Eyre Peninsula Bushfire
The Eyre Peninsula Bushfire , also known as the Black Tuesday Fire , began on January 10, 2005 on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia , Australia . Nine people were killed and 113 injured in the fire. It has been one of the most devastating bushfires in Australia since the Victoria and South Australia bushfires in 1983 . Bushfire damage on the Eyre Peninsula was exceeded by the 2009 Victoria bushfire with 173 deaths.
Course of the bush fire
The bushfire ignited in the agricultural area north of Wangary and spread eastward into the Lower Eyre Penisula , a relatively sparsely populated area. On the first day, 1,450 km² of land and 480 km² were burned near the small towns of Wangary, Wanilla , North Shields , Poonindie , Louth Bay , Greenpatch and Yallunda Flat . The fire brigades had basically contained the fire on the first day, but due to unfavorable weather conditions on January 11th, with a wind speed of 70 km / h and temperatures above 40 ° C, it rekindled and overcame the resistance lines. More than 300 firefighters from the South Australian Country Fire Service , assisted by the local landowners, fought the fire. It was so strong that Port Lincoln Airport had to be temporarily closed and more firefighters arriving by plane to help land in Adelaide .
At the height of the bush fire, the fire index for grasslands of 350 was reached, which already leads to an emergency call ( code red ) at a value of 150 . The fire was advancing at a speed of 17 km / h. When the firestorm moved through the small town of North Shields near Port Lincoln , residents had to leave their homes and flee to the beach. Some residents at Louth Bay had to swim to save themselves from the flames in the sea, where they were rescued from the seaside by emergency workers.
The Eyre Peninsula area was declared a state of emergency by the government of South Australia from January 12th to 16th. The fire brigades needed until January 14th to contain the fire.
Damage
Eight people, including four children, were burned in their cars while escaping the fire and a school teacher was killed in a museum in North Fields. About 50 houses, dozen of cars, 15 caravans, two buses, three vacation homes, a shop, three trucks and four boats were burned. The infrastructure was badly affected by the bushfire, water, electricity and telephone lines and 95% of the agricultural fences were destroyed. A total of 47,000 head of cattle, mostly sheep, and 8900 km² of land were burned.
Web links
- ga.gov.au (PDF; 580 kB): Eyre Peninsula Bushfire Fieldwork (with map of the fire area and pictures of the destruction)
- cfs.sa.gov.au : District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula Bushfire Safer Places (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c royalcommission.vic.gov.au (PDF; 78 kB): Eyre Peninsula Bushfire , in English, accessed on December 14, 2011
- ↑ a b griffith.edu.au ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Householder Preparedness an Response in the Eyre Peninsula Bushfire , accessed December 14, 2011
