Major Fires

Black Thursday
6 February 1851

Wimmera, Portland, Gippsland, Plenty Ranges, Westernport, Dandenong districts, Heidelberg

• 12 people
• 1,000,000 sheep
• Thousands of cattle

1926

Noojee, Kinglake, Warburton, Erica, Dandenong Ranges.

• People and property

Black Friday
13 January 1939

Find out more on a special ABC website...

Rubicon, Woods Point, Warrandyte, Noojee, Omeo, Mansfield, Dromana, Yarra Glen, Warburton, Erica

• 71 people
• More than 650 homes/shops

3-4 March 1942

Hamilton, South Gippsland - Yarram
(burning on a 60 mile front)

• 1 person
• 100 sheep
• 2 farms
• More than 20 homes

22 December 1943

Wangaratta

• 10 people
• Thousands of acres of grass country

14 January /
14 February 1944

Central & western districts, Morwell, Yallourn

• 32 people
• 700 homes
• Huge stock losses

14 January 1962

The Basin, Christmas Hills, Kinglake, St Andrews, Hurstbridge, Warrandyte, Mitcham

• 8 people
• 454 homes

17 January 1965

Longwood

• 7 people (all from one family)
• 6 houses

21 February -
13 March 1965

Fires burned for 17 days

Gippsland

• More than 60 homes/shops
• More than 4000 stock
• 750,000 acres of forest
• 40,000 acres of grassland

19 February 1968

The Basin, Upwey

• 64 homes

8 January 1969

Lara, Daylesford, Bulgana, Yea, Darraweit, Kangaroo Flat, Korongvale

• 22 people
• 230 homes
• 21 schools/church/halls
• More than 12,000 stock
• 800,000 acres

12 February 1977

Penshurst, Tatyoon, Streatham, Creswick, Pura Pura, Werneth, Cressy, Rokewood, Beeac, Mingay, Lismore, Little River

• 4 people
• 108 houses/shops
• More than 236,000 stock

15 January 1978

Bairnsdale

• 2 people
• 1 house
• 6500 stock

Ash Wednesday
16 February 1983

More Detailed Information...

Monivae, Branxholme, Cockatoo, East Trentham, Mt Macedon, Otways, Warburton, Cudgee, Upper Beaconsfield

• 47 people
• More than 27,000 stock
• Over 2000 homes/shops

14 January 1985

Maryborough, Avoca, Little River

• 3 people
• 182 homes
• 400 farms
• 46,000 stock

27 December 1990

Strathbogie

• 1 person
• 17 homes
• More than 12,000 stock

21 January 1997

Dandenong Ranges, Creswick, Heathcote, Teddywaddy, Gough's Bay

• 3 people
• 41 houses
• 1 CFA fire truck

2 December 1998

Linton

For more information refer to Reducing the Risk of entrapment in wildfires: a case study of the Linton fire (pdf 1.06mb)

• 5 CFA firefighters
• 1 CFA tanker
• 780 hectares

18 December 2000

Dadswells Bridge

• 1 house damaged
• 14,500 hectares of crop and pasture
• 8000 stock (mainly sheep)
• 500km of fencing

March 2002

Glenaroua

• 1 house
• 6,100 hectares grass and scrub

December 2001 - January 2002

Deployment of CFA to NSW and ACT fires

• 80 trucks and 2794 CFA personnel were committed for 14 days

8 January 2003 - 19 March 2003

North East and Gippsland fires

• 41 homes
• 3 bridges
  213 other structures
• 10,000 livestock
• 1.2 million hectares
• 71 days duration

19 January 2006

Grampians

For more information refer to Debrief Outcomes - Significant Victorian Fires December 2005 and January 2006 (pdf 869k) and Response by Chief Officer CFA and Chief Officer DSE (pdf 92k)

• Size: 116,380ha
• Deaths: 2
• Houses: 41
• Houses Damaged: 9
• Other buildings: 231
• Sheep: 62,704
• Cattle: 160
• Horses: 6
• Poultry: 166
• Goats: 26
• Other livestock: 2,536
• Fencing: 1,973
• Pasture, Crops, Horticulture and Hay
• Damage estimate: $20 Million

December 2006 to February 2007

Great Divide Complex

For more information refer to Key Issues Identified from Operational Reviews of Major Fires in Victoria 2006/07 (pdf 665k)

• Size: 1,154,828ha
• Houses: 33
• Houses Damaged: 13
• Other buildings: 255
• Sheep: 71
• Cattle: 907
• Horses: 3
• Poultry: 140
• Goats: 49
• Other livestock: 164
• Fencing: 1,357km
• Plantations, Crops, Pastures, Hay, Grain and Horticulture

2008 - 2009 Fire Season

During the 2008 - 2009 Fire Season there were a number of major fires. Listed below are high and low resolution maps of those major fires.