History of savage fires
Major blazes on path of destruction in Geelong region
Summer is coming — and with it the threat of bushfires looms again. Victoria is one of the most fire-prone areas in the world with a history of catastrophic bushfires.
Many things can ignite a bushfire. Some, such as lightning strikes, are natural and cannot be prevented while others are from human activity. All of them are dangerous.
The recent fires in California have dominated the news and been a stark reminder of nature’s fury.
Bushfires are a natural part of Australian — and our region’s — history. Since records began, Geelong has experienced 11 major blazes.
On Christmas Day in 2015 fire engulfed the towns of Separation Creek and Wye River on the Great Ocean Road, destroying more than 100 homes.
BLACK THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1851
Geelong was still in its infancy when the threat of bushfire made its presence felt. In 1851 the Geelong Advertiser reported: “The appearance of the moving mass of sand, or rather fine dust, which apparently filled the whole space between earth and sky was very similar to the descriptions given of hot whirlwinds which sweep across the deserts of Arabia.”
BLACK FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1939
In 1939 fire ravaged Lorne, the Geelong Advertiser reported: “The scenes on the river, beach and foreshore resembled an earthquake with visitors and residents heading for the water to escape the flames. Motor cars were run into the river shallows and on to the beach for safety, while family groups carrying a few hastily gathered personal belongings thronged the water’s edge.”
BLACK WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1969
Again, on a day to become known as Black Wednesday, bushfires engulfed Lara. Eighteen people died in the fires, including 10 people overcome by smoke while trapped in their cars on the Princes Highway.
ASH WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1983
On a catastrophic day, Ash Wednesday, large fires spread destruction throughout the state. In Geelong, large clouds of smoke, dust and cinders engulfed the city. The Otway Ranges burned, as did townships along the Great Ocean Road. A resident of Aireys Inlet was quoted as saying: “It was just this great force. It wasn’t fire by itself. It wasn’t just the wind. It was something different to that ... a monster.”
ANAKIE FIRE, JANUARY 22, 2006
In January 2006 Victoria was on high fire alert. A lightning strike caused a fire in the Brisbane Ranges National Park. The fire broke the containment lines and raced towards Anakie, with spot fires occurring in the paddocks just north of the town. The bushfire raged for almost a week with Country Fire Authority (CFA) firefighters from 90 brigades fighting the fire that destroyed homes and burnt through almost 7000 hectares. Many local men and women volunteered to fight the fires and help save lives, homes and the wildlife.
“(In early times) firefighters didn’t have the hi-tech equipment of today. They formed human chains, with buckets of water being passed along from one person to the next, with the end person dousing the fire with the water.”