The Victorian Bushfires (7-8 Feb 2009) (Black Saturday)
On 7 February 2009 as many as 400 fires were recorded across
Victoria. Before the fire started heatwaves
and extreme heat was felt all over
Victoria. There were 78 communities affected, 173 lives lost and 2029 homes
destroyed. Twelve major fires and many more minor fires burned over 450,000
hectares of land and affected at least 78 communities. The Victorian Bushfires
Royal Commission was established on 16 February 2009 to investigate the causes
of and responses to the bushfires with the final report released and published
in July 2010. The Insurance Council of Australia estimated the 2009 damage at
$1070 million. This major fire was nicked named ‘Black Saturday’ because the
fire started early Saturday (07/02/2009). The fires that broke out on Black Saturday
spread quickly and soon were out of control and so people had to evacuate and
leave their properties. The fire brigade only can maintain the fire and could
not stop it completely. The fire spread quickly because of the low rainfall in
the months following the fires and the dried eucalyptus provided a good fuel
for the fire to spread even quicker than it was expected to.
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