2013 Tasmanian bushfires

2013 Tasmanian bushfires
Fires at Forcett/Copping on 4 January
Location	Central Highlands, East coast (Bicheno), Forestier and Tasman Peninsulas
Statistics
Cost	69+ million
Date(s)	January 2013
Burned area	20,000 hectares (49,000 acres)
Cause	Lightning, abandoned campfire Accidental (Forcett fire)
Land use	Mixed, residential and bush
Buildings destroyed	At least 170
Injuries	Unknown
Fatalities	1 firefighter

The 2013 Tasmanian bushfires were a series of bushfires in south-eastern Tasmania in starting in November/December 2012, with major fires in early January 2013, right through until late April 2013.

It was predicted early on that the 2012-13 had the potential to be worse than usual. High fuel loads, coupled with a dry, warm and windy, providing potentially dangerous conditions. The Tasmania Fire Service implemented a new media campaign, with a view to increasing community preparedness and awareness of what to do if bushfires threatened. But nobody predicted that the fire season would last for almost 6 months, which is unprecedented in the recorded history of Tasmania.

During the months of November and December 2012, several significant fire incidents took place, including one fire at Forcett, Tasmania in the South-east of the State. In this incident, several firefighters were injured in a wind change on 29 November 2012. There was a major fire in the central lakes region (Interlaken Rd, Steppes) that was originally reported on 18 December 2012 and was still burning in the middle of January. There were other blazes at Glenlusk, on the outskirts of Hobart City, which destroyed several vehicles and some makeshift dwellings or shacks, while another fire at Rhyndaston Road, Rhyndaston took weeks to control. Extensive efforts were made to control these fires before the expected heat wave at the start of January 2013.

On 3–4 January 2013, a heat wave, which became known as the Angry Summer and which covered most of the southern and eastern portion of the Australian continent, caused a number of fires to spread across the country. The most devastating of these occurred in the Australian state of Tasmania, where several large bushfires burnt out of control. The fires were intensified by the heatwave, with Hobart on 4 January achieving its highest temperature since records began in 1882, reaching 41.8 °C (107.2 °F) at 4:05 pm.

Communities affected by the fires include Bicheno,Boomer Bay, Connelly’s Marsh, Copping, Dunalley,Eaglehawk Neck, Forcett, Murdunna, Primrose Sands, Sommers Bay, Susans Bay, and Taranna. As of 5 January^[update], up to 40 fires were burning across Tasmania and at least 100 properties were destroyed including 65 at Dunalley where the police station, primary school and bakery were destroyed, 15 at nearby Boomer Bay, 12 at Bicheno, and 14 at Sommers Bay. More than 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres) of bushland were burnt out.