernard Teague, was held in response to the bushfires.
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A week before the fires, a significant heatwave affected southeastern Australia. From 28 to 30 January,Melbourne broke temperature records by experiencing three consecutive days above 43 °C (109 °F), with the temperature peaking at 45.1 °C (113.2 °F) on 30 January, the third hottest day in the city's history.[citation needed]
The wave of heat was caused by a slow-movinghigh-pressure system that settled over theTasman Sea, with a combination of an intensetropical low located off theNorth West Australian coast and amonsoon trough overnorthern Australia, which produced ideal conditions for hot tropical air to be directed down over southeastern Australia.[13]
The February fires commenced on a day when several localities across the state, includingMelbourne, recorded their highest temperatures since records began in 1859.[14] On 6 February 2009—the day before the fires started—theCountry Fire Authority chief Russell Rees warned "We are in almost uncharted territory" in terms of bushfire conditions.[15] ThePremier of VictoriaJohn Brumby issued a warning about theextreme weather conditions expected on 7 February: "It's just as bad a day as you can imagine and on top of that the state is just tinder-dry. People need to exercise real common sense tomorrow".[16] The Premier went on to state that it was expected to be the "worst day [of fire conditions] in the history of the state".[16]
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More than 19,000 firefighting personnel, mainly from theCountry Fire Authority (CFA) andDepartment of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), were deployed across the state on Friday evening (6 February) in anticipation of the extreme conditions the following day.[17] By mid-morning Saturday, hot northwesterly winds in excess of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) hit the state,[18] accompanied by extremely high temperatures and extremely low humidity; a total fire ban was declared for the entire state of Victoria.[19]
As the day progressed, the highest-ever temperatures recorded to date were reached. Melbourne hit 46.4 °C (115.5 °F), the hottest temperature ever recorded for the city[20] and humidity levels dropped to as low as two percent. TheMcArthur Forest Fire Danger Index reached unprecedented levels, ranging from 160 to over 200. This was higher than the fire weather conditions experienced onBlack Friday in 1939 andAsh Wednesday in 1983.[21]
Around midday, as wind speeds were reaching their peak, an incorrectly rigged 'SWER' (single-wire earth return) mains power cable was ripped down atKilmore East. This sparked a bushfire that became the deadliest and most intense firestorm ever recorded in Australia. The overwhelming majority of fire activity occurred between the afternoon of 7 February and 7:00 pm, a period when wind speed and temperature were at their highest, and humidity at its lowest.[22]
TheKinglake fire complex was named after two earlier fires, theKilmore East fire and theMurrindindi Mill fire, merged following the wind change on the evening of 7 February.[44] The complex was the largest of the many fires burning on Black Saturday, ultimately destroying over 330,000 ha (820,000 acres).[45] It was also the most destructive, with over 1,800 houses destroyed and 159 lives lost in the region.
Just before midday on 7 February, high winds felled a 2 km (1.2 mi) section of power lines owned bySP AusNet in Kilmore East, sparking a fire at approximately 11:45 am in open grasslands that adjoined pine plantations. The fire was fanned by extreme northwesterly winds, and travelled 50 km (31 mi) southeast in a narrow fire front throughWandong andClonbinane, intoKinglake National Park, and then onto the towns ofHumevale,Kinglake West,Strathewen andSt Andrews.[6][46]
The cool change passed through the area around 5:30 pm, bringing strong southwesterly winds. The wind change turned the initial long and narrow fire band into a wide firefront that moved in a northeast direction throughKinglake,Steels Creek,Dixons Creek,Chum Creek,Toolangi,Hazeldene,Broadford andFlowerdale.[47]
The area became the worst-impacted in the state, with a total of 120 deaths[48] and more than 1,200 homes destroyed.
The cause of the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire was found by the2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission to be an ageing SP AusNet power line.[49]
According to eyewitnesses, the Murrindindi Mill fire started at 2:55 pm,[50] while Victoria Police twice told the Royal Commission that it commenced at "about 2.30 pm".[51][52] It burned southeast across the Black Range, parallel to the Kilmore fire, towardsNarbethong. Experienced Air Attack Coordinator Shaun Lawlor reported flame heights of "at least 100 metres" as the fire traversed the Black Range.[53] At Narbethong, it destroyed 95 per cent of the town's houses.[54] When the southerly change struck, it swept towards the town ofMarysville.[54]
Late in the afternoon of 7 February, residents had anticipated that the fire front would bypass Marysville.[54] At about 5:00 pm, power was lost to the town. Around 5:30 pm, the wind died away, however, minutes later it returned from a different direction, bringing the fire up the valley with it.[55]
Afterwards, a police sergeant said that the main street in Marysville had been destroyed: "The motel at one end of it partially exists. The bakery has survived. Don't ask me how. Everything else is just nuked."[56] Reports on 11 February estimated that around 100 of the town's population of approximately 500 were believed to have perished, and that only "a dozen" buildings were left. Premier Brumby described the situation: "There's no activity, there's no people, there's no buildings, there's no birds, there's no animals, everything's just gone. So the fatality rate will be very high."[57]
Eventually 34 fatalities were confirmed in the Marysville area, with all but 14 of over 400 buildings destroyed. Other localities severely affected includedBuxton andTaggerty.[58]
To the south of the fire complex, visitors and residents were stranded atYarra Glen when fire surrounded the town on three sides.[59] Houses just to the north of Yarra Glen were destroyed and large areas of grassy paddocks burnt.
Investigators initially believed that the cause of the fire that originated near the Murrundindi Mill and swept through Narbethong and Marysville was arson, with several suspects investigated.[60] Later investigations prompted a 2011 declaration that arson had not been responsible.[61]
InBeechworth, a fire burnt over 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) and threatened the towns ofYackandandah,Stanley,Bruarong,Dederang,Kancoona,Kancoona South,Coralbank,Glen Creek, andRunning Creek.[62] The fire ignited from a felled power line at around 6:00 pm[32] on 7 February, 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Beechworth, before being driven south through pine plantations by hot northerly winds.[63]
The fire destroyed an unknown number of buildings atMudgegonga, southeast of Beechworth, with two residents confirmed dead.[64] Dense smoke and cloud cover had hindered assessment of the Beechworth fire, but as conditions cleared late on 8 February, aerial crews were able to commence surveys of the situation.[65]
Strong winds fuelled the fire on the night of 8 February, and lightning ignited a new fire nearKergunyah around midday on 9 February.[66] More than 440 personnel worked to contain a separate front that threatenedGundowring andEskdale, having jumped theKiewa River. Late on the night of 9 February the greatest threat was to Eskdale, and fires also burnt in pine plantations 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the large town ofMyrtleford, at the western end of the fire area.[66] While smaller towns to the east, including Gundowring and Kergunyah, remained under threat, the CFA said that there was no immediate danger to the larger towns of Beechworth and Yackandandah on the northern fringe of the fire area.[67]
By 10 February, firefighters had completed a 115 km (71 mi) containment line around the Beechworth fire, and sought to construct 15 km (9.3 mi) more, though the fire continued to burn out of control.[68] By that afternoon, threat messages for the area had been downgraded, though firefighters were tackling a separate fire nearKoetong, to the east of the main Beechworth fire, of between 50 and 80 ha (120 and 200 acres).[69] Residents of Beechworth and surrounding towns were advised on the evening of 10 February to expect increased smoke cover as 250 firefighters would be undertaking backburning to eliminate fuel within the control lines.[70]
TheBeechworth Correctional Centre minimum-security prison offered up to thirty of its inmates to provide assistance to firefighters; a local DSE manager said that though untrained personnel would not be allowed at the fire front, the prisoners would be welcome in support roles.[68]
A fire to the west of the city ofBendigo burned out 500 hectares (1,200 acres).[71] The fire broke out at about 4:30 pm on the afternoon of 7 February, and burned throughLong Gully andEaglehawk, coming within 2 km (1.2 mi) of central Bendigo, before it was brought under control late on 7 February.[71] It destroyed around 61 houses[72] in Bendigo's western suburbs, and damaged an electricity distribution line, resulting in blackouts to substantial parts of the city.[73] One Long Gully resident, ill and confined to his house, was killed in the fire despite the efforts of his neighbours to rescue him.[73] The fire changed direction late on 7 February with the cool change, and headed back towards Eaglehawk; it was contained at 9:52 pm, though it was still burning within containment lines well into the next day.[74]
A relief centre was set up atKangaroo Flat Senior Citizens Centre.[75] During the fire, residents from Long Gully, Eaglehawk, Maiden Gully, California Gully, and West Bendigo were evacuated and advised to assemble at the centre.[76] A town meeting was held for the affected residents on 8 February.[71] On the same day,Victoria Police indicated that they were investigating whether arson was the cause of the fire.[71]
The CFA initially suspected that the most likely cause was acigarette butt discarded from a car or truck along Bracewell Street in Maiden Gully.[77] However, the arson squad and local Bendigo detectives spent 9 February investigating the fire scene, and while they could not determine exactly what had caused the fire as of 10 February, they suspected arson.[78] On 10 June 2009, Victoria Police announced that they were 'completely satisfied' that the fire had been deliberately lit.[79]
On 2 February 2010, police announced that the taskforce investigating the arson had arrested two youths in relation to the Bendigo fires. The youths, aged 14 and 15, were each charged with arson causing death, deliberately lighting a bushfire, lighting of a fire on a day of total fire ban and lighting of a fire in a country area during extreme weather conditions. They were also charged with multiple counts of using telecommunications systems to menace, harass and offend as well as 135 counts each of arson.[80]
On 7 November 2011, the Victorian Supreme Court Justice, Paul Coghlan, on advice from the prosecutor, Steven Milesi, found that the two youths were unfit to stand trial before a jury due to their intellectual disabilities.[81]
InRedesdale, southeast of Bendigo, a fire starting 9 km (5.6 mi) west of the town burnt 10,000 ha (25,000 acres) and destroyed twelve houses and various outbuildings. The fire threatened the towns ofBaynton[82] andGlenhope.[83][citation needed] Glenhope was threatened again on 9 February from a smaller fire that broke away from the main front, resulting in extra fire crews being brought in from Bendigo andKyneton.[78] The fire was contained by 10 February.[78]
A fire started at Bunyip Ridge in theBunyip State Park on 4 February, originating near walking tracks; it was thought to have been deliberately lit.[24] By 6 February, the fire had burned out 123 hectares (300 acres), and emergency services personnel engaged in fighting the fire feared, despite efforts to establish containment lines in the park, that once the extreme weather conditions of 7 February arrived the fire would escape the confines of the park and threaten surrounding towns.[84]
By the morning of 7 February, the fire had broken through containment lines.[85] According to the DSE incident controller for the fire, the weather conditions deteriorated much more quickly than predicted, stating that "conditions overnight and in the early hours are usually mild, but our firefighters are reporting strong winds and flame heights of five to 10 metres".[86] Ground-based fire crews had to retreat from the fire front as the escalating conditions made firefighting in the bushland terrain impossible.[87] The fire broke out of the park around 4:00 pm, and by 6:00 pm had burnt out 2,400 hectares (5,900 acres) of forest and farmland, threatening the towns ofLabertouche,Tonimbuk,Jindivick,Drouin,Warragul andLongwarry, and embers were starting spot fires up to 20 km (12 mi) to the south.[88]
The fire destroyed approximately a dozen houses at Labertouche, Tonimbuk, and Drouin West,[89] in addition to various outbuildings and a factory.[90] The progress of the fire had been stopped by the afternoon of 9 February, though it had burned through 24,500 hectares (61,000 acres).[91] DSE crews conductedbackburning operations to ensure containment of the fire on 9 February, warning residents of areas betweenPakenham andWarragul about smoke from those fires.[90]
The fire was controlled and co-ordinated at the Pakenham ICC in the Combined Emergency Services building, with CFA and DSE personnel running the operation depending on where the fire was at the time. Pakenham VICSES, who shared the building, also provided assistance during the fire operation.
The Central Gippsland bushfires began in a pine plantation 1 km (0.62 miles) southeast ofChurchill at about 1:30 pm on the afternoon of 7 February.[92][93][94] Within 30 minutes it had spread to the southeast, threateningHazelwood South,Jeeralang, andBudgeree East, and by late afternoon the fire was approachingYarram andWoodside on the south Gippsland coast.[94][92] The cool change came through the area about 6:00 pm, but the southwesterly winds it brought pushed the fire northeast throughCallignee, destroying 57 of its 61 homes.[95] The fire continued on toKoornalla andTraralgon South,[93][94] and towardsGormandale andWillung South on theHyland Highway.[92] About 500 evacuees from the area sheltered at an emergency centre established in a theatre inTraralgon.[92]
The fire threatened theLoy Yang Power Station, particularly the station'sopen-cut coal mine.[96][94] On the night of 7 February, the fire approached the mine'soverburden dump, but did not damage any infrastructure, nor did it affect the station's operations.[97][94] Several small fires broke out in the bunker storing raw coal from the mine, but were contained with no damage.[97] The threat eased by the evening of 8 February as temperatures cooled and some light rain fell. One smallspot fire broke out to the south of the power station, but it was contained by water bombing aircraft.[96]
By 9 February, theChurchill fire complex was still burning out of control, with fronts through theLatrobe Valley and theStrzelecki Ranges.[98] By late that afternoon, the complex had burnt out 32,860 hectares (81,200 acres) and had killed eleven people.[99] Wind changes that evening exacerbated parts of the Churchill complex, causing the CFA to issue further warnings to residents atWon Wron and surrounding areas.[100]
Investigators revealed that they strongly believed arson was the most likely cause of the Churchill fire.[60] A man from Churchill,[101] Brendan Sokaluk of Churchill,[102] was arrested by police on 12 February and charged with one count each of arson causing death and intentionally lighting a bushfire.[101] He was convicted of 10 counts of arson causing death and sentenced to 17 years 9 months' imprisonment in April 2012.[103] Sokaluk was released on parole on 30 April 2024 on the condition that he stays at least 80 km away from the town of Churchill.[104]
To also be noted: Mirboo North, known as the Delburn bushfire was lit 7 February 2009. This fire stretch out toward Morwell, devastating the beautiful towns of Mirboo North, Darlimurla, Boolarra and Boolarra South.
InUpper Ferntree Gully a fire damaged the rail track and caused the closure of theBelgrave railway line, as well as all major roads.[105] The fire, which was contained by CFA crews within three hours, burned at least 2 ha (4.9 acres) along the railway.[106]
In the southern Dandenong Ranges, bushfires ignited aroundNarre Warren, one of which was caused by sparks from a power tool.[107] Six homes were destroyed inNarre Warren South and three inNarre Warren North.[108]
In the weeks following Black Saturday, fires were started in bushland along Terrys Avenue inBelgrave (which was quickly contained and extinguished by the CFA), and Lysterfield State Forest inUpwey. Amongst the damage was the almost newUpper Ferntree Gully CFA Tanker 1.
On 8 February lightning sparked a fire inWilsons Promontory which burned more than 11,000 ha (27,000 acres).[109] This fire posed no immediate threat to campers, but due to excessive fuel and inaccessibility authorities chose to evacuate the park, with some campers being evacuated by boat.[110]
At a community meeting on 11 February, DSE andParks Victoria authorities revealed a plan to back-burn across the entrance to the promontory, in order to prevent any possibility of the fire burning out of the park and into farmland and towards the towns ofYanakie andSandy Point.[111]Crikey reported that locals were divided on the merits of the plan, some concerned as to why the back-burning had not been carried out earlier, and some worried at the large scale of the proposed burns, which were reported to be larger than both the existing fire as well as the April 2005 fires that affected the park[112] Strong easterly winds on 12 February forced authorities to postpone the proposed burns lest they themselves pose a danger to surrounding communities, though they did proceed with preparatory work.[113]
TheMaroondah/Yarra complex was a combination of several fires that had earlier been burning to the east ofHealesville andToolangi on 10 February, as part of the greater Kilmore East – Murrindindi complex south.[114] By late that morning, the complex had burned out 505 hectares (1,250 acres), with 184 personnel and 56 tankers responding to the fires.[114] A CFA spokesperson said that while temperatures had cooled, strong winds were proving problematic, with towns in the area being threatened byembers blown from the fires.[114] Around midday, the immediate threat to property in the areas around Healesville was downgraded, though a DSE spokesperson said that residents should be mindful of localised changes in the weather.[115]
TheHorsham fire burnt 5,700 ha (14,000 acres), including the golf club and eight homes.[46] Two firefighters from theDimboola brigade narrowly escaped when theirute was engulfed by fire.[116]
The fire was ignited at 12:30 pm on 7 February when strong winds initiated the failure of a 40-year-old tie wire, felling a power line at Remlaw, west of the city.[117] The fire spread southwest and then southeast, across theWimmera Highway andWimmera River, to the Horsham Golf Course, and then toHaven, south of the city.[118] Firefighters managed to save the general store, town hall and school at Haven, though flames came within metres of those buildings.[119] Winds of up to 90 km/h (56 mph) changed direction three times throughout the day, producing conditions described by the local CFA incident controller as the worst he had ever seen.[117] To the southwest of Horsham an 82-year-old woman in a wheelchair and her daughter were collected from her house by a taxi when the fire was no more than 100 m (110 yd) away; the house was alight as the taxi drove off, and burned down within minutes.[120]
At 3:00 pm more than 400 personnel were engaged in fighting the fire,[118] as well as two water-bombing aircraft, 54 CFA tankers, and 35 DSE units.[119] By 6:00 pm the front had moved east, and a wind change then pushed it northeast across theWestern Highway toDrung, east of Horsham.[118]
Shortly before 12:30 pm on 7 February 2009 a fire started on farmland, 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest ofColeraine in western Victoria.[121] In gusting winds, a corroded tie wire holding a 48-year-oldsingle wire earth return (SWER) conductor to an insulator failed due to metal fatigue.[121] The insulator was atop Pole 337°34′51.7″S141°38′28.8″E / 37.581028°S 141.641333°E /-37.581028; 141.641333 on the 12,700-volt Colfitz North spur line. The galvanised steel conductor swung free in the wind, suspended by poles 2 and 4, a span of 540 m (1,770 ft). It is not believed to have touched the ground, but was pushed into a nearbyeucalyptus tree by the strong prevailing wind.
Burning gumleaves fell to the ground and ignited grass, from which the fire grew extremely rapidly in the hot, dry and windy conditions.[121] Over 230 firefighters, with 43 appliances and two water bombing aircraft, worked to contain the fire which burnt 770 ha (1,900 acres).[122] The fire destroyed one house, two haysheds, three tractors, the Coleraine Avenue of Honour, and 200 km (120 mi) of fences,[121] as well as injuring livestock, but firefighters were able to save six other homes, including that of the parents ofVictorian PremierJohn Brumby.[122]
The fire threatened to burn through the township, but a wind change around 2:00 pm pushed the fire to the northeast instead.[123] The regional CFA operations officer said of the wind change that "[a]ll that happened within about an hour and we were lucky; we thought it would go through Coleraine, but it headed off at the last minute."[123] At about 6:00 pm the fire was controlled.[123]
A local man was badly burned while helping a farmer move livestock out of harm's way; the man was caught when the same wind change that saved the town pushed the fire in his direction, and he suffered burns to 50% of his body,[122] but recovered.[124]
AtWeerite, east ofCamperdown, a fire burnt 1,300 ha (3,200 acres), and damaged the rail line betweenGeelong andWarrnambool.[125] Approximately 3,000 sleepers were burnt across a 4 km (2.5 mi) section of track.[126] The rail line was re-opened by 16 February.[127]
The fire caused unquantified losses of stock, and destroyed several outbuildings, but all houses under threat were saved by CFA firefighters.[128] The fire is thought to have been started by sparking from felled power lines along thePrinces Highway, which carried restricted speeds for a short time due to the heavy smoke in the area.[129]
Investigations began almost immediately following the fires to determine a wide variety of things, including identification of victims, cause of ignition sources, and assessments of authority responses. ARoyal Commission into the Black Saturday bushfires was conducted, a process that was intended to determine the true nature of the background causes, preparation of responsible agencies, circumstances on the day, chronology, and impacts of the events in question.
Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police,Christine Nixon, formed a taskforce to assist in identifying victims, coordinated by Inspector Greg Hough.[130][131] Around forty police from interstate and overseas assisted with Disaster Victim Identification (DVI). The police were sourced from the Australian Federal Police, Tasmania, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. New Zealand police also provided four victim identification dogs and handlers.[132][133]
Some of the fires were suspected to have been deliberately lit byarsonists. Chief Commissioner Nixon stated on 9 February 2009 that all fire sites would be treated ascrime scenes.[134]
On 9 February a man was arrested in connection with the fires at Narre Warren; it was alleged by police that he had been operating a power tool, sparks from which ignited a grass fire, destroying two houses.[134] On 12 February, two people were arrested in connection with the fires, having been observed by members of the public acting suspiciously in areas betweenYea andSeymour; however, they were subsequently released without charges being laid.[135]
A man from Churchill, Brendan Sokaluk, was arrested by police on 12 February, in relation to the Churchill fires, and was questioned at the Morwell police station, before being charged on 13 February with one count each of arson causing death, intentionally lighting a bushfire, and possession ofchild pornography.[101] At a file hearing in theMagistrates' Court in Melbourne on 16 February the man wasremanded in custody ahead of acommittal hearing scheduled for 26 May.[136] Following the hearing, asuppression order on the 42-year-old man's identity was lifted, though the order remained in force with respect to publishing his address or any images of him.[136] Despite the order, several members of the public obtained his photograph from hisMySpace profile and published it on thesocial networking websiteFacebook along with his home address, and others made threats of violence against him.[137] The man's lawyer said that, as a consequence of that information being published, threats were made against the man's family.[138] The man's ex-girlfriend and her family were also harassed after theHerald Sun newspaper published a photograph and a story about her.[139] On 17 February, after requests from Victoria Police, the man's MySpace profile was removed; Facebook commenced deleting postings containing threats, and deleted a photo from one group.[138]
By the morning of 11 February 2009, reports oflooting had been posted. Witnesses reported seeing acts of looting occurring at a property atHeathcote Junction, shortly after the removal of the body of a victim from the property.[140] That evening, via a report onABC Local Radio, a number of residents ofKinglake who had been allowed back into the area to inspect the damage, revealed that a "Looters Will Be Shot" sign had been posted in the town, after a number of suspicious people and vehicles were seen moving through the town. On 12 February, a small number of arrests were made, and charges laid against people in relation to "looting offences", as announced by the Victoria Police chief commissioner,Christine Nixon.[141]
The Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, announced in April 2009 that a royal commission into the fires would be held which would examine "all aspects of the government's bushfire strategy".[142][143]
A total of 173 people were confirmed to have died as a result of the fires. The figure was originally estimated at 14 on the night of 7 February, and steadily increased over the following two weeks to 210.[48] It was feared that it could rise as high as 240–280,[144] but these figures were later revised down to 173 after further forensic examinations of remains, and after several missing people were located.[145]
A temporary morgue was established at the Coronial Services Centre atSouthbank, capable of holding up to three hundred bodies. The Victorian Coroner compared this to a similar facility established after theJuly 2005 London bombings.[146] By the morning of 10 February 101 bodies had been transported to the temporary morgue.[146] The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine stated that it could be impossible to positively identify many of the remains.[147]
On 11 February, fire authorities estimated that as many as 100 ofMarysville's 519 residents could have perished.[57] By 16 February, over 150 forensic investigators were engaged in searching the ruins of Marysville.[148] A senior lecturer in fire ecology from theUniversity of Melbourne estimated that the fires may have been burning at temperatures of 1,200 °C (2,190 °F), and concluded that, as a result, the remains of some people caught in the fires may have been obliterated.[148] The final death toll for Marysville was later downgraded to 34 after a large group of residents who remained unaccounted for were officially located.
Among the dead in theKinglake West area were formerSeven Network andNine Network news anchorBrian Naylor, and his wife Moiree.[149][150] Veteran TV actorReg Evans and his partner, artist Angela Brunton, residing on a small farm in theSt Andrews area, also died in the Kinglake area fire.[151] OrnithologistRichard Zann perished in the Kinglake fire, together with his wife Eileen and daughter Eva.[152]
General statistics
Location of deaths:[161]
Locality of deaths:
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A total of 414 people were injured during the Black Saturday bushfires. Due to the intensity and speed of the fires, most casualties of the bushfires either died, or survived with minor injuries. There were significantly fewer major burns than in previous bushfires, such asAsh Wednesday. Of the people who presented to medical treatment centres and hospitals, there were 22 with serious burns and 390 with minor burns and other bushfire-related injuries.[5]
National and statewide burns disaster plans were activated. Twenty-two patients with major burns presented to the state's burns referral centres, of which eighteen were adults. One patient admitted to theRoyal Children's Hospital and two atThe Alfred Hospital died from their injuries. Adult burns patients at The Alfred spent 48.7 hours in theatre in the first 72 hours. There were a further 390 bushfire-related presentations across the state in the first 72 hours. Most patients with serious burns weretriaged to, and managed at, burns referral centres. Throughout the disaster, burns referral centres continued to have substantial surge capacity.[5]
It was estimated that the amount of energy released during the firestorm in the Kinglake-Marysville area was equivalent to the amount of energy that would be released by 1,500Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs.[162][163]
Beyond the casualty list detailed above, physical damage caused by the bushfires included:
| Area | Area (ha) | Fatalities | Buildings destroyed | Ignition source | Fire name/origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinglake Area | 180,000+ | 120 | 1,244 houses, many commercial buildings | Power lines | Kilmore East fire |
| Marysville Area | 150,000+ | 39 | 590 houses, many commercial buildings | Break in an electrical conductor on a power pole near the Murrindindi Saw Mill | Murrindindi Mill fire |
| Central Gippsland | 32,860+ | 11 | 247 houses | Arson | Churchill-Jeeralang fire |
| Beechworth | 30,000+ | 2 | 29 houses | Power lines | Mudgegonga fire |
| Bunyip State Park | 24,500 | 0 | 24 houses, several other buildings | Arson/lightning suspected | Bunyip State Park fire |
| Wilsons Promontory | 11,000+ | 0 | None | Lightning | – |
| Redesdale | 10,000 | 0 | 12 houses, several outbuildings | Unknown | – |
| Horsham | 5,700 | 0 | 8 houses, several other buildings | Power lines | Remlaw fire |
| Weerite | 1,300 | 0 | Several outbuildings | Power lines | – |
| Coleraine | 770 | 0 | 1 house, several outbuildings | Power lines | – |
| Maroondah/Upper Yarra | 505 | 0 | None | Spotting | Maroondah/Yarra complex |
| Bendigo | 384 | 1 | 61 houses, 125 sheds and outbuildings | Arson | Maiden Gully/Bracewell Street fire |
| Dandenong Ranges | 5+ | 0 | Unknown, machinery | Upper Ferntree Gully fire | |
| Totals | 450,000+ | 173 | 3,500+ (2,029+ houses) |
Responses to the Black Saturday bushfires included immediate community response, donations, and international aid efforts. Later responses included Government inquiries including a Royal Commission, and recommendations and discussions from a wide variety of bodies, organisations, authorities and communities.
In September 2009 it was announced that Australia's most prominentfire ecologist, Kevin Tolhurst, was developing a new course for theUniversity of Melbourne on fire behaviour.[170] Later that month theCity of Manningham announced it was developing the state's first integrated fire management plan in conjunction with the interim findings of the Royal Commission.[171] It is expected that eventually all Victorian councils responsible for both urban and rural land will need to develop such plans, which define fire risks inopen space areas, along major roads, and in parkland.
In September/October 2009, it was announced that a new fire hazard system would replace the previous one. The new system involves a six-tier scale to indicating such things as the level of risk and activity of the fire. This standardisedFire Danger Rating (FDR) was subsequently adopted by all Australian states in late 2009. Every day during the fire season theBureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecasts an outlook of theFire Danger Index (FDI) by considering the predicted weather including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and dryness of vegetation.[172] On the highest risk days, residents are advised to leave the potentially affected areas.
TheRSPCA estimated that over a million animals perished in the bushfires.[164] Additionally, many of the survivingwildlife suffered from severe burns. For example, large numbers ofkangaroos were afflicted with burned feet due to territorial instincts that drew them back to their recently burned and smouldering home ranges.[173] The affected area, particularly around Marysville, contains the only known habitat ofLeadbeater's possum, Victoria's faunal emblem,[174] putting this species under further threat.
Forestedcatchment areas supplying five of Melbourne's nine major dams were affected by the fires, with the worst affected being theMaroondah Reservoir andO'Shannassy Reservoir.[175] As of 17 February 2009, over ten billion litres of water had been shifted out of affected dams into others.[175][176]
In early March 2009, smoke from the fires was discovered in the atmosphere over Antarctica at record altitudes.[177]
The Bushfires Royal Commission gave a "conservative" estimate of the total cost of the Black Saturday bushfires of $4.4 billion. This figure included a value of $645 million placed on the 173 lives lost using an accepted method the government uses to value lives, however did not include any assessment of the cost of the injuries received.[164]
The largest contributor to the total cost was insurance claims, which the Insurance Council of Australia reported as $1.2 billion as of August 2010. This figure was composed of 84 per cent for property or contents, and 16 per cent for vehicles. However, the report also estimated that up to 13 per cent of residential properties destroyed may have had no insurance, with many more under-insured, thus suggesting that the actual cost of asset damage in the bushfires was considerably higher than that recorded. The report from the commission said that: "... the level of insurance claims is likely to underestimate the true extent of property losses, but it is unable to calculate the extent of this underestimation".[164]
Also omitted from the $4.4 billion figure were the agricultural losses sustained in the fires, and the ongoing impacts on agriculture in following seasons. The Victorian Department of Primary Industries estimated losses shortly after the fires as 11,800 head of livestock, 62,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of grazingpasture, and 32,000 tonnes (31,000 long tons; 35,000 short tons) ofhay andsilage.[164]
As of February 2011, two years after the fires, theVictorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority stated that based on figures from the end of 2010, permits had been issued for the rebuilding of only 731 of the 1,795, or 41 per cent of the principal places of residence destroyed in the fires.[178]
Aclass action lawsuit was initiated in theSupreme Court of Victoria on 13 February 2009 by Slidders Lawyers against electricity distribution companySP AusNet, in relation to theKilmore East fire that became part of the Kinglake complex, and theBeechworth fires. A partner at the firm indicated that the claim would centre on allegednegligence by SP AusNet in its management of electricity infrastructure. On 12 February police had taken away a section of power line as well as a power pole from near Kilmore East, part of a two-kilometre section of line that fell on the morning of 7 February and was believed to have started the fire there.[179] The class action was ultimately run by law firmMaurice Blackburn. The action alleged the power company failed to fit a $10 protective device on the power line, which contributed to it breaking and starting the devastating Kilmore East/Kinglake fire.[180] The case settled in December 2014 with a settlement of $494.67 million,[181] the country's largest class action settlement,[182] approved by theSupreme Court of Victoria.[49][183] (The previous highest payout was $200 Million inKirby vCentro Properties Limited (No 6) [2012] FCA 650 (19 June 2012).[184])
In February 2014 a class action trial against SP AusNet by victims of the Marysville blaze was begun in the Supreme Court. It was alleged that the fire was caused by a "break in an electrical conductor on a power pole near the Murrindindi Saw Mill". A$300 millionsettlement was announced before the trial began.[185][186] The class action by Murrindindi/Marysville victims was settled in February 2015 for $300 million.[181]
A total of nearly $700 million (after legal expenses) was shared among the claimants of the two highly complex class actions, which were presided over by JusticesJack Forrest andJohn Dixon. Various other claimants by communities around Coleraine, Horsham, Weerite-Pomborneit, and Beechworth-Mudgegonga also had lawsuits managed by the Supreme Court.[181]
In the wake of the fires and the mounting casualty toll, there was debate about policies for dealing with bushfires and the management practices that may have contributed to them. Naomi Brown, chief executive of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council, argued that the high number of fatalities in these fires, as opposed to earlier fires such as theAsh Wednesday fires, was partly attributable to increased population densities on Melbourne's fringes.[187] David Packham, bushfire expert and research fellow atMonash University, argued that high fuel loads in bushland led to the destructive intensity of the fires, saying that "There has been total mismanagement of the Australian forest environment."[187]
In announcing that the fires would be investigated by aRoyal Commission, thePremier of Victoria,John Brumby, suggested that the long-standing "stay-and-defend-or-leave-early" policy would be reviewed, saying that while it had proven reliable during normal conditions, the conditions on 7 February had been exceptional.[188] Brumby said that "There were many people who had done all of the preparations, had the best fire plans in the world and tragically it didn't save them."[187]
Commissioner Nixon, however, defended the policy, saying that it was "well thought of and well based and has stood the test of time and we support it".[189] Similarly, Commissioner of theNew South Wales Rural Fire Service, Shane Fitzsimmons, said that "Decades of science, practice and history show that a well-prepared home provides the best refuge in the event of fire".[188] Nixon also dismissed potential policies involving forced evacuations, saying "There used to be policies where you could make people leave but we're talking about adults."[189] A former Victorian police minister,Pat McNamara, argued that forced evacuations could have worsened the death toll, as many of the dead appeared to have been killed while attempting to evacuate the fire areas by car.[187]
In response to the Black Saturday bushfires new building regulations for Victorian bushfire-prone areas were fast tracked by Standards Australia.[190][191] Through theDepartment of Planning and Community Development the Victorian government has published a range of new guidelines and standards for bushfire planning and building.[192]
Based on this information, theBuilding Commission Victoria has released a range of publications to assist with people returning to properties, moving into temporary dwellings,retrofitting existing dwellings, and building new dwellings in bushfire areas.[193] The new standard states that all properties (not just those in bushfire areas) will now require a "bushfire attack assessment", and will be given a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating that outlines the type of construction required. The BAL takes into consideration such factors as theFire Danger Index, the slope, and surrounding vegetation. BALs range from "BAL-LOW", for properties with no specific construction requirements such as suburban buildings, to "BAL-FZ" for properties in the fire zone likely to experience direct exposure to the fire front, as well as high heat flux and ember attacks.[194]
While a draft national building code for bushfire-prone areas proposed using 1,000 K (730 °C; 1,340 °F) as the standard for the assumed temperature to which houses are subject when hit by bushfire, fire engineers argued that standards should be based on a 1,090 K (820 °C; 1,500 °F) temperature. This was in line with existing New South Wales building laws for bushfire-prone areas, although the temperature of fires can actually peak at approximately 1,600 K (1,330 °C; 2,420 °F).[195] TheAustralian Building Codes Board incorporated the 1,090 K (820 °C; 1,500 °F) temperature in the standard, with the support of the CFA andAustralasian Fire Authorities Council.[194]
As part of the building codes debate, an expert panel recommended in 2010 that the state government ban housing in the highest fire risk areas, which are some of the most dangerous in the world.[196] Michael Buxton, a professor atRMIT University, said that after the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires the government bought back tens of thousands of lots across theDandenong Ranges because they were in extremely high fire risk areas; he backed another similar large-scale buyback scheme to move people away from unacceptably high risk areas.[196]
Another member of the panel, international planning expert Roz Hansen, said that she was "disappointed and alarmed" about the decision to rebuild Marysville, stating that it was unlikely that a new development would have been permitted in the area. She went on to say that in parts of Asia, people had been forcibly moved out of unacceptably high risk cyclone and flooding areas in the public interest despite the difficulties this involved.[197]
The fire started after the conductor between poles 38 and 39 failed and the live conductor came into contact with a cable stay supporting pole 38. This contact caused arcing that ignited vegetation near the base of pole 38. An electrical fault was recorded at 11:45...
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 2009: A tragedy beyond belief, beyond precedent and beyond words … one of the darkest days in Australia's peacetime history.
Victoria's Supreme Court has approved a $494 million payout to victims of the deadly 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, in what is considered to be the biggest class action in Australia's legal history.
A 2009 Royal Commission found that the fire began when an electricity line failed between two poles. Contact between the live conductor and a cable stay supporting the pole caused arcing that ignited vegetation.
At nearly $500 million, the payout is more than double the previous highest Australianclass actionsettlement of $200 million in the Centro shareholder class action
Electricity company AusNet has announced a $300 million settlement with the Marysville victims of the Black Saturday bushfires.
A class action will be launched in the Supreme Court today on behalf of victims of the Murrindindi bushfire on Black Saturday in 2009.
