Bushfires require fuel such as dry leaves, twigs and other vegetation matter to keep burning. Across Victoria, this fuel was very dry, due to the weather conditions. The forest vegetation in valleys and gullies, which is normally green in summer, was also very dry.
Getting Ready for the Fire Season
Hot and dry weather towards the end of 1982 gave fire fighters an early warning of what might lie ahead. The earliest Total Fire Ban day ever declared occurred on November 24, 1982.
Victorian Government fire fighting agencies employed extra staff and organised for additional equipment and aircraft to be ready for fire fighting over summer.
The first big bushfire occurred on November 25, 1982, and was followed by large fires on December 3 and 13, January 8 and February 1. By February 16, Victoria had experienced many very dry, hot days. February 1983 was one of the hottest and driest on record.
Ash Wednesday
Clear skies and rising temperatures were observed on the morning of Ash Wednesday. A front, or band of cold air, was located in the Great Australian Bight off the coast of South Australia. The front caused the hot air in the centre of Australia to be drawn southwards. This created a hot, dry northerly wind over Victoria.
Temperatures in many places rose to over 40 degrees Celsius and the air moisture, or relative humidity dropped to below 15%. (By comparison, the average humidity on a summer's day in Melbourne is 43 %.) Many bushfires were reported in the early to middle afternoon and were well established by the hottest and driest part of the day.
Towards late afternoon, the front moved inland and the northerly winds became much stronger. The fires were being pushed in a southerly direction creating long, narrow fires.
Large areas of land had been dried by the drought. Strong winds lifted 200,000 tonnes of dried soil from the ground. The dust combined with smoke from the fires and reduced visibility so that fire fighting was very difficult. The dust cloud was so large and thick it blocked out the sun in Melbourne and gave people little warning of approaching bushfires.
Many spot fires, caused by burning material blown ahead of the main fire, developed. In many cases, spot fires spread quickly and joined to form a large fire ahead of the main fire. This made the bushfires more severe, and made it difficult for fire fighters to control the fires.
After the Wind Change
The wind change moved through south-west Victoria by early evening. This was disastrous, as the westerly winds caused the fire to change direction. The long sides of the fire then became the head, or front, of the fire.
The wind change also caused fires to merge, such as the Cudgee/ Ballangeich fire near Warnambool. Fire fighters had many problems trying to control these large bushfires. Most of the losses of life and property occurred in the hour following the wind change.
Areas Affected
Due to the large numbers of fires burning on Ash Wednesday, many parts of Victoria suffered damage. Nine of the fires in Victoria were greater than 150 hectares in size (approximately 50 times the size of the MCG). Eight areas were considered to be severely affected.
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Public Land Affected by the Fires
Areas of Public Land affected by the fires include the Dandenong Ranges National Park, the Wombat State Forest and the Otways Forest. Approximately 82,500 hectares of public land and over 120,000 hectares of private land was burnt. The 1982/83 summer saw some 486,030 hectares of parks and forests burnt.
What Started the Fires?
The causes of the Ash Wednesday fires include clashing of electricity power lines, tree branches connecting with power lines, deliberately lit fires and other causes that were not identified.
Resources Used
Over 16,000 fire fighters attended the Ash Wednesday fires including park and forest fire fighters and Country Fire Authority volunteers. Also involved and assisting in fighting the fires were 1,000 police, 500 defence force personnel and many local residents. A variety of equipment, including 400 vehicles (fire-trucks, water tankers and bulldozers), 11 helicopters and 14 fixed wing aircraft were used to fight the fires.
Damage Caused
The Victorian fires burned a total of around 210,000 hectares. There were 47 lives lost in Victoria and 2,080 homes were burnt. Many businesses, stores, equipment, machinery, stock and other private assets were also lost. The total cost of the property related damage in Victoria was estimated to be over $200 million.
The fires damaged valuable timber in State forests with losses of around $50 million. Park and forest offices and fire fighting equipment were lost. The fires burnt the vegetation that protects the soil. After the fires, there was further damage through soil erosion affecting streams and water catchments.
The South Australian Fires
The South Australia fires burnt 208,000 hectares in the Adelaide Hills and in farming country in the south-east of the state. In addition, 21,000 hectares of pine plantations were destroyed. Twenty-eight lives and 383 houses were lost. The total cost of the damage to private property in South Australia was also estimated to be more than $200 million.
