How much of Australia is destroyed by fire?
The major fires peaked during December–January. As of 28 October 2020, the fires burnt an estimated 14.3 million hectares (35 million acres; 143,000 square kilometres; 55,000 square miles), destroyed over 3,000 buildings (including 2,779 homes) and killed at least 34 people.
How many hectares are burning in Australia?
More than 24 million hectares (59 million acres) burned during Australia’s devastating “Black Summer” bushfire season of 2019-2020, which formed part of a confirmed climate change-driven trend of worsening fire weather and larger, more intense forest fires.
What was the worst bushfire?
The Black Saturday bushfires
The Black Saturday bushfires were the worst in Australia’s history, killing 173 people. Almost 80 communities and entire towns were left unrecognisable. The fires burned more than 2,000 properties and 61 businesses.
What was the worst bushfire in history?
The largest known area burnt was between 100–117 million hectares (250–290 million acres), impacting approximately 15 per cent of Australia’s physical land mass, during the 1974-75 Australian bushfire season.
What has been the worst bushfire in Australia?
2008–2009 and Black Saturday 173 people lost their lives in these fires and 414 were injured. 3,500+ buildings were destroyed, including 2,029 houses, and 7,562 people displaced. In terms of loss of life and property damage, the Black Saturday fires rank as the most devastating in Australian history.
How did the Australian fires end?
In mid-February an extremely heavy rainstorm allowed firefighters to contain all of the fires in New South Wales (NSW), although fires continued to burn in Victoria. All of the fires were either extinguished or contained by March 4, 2020 – nine months after the first ones began to burn.
What was the worst wildfire in history?
~2,000 separate blazes burned an area the size of Connecticut in what is believed to be the largest fire in U.S. history. Killed 223 people according to official figures, and destroyed several towns, Cochrane burnt again after just five years.