What are the similarities and differences of the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983 and the Black Saturday fires in 2009?

Answer 1

Both the 1983 and 2009 fires - * occured during a period of extended drought * during extreme weather conditions * after a period of relatively fire free years * spread rapidly due to spotting from gale force winds * had large fires link up to make huge fires * were in largely inaccessible areas to vehicles * caused extensive loss of life and property * destroyed entire communities * were relieved within weeks by a change to cooler weather and some rain * were considered to be the worst ever at the time * resulted in Royal Commissions The 1983 Ash Wednesday fires - * were spread over a much wider area of southeastern Australia * had the advantage of a better prepared and more mobile fire fighting force than the 1939 Black Friday fires The 2009 Black Saturday fires - * were more focussed within 200 km of Melbourne * killed many more people * had technological advantages not available in 1983 such as mobile phones and the Elvis fire fighting helicopters * had the advantage of the 1983 fires to change attitudes * as a result of the Ash Wednesday fires, had more mobile and better trained fire fighters than previously * had the advantage of the Ash Wednesday Royal Commission to prevent a recurrence of the same mistakes, to improve practices and laws, and to revolutionise the issuing of building permits and materials Something that I hope will brought to the fore during the upcoming Royal Commission into the Black Saturday fires, is the interference of Green Groups in fire prevention and fuel reduction activities that would otherwise have been carried out by the responsible authorities and, why the various Municipalities failed to restrict building permits in accordance with the findings and recommendations of the Ash Wednesday Royal Commission.