2013–14 Australian bushfire season
| 2013–14 Australian bushfire season | |
|---|---|
Fires to the north of Lithgow October 2013
|
|
| Location | Australia |
| Statistics | |
| Date(s) | Winter (June) 2013 – Autumn (May) 2014 |
| Buildings destroyed |
570+ total — 371 houses — 200+ non-residential structures |
| Fatalities | 4 total — 3 civilians — 1 pilot contracted by the NSW Rural Fire Service (in accident) |
| Season | |
The 2013–14 Australian bushfire season was, at the time, the most destructive bushfire season in terms of property loss since the 2008–09 Australian bushfire season, with the loss of 371 houses and several hundred non-residential buildings as a result of wild fires between 1 June 2015 and 31 May 2016. The season also suffered 4 fatalities; 2 died in New South Wales, 1 in Western Australia and 1 in Victoria. One death was as a direct result of fire, 2 died due to unrelated health complications while fighting fires on their property, and a pilot contracted by the NSW Rural Fire Service died during an accident.
The season was predicted to have above average fire potential for most states including portions of the north west of Western Australia, the north west of the Northern Territory and large areas of central Queensland following below average rainfall and above average temperatures in these areas in the months leading up to the fire season. The year 2013 was the hottest on record in Australia, with the average temperature from September 2012 to August 2013 being calculated to be 22.9 °C (73 °F) which is 1.1 °C (1.6 °F) higher than the 1961 to 1990 average.
During August and September a total 2,322 active fires were recorded across the state.
On 9–10 September, 59 fires ignited around the western suburbs of Sydney during one of the earliest starts to a fire season in several years. A 150 ha (370 acres) fire in Marsden Park destroyed one house and several sheds. Three houses were damaged and a Western Sydney University campus was evacuated as a result of other fires burning near Castlereagh, Londonderry and Windsor Downs. Approximately 800 firefighters and 200 appliances attended the blazes; two firefighters were injured while combating the Marsden Park blaze and another five were treated for smoke inhalation.
...
Wikipedia