2014–15 Australian bushfire season
| 2014–15 Australian bushfire season | |
|---|---|
| Location | Australia |
| Statistics | |
| Date(s) | Winter (June) 2014 – Autumn (May) 2015 |
| Buildings destroyed |
210+ total — 48 houses — 160+ non-residential structures |
| Fatalities | 1 total — 1 CFS volunteer firefighter |
| Injuries | 139 |
| Season | |
The 2014–15 Australian bushfire season was expected to have the potential for many fires in eastern Australia after lower than expected rainfall was received in many areas. Authorities released warnings in the early spring that the season could be particularly bad.
Warmer and drier weather conditions were experienced during winter and extended into 2015, due to a developing El Niño event. Sydney was on track to record its hottest autumn on record and only had one fifth of the average rainfall in May. Adelaide recorded sixteen consecutive days of 20 °C (68 °F) in May 2014.
Queensland sweltered through a heatwave, with record October temperatures being set in many towns through the state. New October records included Toowoomba with 36.4 °C (97.5 °F), St George with 42.6 °C (108.7 °F), Amberley with 41.3 °C (106.3 °F) and Roma with 41.6 °C (106.9 °F).
Throughout 2014 and the first 6 months of 2015, 18 fires were declared "national disasters" affecting a total of 68 local government areas across New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory.
During an 8-day period starting on 1 August, 114 bush and grass fires burned through 9,500 ha (23,000 acres) of the Clarence Valley and Kempsey local government areas. Five houses were destroyed and a further eight were extensively damaged during the blazes. Eight non-residential buildings and four vehicles were also destroyed in the blazes. A number of these fires were caused by escaped private hazard reduction burns.
Fires started near Katoomba in the Blue Mountains just as heatwave conditions commenced in the area on 1 November. The fire dropped over an escarpment and into inaccessible bushland. One house was destroyed and a second house damaged along Cliff Drive after 60 people were evacuated from the area.
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