Black Saturday bushfires

Black Saturday Bushfires
Black Saturday Bushfires
	MODIS Aqua satellite image of smoke plumes and a pyrocumulus cloud northeast of Melbourne 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)
Land use	Urban/Rural Fringe Areas, Farmland, and Forest Reserves/National Parks
Impacts
Deaths	173
Non-fatal injuries	414
Structures destroyed	3,500+ (2,029 houses)
Ignition
Cause	Various confirmed sources including: Power lines; Arson; Lightning; Machinery;

The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that either ignited or were already burning across the Australian state of Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009, and were 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.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia 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]

The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, headed by Justice Bernard Teague, was held in response to the bushfires.

^ Collins, Pádraig (12 February 2009). "Rudd criticised over bush fire compensation". Irish Times. Ireland. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
^ "About Black Saturday - Country Fire Authority". 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
^ "What has Australia learned from Black Saturday?". 16 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
^ "2009 Victorian Bushfires". 20 May 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
^ Cite error: The named reference Australian Medical Journal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference VBRC-Vol.01-ch.5-p.075 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Rennie, Reko (1 April 2009). "Marysville fire deliberately lit: police". The Age. Melbourne: Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
^ "Lightning starts new bushfires in Grampians". ABC News. 8 February 2009. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
^ "Police track arsonists responsible for Victoria bushfires". News Limited. The Australian. 10 February 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
^ Huxley, John (11 February 2009). "Horrific, but not the worst we've suffered". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
^ 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission - Final Report (PDF) (Report). Government Printer for the State of Victoria. July 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
^ "Black Saturday bushfires". Lawson Crescent Acton Peninsula, Canberra: National Museum of Australia. 7 February 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2024. 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.

[1] Collins, Pádraig (12 February 2009). "Rudd criticised over bush fire compensation". Irish Times. Ireland. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2009.

[2] "About Black Saturday - Country Fire Authority". 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.

[3] "What has Australia learned from Black Saturday?". 16 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.

[4] "2009 Victorian Bushfires". 20 May 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.

[Australian_Medical_Journal-5] Cite error: The named reference Australian Medical Journal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[VBRC-Vol.01-ch.5-p.075-6] Cite error: The named reference VBRC-Vol.01-ch.5-p.075 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[arson-7] Rennie, Reko (1 April 2009). "Marysville fire deliberately lit: police". The Age. Melbourne: Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2010.

[lightning_grampians-8] "Lightning starts new bushfires in Grampians". ABC News. 8 February 2009. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2009.

[sparks-9] "Police track arsonists responsible for Victoria bushfires". News Limited. The Australian. 10 February 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.

[10] Huxley, John (11 February 2009). "Horrific, but not the worst we've suffered". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2020.

[11] 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission - Final Report (PDF) (Report). Government Printer for the State of Victoria. July 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.

[12] "Black Saturday bushfires". Lawson Crescent Acton Peninsula, Canberra: National Museum of Australia. 7 February 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2024. 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.

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