Build-up to major events
On 8 January 2003, lighting strikes started four fires very close to Canberra. Despite their very small sizes, low intensity, these fires were not extinguished or contained by emergency services.
Major Events of Bush Fires
- Temperatures for the 18th were recorded at 40 degrees Celsius, with winds in excess of 60km per hour.
- At 9am on the 18th, residents living in the western suburbs of Canberra started reporting burnt leaves landing around their homes, by 2pm police had evacuated the suburb of Tharwa. - At 2.45pm a state of emergency was declared by the ACT’s Chief Minister and within 15 minutes the fires reached urban areas, in less than an hour the first reports of homes on fire were coming in from fire crews. - Within 10 hours 4 people died, 490 were injured and over 500 homes destroyed. - A large number of suburbs lost power due to the fires and high winds, many suburbs were also without communications and water. - The following day, on the 19th of January, the Mt Stromlo Observatory was destroyed. The observatory was not only a highly active observatory, it was also historically significant on a national level. - In total the fires burnt 164,000 hectares, which was close to 70% of the Territories total area. Aftermath- 4 people had died
- 490 were seriously injured from the blaze - 164,000 hectares were burnt during the course of the fire. Almost 70% of all the land of the ACT. |