1996–97 Australian bushfire season

A series of bushfires in Australia occurred over the summer of 1996–1997. The most prominent fires during the season were in the Dandenong Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula in the state of Victoria.

1996–97 Australian bushfire season
Date(s)	October 1996 – January 1997
Location	Australia
Impacts
Deaths	3
Non-fatal injuries	40
Structures destroyed	44+

Fires of note

State	Start date	Deaths	Injuries	Houses lost	Area (ha)	Local govt.	Impacted communities & destruction	Duration	Ref.
Western Australia	8 January 1997			16	10,500 ha (26,000 acres)	Mundaring	Wooroloo & Wundowie Wooroloo Prison Farm and dozens of non-residential structures destroyed		[1][2][3]
Victoria	19 January 1997			2		Mornington Peninsula	Mount Eliza 2 carports and a car destroyed	3 days	[4]
Victoria	21 January 1997	3	20	41	3,700 ha (9,100 acres)	Yarra Ranges	Ferny Creek, Kalorama, Mount Dandenong & Upwey Three civilians perish 45 houses damaged A CFA fire truck destroyed	2 days	[4][5][6][7][8][9]

Timeline

October 1996

In October 1996, one house was destroyed in a bushfire near Ravensbourne in southeast Queensland.^[10]

January 1997

From 19 to 21 January 1997, fires burnt over 400 hectares (about 990 acres) through much of the Dandenong Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula, precipitated by over forty-degree Celsius dry heat and strong northerly winds. Three people were killed and forty injured. Forty-three houses were destroyed and another 45 damaged.^[11] Fires began at all locations except the Dandenongs on the 19th; the Dandenongs fires began on the morning of the 21st in the foothills of the western face of the ranges. It was suspected that the fires in the Dandenongs were deliberately lit.

The areas most affected by these fires included:^[11]

• Creswick
• Dandenong Ranges
• Ferny Creek – 3 deaths
• Kalorama
• Mount Dandenong
• Upwey
• Dutson Downs
• Gippsland
• Heathcote
• Mornington Peninsula
• Arthurs Seat
• Mount Eliza
• Mount Martha

References

1. "Bushfires". www.bom.gov.au. Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
2. Jones, Trevor. "Cities Project Perth" (PDF). Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
3. Joe Courtney; Miriam Middelmann (June 2005). "2.7 Bushfires – a meteorological perspective". The Natural Hazard Risk in Perth (PDF). Geoscience Australia. pp. 56–60.
4. "Dandenongs and Mornington Peninsula, Vic: Bushfires" (PDF). royalcommission.vic.gov.au. 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. Retrieved 6 June 2015.^{[permanent dead link]}
5. Webb, Carolyn (26 January 1997). "Anatomy of a Fire Storm". Sunday Age. Fairfax Media. p. 16. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
6. Coxhill, Richard (2012). "Chapter 8: The Basin Fire Brigade". History of The Basin (PDF). p. 15.
7. Buttler, Mark (17 April 2008). "Fresh police appeal on 1997 Dandenong Ranges fires". Herald Sun. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
8. Wositzky, Helen (Winter 1998). "Out of the Ashes, a Community Responds: The Dandenong Ranges Bushfires, January 1997". The Australian Journal of Emergency Management. 13 (2): 17–20. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
9. Hayes, Lyn (1998). "Recovery: A Local Government Response". The Australian Journal of Emergency Management. 13 (2): 22–25. ISSN 1324-1540. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
10. "Understanding bushfire: trends in deliberate vegetation fires in Australia: Queensland" (PDF). Australian Institute of Criminology. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
11. "EMA.gov.au". Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.

• Overview of the fires & community response