1967 Tasmanian fires
| 1967 "Black Tuesday" Tasmanian Bushfires | |
|---|---|
| Location | Throughout Tasmania |
| Coordinates | 42°00′S 147°00′E / 42.000°S 147.000°ECoordinates: 42°00′S 147°00′E / 42.000°S 147.000°E |
| Statistics | |
| Cost | A$101,000,000 |
| Date(s) | February 7, 1967 |
| Burned area | 2,642.7 square kilometres (653,025 acres) |
| Cause | heat wave, back-burning, arson |
| Buildings destroyed |
1,293 houses |
| Injuries | 900+ |
| Fatalities | 62 |
| Map | |
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The 1967 Tasmanian fires were an Australian natural disaster which occurred on 7 February 1967, an event which came to be known as the Black Tuesday bushfires. They were the most deadly bushfires that Tasmania has ever experienced, leaving 62 people dead, 900 injured and over seven thousand homeless.
110 separate fire fronts burnt through some 2,640 square kilometres (652,000 acres) of land in Southern Tasmania within the space of five hours. Fires raged from near Hamilton and Bothwell to the D'Entrecasteaux Channel as well as Snug. There was extensive damage to agricultural property along the Channel, the Derwent Valley and the Huon Valley. Fires also destroyed forest, public infrastructure and properties around Mount Wellington and many small towns along the Derwent estuary and east of Hobart.
The worst of the fires was the Hobart Fire, which encroached upon the city of Hobart. In total, the fires claimed 62 lives in a single day. Property loss was also extensive with 1293 homes and over 1700 other buildings destroyed. The fires destroyed 80 bridges, 4800 sections of power lines, 1500 motor vehicles and over 100 other structures. It was estimated that at least 62,000 farm animals were killed. The total damage amounted to $40,000,000 in 1967 Australian dollar values. The resulting insurance payout was the then largest in Australian history.
The late winter and early spring of 1966 had been wet over southeastern Tasmania, resulting in a large amount of vegetation growth by November. However, in November, Tasmania began its driest eight-month period since 1885, and by the end of January 1967 the luxuriant growth in the area had dried off. Though January was a cool month, hot weather began early in February, so that in the days leading up to 7 February 1967, several bush fires were burning uncontrolled in the areas concerned. Some of these fires had been deliberately lit for burning off, despite the extremely dry conditions at the time. Reports into the causes of the fire stated that only 22 of the 110 fires were started accidentally.
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Wikipedia