The ash

Wednesday
bushfire
A DISATER THAT EVERYONE
THAT WENT THROUGH
REMEBERED.
▪ THE ash Wednesday bushfire: IT all
started in the southern eastern
AUSTRALIA at 16th of febuary.IT was so
dangerous that in Within twelve hours,
more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up
to 110 km/h (68 mph) caused widespread
destruction across the states of Victoria
and South Australia. ADDITION to that
Victoria and southern AUSTRALIA was in
drought and bad weather conditions
meaning crops would be hard to grow
and know the fire would burn the ones
that were able to grow. THIS was one of
the most hash and extreme bushfires in
the whole century.IT had broken the
economy and community and it took
years to build back.
▪ THE RED PARTS ARE THE MAIN
PARTS AFFECTED BY THE
BUSHFIRE.AS YOU CAN SEE THE
BACKGROUNDS RED PARTS COVER
SO MUCH OF THE PLACE ABOUT
4%.IT COVERED SO MUCH LAND
THAT THE PRICE OF IT WASOF THE
PEOPLE DYING AND SHEEPS AND
CATTLE DYING AND CROPS DYING
AND THE LAND BEING DESTROYED
IS WELL OVER 400 MILLION$
 ▪ Before Ash Wednesday, most of Victoria had experienced a drought lasting
10 months or more. Rainfall over winter and spring was low, and summer
rainfall for Victoria was up to 75 percent less than in previous years. Low
rainfall meant less moisture in the soil, and water supplies in many places
were almost dry. The moisture in the air, known as relative humidity, was also
low.
▪ Bushfires require fuel such as dry leaves, twigs, and other vegetation matter
to keep burning. Therefore, fuel sources were dry and forest vegetation in
CAUSES OF valleys and gullies, usually moist in summer, was also very dry.
THE ▪ The hot and dry weather towards the end of 1982 gave firefighters an early
BUSHFIRE: warning of what might lie ahead. As a result, the earliest total fire ban day ever
declared up to that point in time occurred on 24 November 1982.

▪ The Victorian Government firefighting agencies employed extra staff and

organised additional equipment and aircraft to be ready over summer.
▪ The first big bushfire occurred on 25 November 1983 and large fires
followed from 3 December to 1 February. February 1983 was one of the hottest
and driest Februarys on record.
Response

Better resource fire and land management agencies to manage fuels,

and rapidly detect and attack new outbreaks

Add a self-sufficient Australian medium and large aerial firefighting

capability to fire services

Better utilise Australian Defence Force support capabilities in

emergencies
Readiness

Create an Indigenous-led National Cultural Fire Strategy to

complement and inform fuel management by agencies

Increase the affordability and uptake of insurance for properties in

disaster prone areas, a key factor in community resilience

Review and update Australian building standards in bushfire-prone

areas
Recovery
• Set up a national climate disaster fund to
meet climate-fuelled disaster costs and
build resilience—paid through a fossil fuel
producer levy
• Better coordinate and resource wildlife
recovery efforts
• Develop and implement a national climate
change, health and well-being strategy
 Bibliography

Ash Wednesday 1983 (ffm.vic.gov.au)

Ash Wednesday bushfires Facts for Kids (kiddle.co)

On this day: Ash Wednesday bushfires - Australian Geographic

Australian Bushfire & Climate Plan | Emergency Leaders for Climate Action