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Bushfires in Australia are very common during summer.

However, bushfires like the massive Black Saturday fires across Victoria in February 2009, which killed almost 200 people, only occur every few decades. Prior to Black Saturday, the worst fires were Ash Wednedsay (1983) and Black Friday (1939).

In between, there have been some deadly bushfires that killed a smaller number of people (Canberra 2003; Eyre Peninsula 2005).

In other years, many areas may be threatened by bushfires, particularly in the south and over in Western Australia, leading to huge property losses.

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How common are wildfires in Australia?

Bushfires, as they are properly called in Australia, are very common, particularly during the summer months. Parts of southern Australia, where the summers can be very hot and dry for extended periods of time, are particularly bushfire-prone. Bushfires occur throughout Australia, wherever the vegetation becomes dried out and easily ignited during heatwaves or drought. A common cause of bushfires is when tinder-dry vegetation is struck by lightning.There have been several significant bushfires that have caused great devastation and loss of life in Australia since European settlement. The Black Friday bushfires (1939), Ash Wednesday bushfires (1983), Canberra bushfires (2003) and Black Saturday bushfires (2009) have been among Australia's worst natural disasters.


What is the chance of having bushfires in Australia?

They will happen every year.


Does Australia have the most bushfires in the world?

Yes. While parts of the USA have fierce forest fires or wildfires, Australia has the most bushfires in the world. Its dry climate, tendency to drought (which dries out the vegetation) and extended summer heatwaves in the south all contribute to the high incidence of bushfires.


How many bushfires are there in Victoria?

It is impossible to determine how many bushfires there have been in Australia. Bushfires, in varying degrees of severity, occur almost daily in different localities during the warmer months, beginning around late August in parts of Queensland. They reach their peak during mid-summer, with perhaps hundreds occurring through Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia on a daily basis. Many of these are small spot-fires which are easily extinguished. Major flare-ups occur less often.


What is the nature of bushfires in Australia?

An essential feature is dry undergrowth which provides the fuel for the bushfire. Bushfires might start low, but they quickly spread and grow, especially uphill. For every ten degrees of a slope's gradient, the fire speed doubles. The worst bushfires in Australia are crown fires. These are enormously tall fires, which are fuelled by the eucalyptus leaves in the tree tops, generating incredible heat which often causes the tops of the trees to explode.

Related Questions

Why are bushfires more common in southern Australia than northern Australia?

Bushfires are more common in southern Australia because the summer is usually dry as well as hot. In the more northern parts of Australia, the hottest part of the year coincides with rainfall - it is a much more tropical climate.Therefore although northern Australia may be as hot (and usually hotter) than southern Australia, the wetness helps to prevent bushfires.


What countries are mainly affected by bush fires?

Bushfires are a common natural disaster in Australia.


How common are wildfires in Australia?

Bushfires, as they are properly called in Australia, are very common, particularly during the summer months. Parts of southern Australia, where the summers can be very hot and dry for extended periods of time, are particularly bushfire-prone. Bushfires occur throughout Australia, wherever the vegetation becomes dried out and easily ignited during heatwaves or drought. A common cause of bushfires is when tinder-dry vegetation is struck by lightning.There have been several significant bushfires that have caused great devastation and loss of life in Australia since European settlement. The Black Friday bushfires (1939), Ash Wednesday bushfires (1983), Canberra bushfires (2003) and Black Saturday bushfires (2009) have been among Australia's worst natural disasters.


How many bushfires have there been in Victoria?

There have been too many bushfires to number. Despite being in the south, Victoria is one of Australia's hottest and driest states in Summer, and because there is so much dense bushland and sloping mountainsides (which bushfires quickly ascend), bushfires are particularly common in January and February.


Where were the 2011 bushfires?

Regions around Perth in Western Australia were badly hit by bushfires in 2011.


Does Australia have more bushfires than japan?

Yes. Australia's hot, dry summers in the south lend that region to far more bushfires than Japan.


What is the chance of having bushfires in Australia?

They will happen every year.


Does Australia have the most bushfires in the world?

Yes. While parts of the USA have fierce forest fires or wildfires, Australia has the most bushfires in the world. Its dry climate, tendency to drought (which dries out the vegetation) and extended summer heatwaves in the south all contribute to the high incidence of bushfires.


What is bad about Australia?

Australia has the highest number of poisonous snakes in the world.It has one of the highest incidences of bushfires.


How many bushfires are there in Victoria?

It is impossible to determine how many bushfires there have been in Australia. Bushfires, in varying degrees of severity, occur almost daily in different localities during the warmer months, beginning around late August in parts of Queensland. They reach their peak during mid-summer, with perhaps hundreds occurring through Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia on a daily basis. Many of these are small spot-fires which are easily extinguished. Major flare-ups occur less often.


Where do bushfires occur in Queensland?

Bushfires can occur anywhere in Queensland. Severe bushfires are most common around the Queensland Central Coast, particularly in the Rockhampton region, heading west to Mount Morgan. However, smaller bushfires are also common anywhere along the eastern seaboard where the Great Dividing Range is covered with dense bushland.


What is the nature of bushfires in Australia?

An essential feature is dry undergrowth which provides the fuel for the bushfire. Bushfires might start low, but they quickly spread and grow, especially uphill. For every ten degrees of a slope's gradient, the fire speed doubles. The worst bushfires in Australia are crown fires. These are enormously tall fires, which are fuelled by the eucalyptus leaves in the tree tops, generating incredible heat which often causes the tops of the trees to explode.