The '''Ash Wednesday fires''' were an Australian Natural_disaster which occurred on February_16, 1983. The fires affected much of Victoria, including the Macedon and Dandenong_Ranges, as well as the Otway_Ranges in the south. They also affected much of South_Australia, mainly the Adelaide_Hills, but also the Clare_Valley and the pine forests of the state's south east.
The Ash Wednesday fires were caused by the El_Niño drought of 1982, where there was extremely low rainfall and high winds, mostly northerly. Another precipitating factor was an ongoing fire in eastern Victoria that went uncontrolled for almost a month. Many of the Forests exploded with the wind conditions and lack of rain, creating many separate fires.
The human loss was 75 lives: 47 in Victoria and 28 in South_Australia. In the Dandenong Ranges, 17 Firefighters also lost their lives while they were fighting the fires, on account of an abrupt change in direction. The Ash Wednesday fires were unusual in other ways too—a Mattress was seen flying out of control in the Otways. 2,545 individuals and families also lost their homes.
The natural loss was over a 390,000 km² (96,371,000 acres) in Victoria and South Australia, including 5,200 km² (1,284,000 acres) which were destroyed in a few days of the fire.
==See also==
*List_of_disasters_in_Australia_by_death_toll
== External links ==
*An inquiry about the specific fire weather event.
Category:History_of_Australia
Category:1983
Category:Black_days
Category:Wildfires
Category:Fires