Australia Bushfire essays

Australia Bushfire essays Australia is the world's driest continent, and drought and bushfires are regular occurrences that, sadly, are a natural part of Australia's weather cycle. Australia has a history of severe bushfires. Such tragedies as the Ash Wednesday fires of February 1983 (71 deaths in Victoria and South Australia), the Tasmanian fires of February 1967 (62 lives, more than 1400 houses and buildings lost) and the New South Wales bushfires of 1994, place bushfires high on the list of Australia's natural disasters. But for now lets look at the huge bushfire occurred in 16th February 1983 (Ash Wednesday Bushfires). It was April 1982 to January 1983 in Victoria; the weather condition through these days was severe drought conditions and little rainfall, resulting in its driest period on record. A combination of dry grasslands and forests, very hot temperatures, low humidity and high wind gusts presented Victoria with a high bushfire risk. The temperature was 43 degrees Celsius on Ash Wednesday (16 February 1983), which caused huge bushfires that damaged/destroyed 2545 Building/house and huge amount of trees throughout the regions in Victoria. Also lots of lives got lost from fire. 75 (15 lives lost from firefighter) in total lives from fires, (47 lives in Victoria and 28 in South Australia) and there were hundreds of people injured due to their skin burnt. There were many other causes for fires including, clashing of electric power lines, tree branches connecting with power lines, fires being deliberately lit, and of course the weather. The fire started in Victoria at Cudgee and Branxholme and then the fire also started around Mount Macedon, Dandenong Range Cockatoo, Upper Beaconsfield and Belgrave Heights, Monivae, Branxholme, Warburton and in the Otways. The Fires were so big that it also spread around South Australia through Adelaide Hills and in farming country in the south east of the state. ...