Australia’s ‘Ash Wednesday’ brush fires claim 45 lives
Departments
DISPATCHES
Thirteen fire fighters and 32 civilians lost their lives in what has been described as Australia’s worst holocaust since the 1939 Black Friday fires that killed 71 people.
The fires, which swept through large portions of southern Australia last February 16-17 in 104° temperatures, were fanned by 25 to 30 mph winds, giving fire fighters virtually no chance of halting the rapidly advancing flames. Much of the destruction was said to have been the result of severe drought conditions and unpredictable wind shifts.
The fires, most of which involved brush and forest areas, destroyed dose to a million acres of land, more than 350,000 sheep, 7000 cattle and 1700 houses. In some cases, homes were completely engulfed in flames within 10 minutes of a fire outbreak. It was determined that the number of homes destroyed could have been drastically reduced if residents had cleared surrounding brush.
Hundreds of tankers and bulldozers were used to fight the blazes. Aircraft was used extensively for reconnaissance, dropping fire retardants to check forest fires, transporting manpower and equipment to inaccessible areas, and carrying infrared scanning apparatus to plot the fire front.
Two fire stations were burned to the ground, but within three ciays temporary portable communications rooms were installed at both locations, giving fire brigades bases of operations.
In the coastal areas, residents took refuge from the flames by retreating to the beach. Numerous and rapid evacuations were necessary due to the incredible speed of the fires.
According to a report in Australia’s Fireman, “These fires were fought under conditions which were more than what would normally be termed extreme. The size of the fires, their rapid movement … the firestorms and fireballs … added up to an exhausting, exasperating impossible and frightening time for all who confronted the blazes”
