INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES (21ST CENTURY)

2002

ECOCIDE
noun
destruction of the natural environment,
especially when deliberate.

INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES

(Largest Fires of the 21st Century)

Australian Bushfire
Season (2002-03)

(Canberra, ACT)

(Original Image)

#1

LARGEST FIRE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The Official Story

2002–03 AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE SEASON
(The Largest Fire of the 21st Century)

A particularly extensive bushfire season in Australia, ran predominantly from December 2002 to March 2003 and involved over 3,000 separate fires in Victoria alone. The 2003 Canberra bushfires were also particularly severe.

The developing drought in Australia and well below-average rainfall through winter and spring of 2002 established conditions conducive to above-average bushfire potential. During the 2002–03 season, there were 5,999 bushfires attended by the relevant agency Australia-wide and 7 fatalities, 4 of those from the January Canberra fires.Perhaps the most well known fire of the season was the Eastern

Victorian alpine bushfires that burnt in north-eastern Victoria, the Victorian Alps and Gippsland. This fire was ignited in several locations by multiple lightning strikes and burnt 1.12 million hectares of land over the course of 2 months. Over 15,000 personnel were directly engaged with this fire complex.

2003 Canberra Bushfires

The 2003 Canberra bushfires caused severe damage to the suburbs and outer areas of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, during 18–22 January 2003. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory’s (ACT) pastures, pine plantations, and nature parks were severely damaged, and most of the Mount Stromlo Observatory was destroyed. After burning for a week around the edges of the ACT, the fires entered the suburbs of Canberra on 18 January 2003. Over the next ten hours, four people died, over 490 were injured, and 470 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, requiring a significant relief and reconstruction effort.

Source: Wikipedia

2002–03 Australian Bushfire Season Statistics

Dates(s):	Winter 2002 – Spring 2003
Burned Area:	540,000 square kilometres (21,241,000 ha)
Cost:	$350+ million AUD
Cause:	Various, predominantly lightning
Buildings Destroyed:	646+ houses, 213 other structures, 3 bridges
Deaths:	7 humans (and ~15,000 livestock)
Non-fatal injuries:	490