Black Saturday bushfires#Arson

{{See also|Early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave}}

File:Melbourne City Heatwave Min & Max Temps 09 (Concept).png during the peak of the heatwave]]

A week before the fires, a significant heatwave affected southeastern Australia. From 28 to 30 January, Melbourne broke temperature records by experiencing three consecutive days above {{convert|43|°C|°F}}, with the temperature peaking at {{convert|45.1|°C|°F}} on 30 January, the third hottest day in the city's history.

The wave of heat was caused by a slow-moving high-pressure system that settled over the Tasman Sea, with a combination of an intense tropical low located off the North West Australian coast and a monsoon trough over northern Australia, which produced ideal conditions for hot tropical air to be directed down over southeastern Australia.{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/statements/scs17d.pdf|title=The exceptional January–February 2009 heatwave in southeastern Australia|date=12 February 2009|publisher=National Climate Centre|work=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=18 November 2009|archive-date=13 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913022711/http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/statements/scs17d.pdf|url-status=live}}

The February fires commenced on a day when several localities across the state, including Melbourne, recorded their highest temperatures since records began in 1859.{{Cite news|last=Townsend|first=Hamish|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/city-swelters-records-tumble-in-heat-20090207-80ai.html|title=City swelters, records tumble in heat|date=7 February 2009|work=The Age|access-date=7 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=8 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208073446/http://www.theage.com.au/national/city-swelters-records-tumble-in-heat-20090207-80ai.html|url-status=live}} On 6 February 2009—the day before the fires started—the Country Fire Authority chief Russell Rees warned "We are in almost uncharted territory" in terms of bushfire conditions.{{Cite web |title=The Killing Season: Episode 1 The Prime Minister And His Loyal Deputy |url=https://iview.abc.net.au/show/killing-season/series/0/video/NC1584H001S00 |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=ABC iview |language=en}} The Premier of Victoria John Brumby issued a warning about the extreme weather conditions expected on 7 February: "It's just as bad a day as you can imagine and on top of that the state is just tinder-dry. People need to exercise real common sense tomorrow".{{Cite news|last=Moncrief|first=Mark|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/worst-day-in-history-brumby-warns-of-fire-danger-20090206-7zf1.html|title='Worst day in history': Brumby warns of fire danger|date=6 February 2009|work=The Age|access-date=11 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209100743/http://www.theage.com.au/national/worst-day-in-history-brumby-warns-of-fire-danger-20090206-7zf1.html|url-status=live}} The Premier went on to state that it was expected to be the "worst day [of fire conditions] in the history of the state".

{{more citations needed|section|date=February 2018}}

File:Melbourne-temp-2009-02-07.png

More than 19,000 firefighting personnel, mainly from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), were deployed across the state on Friday evening (6 February) in anticipation of the extreme conditions the following day.{{cite web|url=https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/bushfire-black-saturday-victoria-2009/|title=Bushfire - Black Saturday|website=Australian Disater Resilience Knowledge Hub|access-date=15 December 2024}} By mid-morning Saturday, hot northwesterly winds in excess of {{convert|100|km/h|mph}} hit the state,{{cite web|url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5cef8359d07b4b6984905c349f832af1|title=Black Saturday Bushfires|website=ArcGIS Story Maps|last1=Cripps|first1=Grace|date=25 November 2019|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717094949/https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5cef8359d07b4b6984905c349f832af1|url-status=live}} accompanied by extremely high temperatures and extremely low humidity; a total fire ban was declared for the entire state of Victoria.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.themonthly.com.au/monthly-essays-robert-manne-why-we-weren-t-warned-victorian-bushfires-and-royal-commission-1780|title=Why we weren't warned: The Victorian bushfires and the royal commission|website=The Monthly|last1=Manne|first1=Robert|date=July 2009|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=2 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402010643/https://www.themonthly.com.au/monthly-essays-robert-manne-why-we-weren-t-warned-victorian-bushfires-and-royal-commission-1780|url-status=live}}

As the day progressed, the highest-ever temperatures recorded to date were reached. Melbourne hit {{convert|46.4|C|F}}, the hottest temperature ever recorded for the city{{cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/heat-records-smashed-ahead-of-hottest-day-since-black-saturday-20190125-p50tj1.html|title=Melbourne weather: Heat records smashed ahead of hottest day since Black Saturday|website=The Age|last1=Koob|first1=Simone F.|last2=Cunningham|first2=Melissa|date=25 January 2019|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=19 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019134708/https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/heat-records-smashed-ahead-of-hottest-day-since-black-saturday-20190125-p50tj1.html|url-status=live}} and humidity levels dropped to as low as two percent. The McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index reached unprecedented levels, ranging from 160 to over 200. This was higher than the fire weather conditions experienced on Black Friday in 1939 and Ash Wednesday in 1983.{{cite web|url=http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/02/bushfires-and-climate/#more-654|title=Bushfires and extreme heat in southeast Australia|last=Karoly|first=David|date=16 February 2009|publisher=Real Climate|access-date=17 February 2009|archive-date=19 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219171149/http://realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/02/bushfires-and-climate#more-654|url-status=live}}

Around midday, as wind speeds were reaching their peak, an incorrectly rigged 'SWER' (single-wire earth return) mains power cable was ripped down at Kilmore East. This sparked a bushfire that became the deadliest and most intense firestorm ever recorded in Australia. The overwhelming majority of fire activity occurred between the afternoon of 7 February and 7:00 pm, a period when wind speed and temperature were at their highest, and humidity at its lowest.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-04-23/power-company-faces-class-action-over-black/1660796|title=Power company faces class action over Black Saturday|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|last1=Brown|first1=Rachel|date=23 April 2009|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416090152/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-04-23/power-company-faces-class-action-over-black/1660796|url-status=live}}

[[File:2009 Victorian bushfires smoke plume over NZ.jpg|thumb|right|300px

|MODIS imagery shows smoke from the fires carried by winds over the Tasman Sea to New Zealand's South Island on 8 February]]

;Wednesday, 28 January 2009

• Delburn fire commenced in Central Gippsland; arson suspected.{{Cite news|author1=Lanigan, Roslyn|author2=Woods, Kim|name-list-style=amp|title=Gippsland faces third fire|work=Weekly Times|date=29 January 2009|url=http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/01/29/47075_latest-news.html|access-date=11 February 2009|archive-date=15 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215154148/http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/01/29/47075_latest-news.html|url-status=live}}

;Wednesday, 4 February

• Bunyip State Park blaze commenced.

;Saturday, 7 February (Black Saturday)

• 05:00 am – Bunyip State Park fire jumped containment lines; no other major fire activity.{{Cite web|title=Black Saturday|url=http://www.abc.net.au/innovation/blacksaturday/#/timeline/sequence/chapter/1/showid/0000271|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004221626/http://abc.net.au/innovation/blacksaturday/#/timeline/sequence/chapter/1/showid/0000271|archive-date=4 October 2009|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|access-date=6 April 2016}}
• Late morning – Many fires sprang up as temperatures rose and wind speeds increased.
• 11:50 am – Power lines fell in high winds igniting the Kilmore East fire (Kinglake/Whittlesea area). The fire was fanned by {{convert|125|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} winds, entered a pine plantation, grew in intensity, and rapidly headed southeast through the Wandong area.{{Cite news|title=Hill paddock is pinpointed as area where fire started|date=12 February 2009|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25043261-662,00.html|work=Herald Sun|access-date=17 February 2009}} {{Dead link|date=August 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}
• 12:30 pm – Horsham fire commenced.{{Cite news|url=http://wimmera.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/horsham-fire-the-latest-report/1427805.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231084331/http://wimmera.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/horsham-fire-the-latest-report/1427805.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 December 2012|title=Horsham fire: The latest report|work=Wimmera Mail-Times|access-date=18 February 2009}}
• 12:30 pm – ABC Local Radio abandoned regular programming to cover the fire situation.
• 12:45 pm – Hume Freeway was closed after fire crews were unable to contain Kilmore East fire.
• Early afternoon – ABC Local Radio received calls from residents of affected areas supplying immediate up-to-date information on fire activity.
• 2:55 pm – Murrindindi Mill fire (Marysville area) first spotted from Mt Despair fire tower.{{cite web|url=http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/getdoc/d2c3aadc-9e1d-4799-9526-6eec70333197/Transcript_VBRC_Day_060_06-Oct-2009|title=transcript page 8208, Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission|publisher=Victorian Government|date=6 October 2009|access-date=10 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517022420/http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/getdoc/d2c3aadc-9e1d-4799-9526-6eec70333197/Transcript_VBRC_Day_060_06-Oct-2009|archive-date=17 May 2010|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-trail-of-destruction--and-the-outlook-20090209-814n.html?page=fullpage|title=The trail of destruction ... and the outlook|newspaper=The Age|date=9 February 2009|access-date=18 February 2009|location=Melbourne|first1=Ben|last1=Schneiders|first2=Farrah|last2=Tomazin|archive-date=3 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103003239/http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-trail-of-destruction--and-the-outlook-20090209-814n.html?page=fullpage|url-status=live}}
• 3:04 pm – temperature in Melbourne peaked at {{convert|46.4|C|F}}.
• 4:20 pm – Kilmore East fire front arrived at Strathewen.{{Cite news|last=Stewart|first=Cameron|author2=Corrie Perkin|title=How the battle with Victoria's bushfires was fought and lost|work=The Australian|date=14 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/how-the-battle-for-victoria-was-fought-and-lost/story-e6frg6n6-1111118847125|access-date=17 February 2009|archive-date=31 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331025837/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/how-the-battle-for-victoria-was-fought-and-lost/story-e6frg6n6-1111118847125|url-status=live}}
• 4:20 pm – Murrindindi Mill fire impacted Narbethong.
• Mid-afternoon – smoke from Kilmore East firestorm prevented planes from mapping the fire edge.
• 4:30 pm – number of individual fires across the state increased into the hundreds.
• 4:30 pm – fire commenced at Eaglehawk, near Bendigo.{{Cite news|last=Perkin|first=Corrie|title=Cigarette butt blamed for town's losses|work=The Australian|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/cigarette-butt-blamed-for-towns-losses/story-e6frg6n6-1111118795113|access-date=17 February 2009}}
• 4:45 pm – Kilmore East fire front arrived at Kinglake.
• 5:00 pm – wind direction changed from northwesterly to southwesterly in Melbourne (see Fawkner Beacon Wind chart for 7 February 2009).
• 5:10 pm – air temperature in Melbourne dropped from over {{convert|45|C|F}} to around {{convert|30|C|F}} in fifteen minutes.
• 5:30 pm – wind change arrived at Kilmore East and Murrindindi Mill (Kinglake/Marysville) fire fronts.
• 5:45 pm – Kilmore East fire front arrived in Flowerdale.
• 6:00 pm – Beechworth fire commenced.{{cite web|title=Beechworth Area Fire – Community Update Newsletter|url=http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/incidents/images/news_image/130209_Beechworth_Fire_Newsletter_FINALAM_(2)_21551.pdf|publisher=Country Fire Authority|date=13 February 2009|access-date=18 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224220121/http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/incidents/images/news_image/130209_Beechworth_Fire_Newsletter_FINALAM_%282%29_21551.pdf|archive-date=24 February 2009}}
• 6:00 pm – Kilmore East fire smoke plume and pyrocumulus cloud reached {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} high.
• 6:45 pm – Murrindindi Mill fire front arrived at Marysville.{{Cite news|title=Marysville residents recall Black Saturday for police probe|last=Strong|first=Geoff|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/marysville-residents-recall-black-saturday-for-police-probe-20090305-8p25.html|work=The Age|date=5 March 2009|access-date=7 March 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=6 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106143039/http://www.theage.com.au/national/marysville-residents-recall-black-saturday-for-police-probe-20090305-8p25.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=Marysville residents 'should have been warned to leave town|last=Milovanovic|first=Selma|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/marysville-residents-should-have-been-warned-to-leave-town-20090406-9u3t.html|work=The Age|date=6 April 2009|access-date=10 April 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=9 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409064758/http://www.theage.com.au/national/marysville-residents-should-have-been-warned-to-leave-town-20090406-9u3t.html|url-status=live}}
• 8:30 pm – Victorian Health Emergency Co-ordination Centre notified Melbourne hospitals to prepare for burn victims.
• 8:57 pm – CFA chief officer first notified that casualties had been confirmed.
• 10:00 pm – Victoria Police announced an initial estimate of 14 fatalities.

;Sunday, 8 February

• Kilmore East and Murrindindi Mill fires merged to form the Kinglake fire complex.{{Cite news|title=Yarra Valley tourist town Marysville devastated by bushfire|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,27574,25024406-2862,00.html|work=Herald Sun|date=8 February 2009|access-date=22 February 2009|archive-date=13 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213044502/http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,27574,25024406-2862,00.html|url-status=live}}
• Wilsons Promontory fire ignited by lightning.{{cite web|title=Tidal River camping ground evacuated as fire spreads|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2486078.htm|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=9 February 2009|access-date=22 February 2009|archive-date=12 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212174030/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2486078.htm|url-status=dead}}
• Victoria Police increased estimate to 25 fatalities.

File:2009 Victorian bushfires map 10 February annotated.JPG

;Tuesday, 10 February

• Spot fires from Kinglake complex fires merged to form the Maroondah/Yarra complex.

;Tuesday, 17 February

• Six fires still burned out of control, with another nineteen contained.{{Cite news|title=Winds cause nervous moments for Healesville|work=The Age|date=17 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/winds-cause-nervous-moments-for-healesville-20090217-89gu.html|access-date=17 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=19 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219160428/http://www.theage.com.au/national/winds-cause-nervous-moments-for-healesville-20090217-89gu.html|url-status=live}}
• Containment lines surrounded 85 per cent of the Kinglake–Murrindindi complex.
• The Kilmore East – Murrindindi complex south fire burned in Melbourne's O'Shannassy and Armstrong Creek water catchments.
• Bunyip and Beechworth fires almost contained.

;Thursday, 19 February

• Victoria Police increased estimate to 208 fatalities.

;Monday, 23 February

• Temperatures in the mid-30 degrees Celsius (mid-90 degrees Fahrenheit), northerly winds, and a cool change precipitated a flare-up of many of the fires, and ignited several new fires.
• The most significant new fires were in the southern Dandenong Ranges near Upwey, south of Daylesford (near Hogans Lane, Musk, Victoria), and in the Otway Ranges.
• Weather conditions directed previously burning fires in the Yarra Ranges towards settlements in the upper Yarra Valley, but the fires were of a low intensity and were quickly contained.

;Friday, 27 February

• Bunyip fire still burnt within control lines in the Bunyip State Park and State Forest areas.CFA Awareness Message – Bunyip Ridge Track Fire 7.00pm, 27 February 2009
• The Kilmore East – Murrindindi complex north fire burned within containment lines on the southeastern flank.CFA Downgrade Message – Alert to Awareness-Kilmore East Murrindindi Complex North Fire, 27 February 2009
• The Kilmore East – Murrindindi complex south fire activity continued in areas close to several towns in the Yarra Valley near both Yarra Glen and Warburton.CFA Awareness Message – Kilmore East – Murrindindi Complex South Fire 7.20 pm, 27 February 2009
• The Wilsons Promontory Cathedral fire had burnt {{convert|24150|ha|acre|abbr=on}} and was still burning.CFA Awareness Message – Wilsons Prom Cathedral Fire 6.00pm, 27 February 2009
• The French Island fire slowly burnt in uninhabited grass and scrub bushland on the northeast end of the island.Awareness Message – French Island Fire 6.50pm, 27 February 2009

;Tuesday, 3 March 2009:

• Extreme bushfire conditions predicted for Monday night and early Tuesday morning, involving very strong northerlies, with a change forecast to arrive by Tuesday morning. Mobile phone companies trialled technology by sending Victorians and Tasmanians three million SMS messages on behalf of Victoria Police.{{Cite news|last=Dobbin|first=Marika|title=Victorians receive fire text warning|work=The Age|date=3 March 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/victorians-receive-fire-text-warning-20090302-8mfq.html|access-date=3 March 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=3 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303121100/http://www.theage.com.au/national/victorians-receive-fire-text-warning-20090302-8mfq.html|url-status=live}}

;Wednesday, 4 March

• Cooler conditions and rain from 4–6 March enabled firefighters to control and contain several fires, with the Kilmore East – Murrindindi complex south fire being completely contained.
• Predictions for favourable weather signalled the easing of the threat to settlements from the major fires that had been burning since 7 February.

;Mid-March

• Favourable conditions aided containment efforts and extinguished many of the fires.

File:February 7 Victorian bushfires smoke east of Melbourne.JPG

The Kinglake fire complex was named after two earlier fires, the Kilmore East fire and the Murrindindi Mill fire, merged following the wind change on the evening of 7 February.{{Cite news|title=Reports of major casualties at Kinglake|publisher=Geelong Advertiser|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/02/08/49445_news.html|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209073155/http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/02/08/49445_news.html|url-status=live}} The complex was the largest of the many fires burning on Black Saturday, ultimately destroying over {{convert|330000|ha|acre|abbr=on}}.{{Cite news|title=At a glance: where bushfires are burning|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485609.htm?section=justin|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209112549/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485609.htm?section=justin|url-status=dead}} It was also the most destructive, with over 1,800 houses destroyed and 159 lives lost in the region.

Just before midday on 7 February, high winds felled a {{convert|2|km|mi|abbr=on}} section of power lines owned by SP AusNet in Kilmore East, sparking a fire at approximately 11:45 am in open grasslands that adjoined pine plantations. The fire was fanned by extreme northwesterly winds, and travelled {{convert|50|km|abbr=on}} southeast in a narrow fire front through Wandong and Clonbinane, into Kinglake National Park, and then onto the towns of Humevale, Kinglake West, Strathewen and St Andrews.{{cite book|author1=Teague, Bernard|title=The Kilmore East Fire: Final Report|author2=McLeod, Ronald|author3=Pascoe, Susan|date=July 2010|isbn=978-0-9807408-2-0|edition=1|volume=1: The Fires and the Fire-Related Deaths|page=75|chapter=Chapter 5|publisher=2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission|quote=The fire started after the conductor between poles 38 and 39 failed and the live conductor came into contact with a cable stay supporting pole 38. This contact caused arcing that ignited vegetation near the base of pole 38. An electrical fault was recorded at 11:45...|access-date=6 February 2015|chapter-url=http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Finaldocuments/volume-1/PF/VBRC_Vol1_Chapter05_PF.pdf|chapter-format=PDF – 1,478 KB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112015122/http://royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Finaldocuments/volume-1/PF/VBRC_Vol1_Chapter05_PF.pdf|archive-date=12 November 2020|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/death-toll-may-reach-more-than-40-police-20090207-80ao.html|title=Death toll may reach more than 40: police|date=7 February 2009|work=The Age|access-date=7 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=8 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208072330/http://www.theage.com.au/national/death-toll-may-reach-more-than-40-police-20090207-80ao.html|url-status=live}}

The cool change passed through the area around 5:30 pm, bringing strong southwesterly winds. The wind change turned the initial long and narrow fire band into a wide firefront that moved in a northeast direction through Kinglake, Steels Creek, Dixons Creek, Chum Creek, Toolangi, Hazeldene, Broadford and Flowerdale.{{Cite news|title=Kilmore fires cause grave concern|publisher=Geelong Advertiser|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/02/08/49421_news.html|access-date=9 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209073134/http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/02/08/49421_news.html|archive-date=9 February 2009}}

The area became the worst-impacted in the state, with a total of 120 deaths{{cite web|title=Bushfires death toll|url=http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=19190|access-date=31 March 2009|date=30 March 2009|work=Victoria Police|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313151520/http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=19190|archive-date=13 March 2009}} and more than 1,200 homes destroyed.

The cause of the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire was found by the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission to be an ageing SP AusNet power line.

File:Victorian 2009 Bushfires - Steels Creek 1.jpg at 6:11 pm]]

File:2009 Victorian bushfires smoke Warrandyte.JPG, looking northeast across the Yarra River, towards the Kinglake fire complex on 8 February]]

File:2009 Lake Mountain after bushfire DSC 0335.JPG toboggan run after the fire]]

According to eyewitnesses, the Murrindindi Mill fire started at 2:55 pm,{{cite web|url=http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/getdoc/d2c3aadc-9e1d-4799-9526-6eec70333197/Transcript_VBRC_Day_060_06-Oct-2009|title=transcript pages 8208, 8225 & 8246, Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission|publisher=Victorian Government|access-date=10 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517022420/http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/getdoc/d2c3aadc-9e1d-4799-9526-6eec70333197/Transcript_VBRC_Day_060_06-Oct-2009|archive-date=17 May 2010|url-status=dead}} while Victoria Police twice told the Royal Commission that it commenced at "about 2.30 pm".{{cite web|url=http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Documents/Document-files/Exhibits/WIT-3010-001-0338|title=Detective Superintendent Paul Hollowood's witness statement paragraph 65|publisher=Victorian Government|access-date=10 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706123119/http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Documents/Document-files/Exhibits/WIT-3010-001-0338|archive-date=6 July 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Documents/Document-files/Exhibits/WIT-3010-003-0287|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924092239/http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Documents/Document-files/Exhibits/WIT-3010-003-0287|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2015|title=Detective Superintendent Paul Hollowood's supplementary witness statement, paragraph 20|publisher=Victorian Government|access-date=10 February 2010}} It burned southeast across the Black Range, parallel to the Kilmore fire, towards Narbethong. Experienced Air Attack Coordinator Shaun Lawlor reported flame heights of "at least 100 metres" as the fire traversed the Black Range.{{cite web|url=http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/getdoc/d2c3aadc-9e1d-4799-9526-6eec70333197/Transcript_VBRC_Day_060_06-Oct-2009|title=transcript page 8261, Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission|publisher=Victorian Government|access-date=10 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517022420/http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/getdoc/d2c3aadc-9e1d-4799-9526-6eec70333197/Transcript_VBRC_Day_060_06-Oct-2009|archive-date=17 May 2010|url-status=dead}} At Narbethong, it destroyed 95 per cent of the town's houses. When the southerly change struck, it swept towards the town of Marysville.{{Cite news|last=Cowan|first=Jane|display-authors=etal|title=Wiped out: Town destroyed by killer fires|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485378.htm|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209112921/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485378.htm|url-status=dead}}

Late in the afternoon of 7 February, residents had anticipated that the fire front would bypass Marysville. At about 5:00 pm, power was lost to the town. Around 5:30 pm, the wind died away, however, minutes later it returned from a different direction, bringing the fire up the valley with it.{{cite news|last=Davies|first=Julie-Anne|title=Razed township fears for missing|newspaper=The Australian|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25026480-2702,00.html|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211143130/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25026480-2702,00.html|archive-date=11 February 2009|url-status=dead}}

Afterwards, a police sergeant said that the main street in Marysville had been destroyed: "The motel at one end of it partially exists. The bakery has survived. Don't ask me how. Everything else is just nuked."{{Cite news|last=Coslovich|first=Gabriella|title=Sickening wait for proof of life, or death|work=The Age|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/sickening-wait-for-proof-of-life-or-death-20090208-8112.html?page=2|access-date=9 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211142434/http://www.theage.com.au/national/sickening-wait-for-proof-of-life-or-death-20090208-8112.html?page=2|url-status=live}} Reports on 11 February estimated that around 100 of the town's population of approximately 500 were believed to have perished, and that only "a dozen" buildings were left. Premier Brumby described the situation: "There's no activity, there's no people, there's no buildings, there's no birds, there's no animals, everything's just gone. So the fatality rate will be very high."{{cite web|title=Marysville toll may be 1 in 5|url=http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/02/11/51975_latest-news.html|work=The Weekly Times|access-date=9 February 2011|date=11 February 2009|archive-date=15 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315123959/http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/02/11/51975_latest-news.html|url-status=live}}

Eventually 34 fatalities were confirmed in the Marysville area, with all but 14 of over 400 buildings destroyed. Other localities severely affected included Buxton and Taggerty.{{cite web|title=Yea-Murrundindi map|publisher=CFA|url=http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/incidents/images/news_image/Yea-Murrundindi_MediaMap_20090208_0015_21109.pdf|access-date=8 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224220055/http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/incidents/images/news_image/Yea-Murrundindi_MediaMap_20090208_0015_21109.pdf|archive-date=24 February 2009}}

To the south of the fire complex, visitors and residents were stranded at Yarra Glen when fire surrounded the town on three sides.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/we-can-see-flames-people-stranded-in-yarra-glen-20090207-80e3.html|title='We can see flames': people stranded in Yarra Glen|date=8 February 2008|work=The Age|access-date=8 February 2009|location=Melbourne|first=Hamish|last=Townsend|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209140340/http://www.theage.com.au/national/we-can-see-flames-people-stranded-in-yarra-glen-20090207-80e3.html|url-status=live}} Houses just to the north of Yarra Glen were destroyed and large areas of grassy paddocks burnt.

Investigators initially believed that the cause of the fire that originated near the Murrundindi Mill and swept through Narbethong and Marysville was arson, with several suspects investigated.{{Cite news|title=Arsonists may have lit Marysville fire – Nixon|work=The Age|date=12 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/arsonists-may-have-lit-marysville-fire-nixon-20090212-852y.html|access-date=12 February 2009|location=Melbourne|first=Robyn|last=Grace|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717094950/https://www.theage.com.au/national/arson-suspects-arrested-20090212-852y.html|url-status=live}} Later investigations prompted a 2011 declaration that arson had not been responsible.{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/marysville-blaze-not-the-work-of-arsonist-20110625-1gkan.html|location=Melbourne|work=The Age|title=Marysville blaze not the work of arsonist|date=25 June 2011|access-date=25 June 2011|archive-date=28 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628204827/http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/marysville-blaze-not-the-work-of-arsonist-20110625-1gkan.html|url-status=live}}

In Beechworth, a fire burnt over {{convert|30000|ha|acre}} and threatened the towns of Yackandandah, Stanley, Bruarong, Dederang, Kancoona, Kancoona South, Coralbank, Glen Creek, and Running Creek.{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485588.htm|title=Smoke, cloud restrict Beechworth fire info|date=8 February 2009|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|access-date=8 February 2009|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209112539/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485588.htm|url-status=dead}} The fire ignited from a felled power line at around 6:00 pm on 7 February, {{convert|3|km|abbr=on}} south of Beechworth, before being driven south through pine plantations by hot northerly winds.{{cite news|author1=McNaught, Megan|author2=Pilcher, Georgie|name-list-style=amp|title=Fast-moving blaze hit with little warning|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25025982-2862,00.html|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=31 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231004421/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/archives/old-news-pages/blaze-hit-with-little-warning/story-e6frf8zo-1111118794037|url-status=live}}

The fire destroyed an unknown number of buildings at Mudgegonga, southeast of Beechworth, with two residents confirmed dead.{{Cite news|title=Buildings destroyed near Beechworth|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485547.htm|access-date=8 February 2009|archive-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211163000/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485547.htm|url-status=dead}} Dense smoke and cloud cover had hindered assessment of the Beechworth fire, but as conditions cleared late on 8 February, aerial crews were able to commence surveys of the situation.{{Cite news|title=Smoke, cloud restrict Beechworth fire info|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485588.htm|access-date=8 February 2009|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209112539/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485588.htm|url-status=dead}}

Strong winds fuelled the fire on the night of 8 February, and lightning ignited a new fire near Kergunyah around midday on 9 February.{{cite news|last=Pilcher|first=Georgie|title=Fresh fire jumps river and threatens towns|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/hundreds-battle-to-control-blazes/story-e6frf7jo-1111118804624|access-date=10 February 2009|archive-date=22 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322124845/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/hundreds-battle-to-control-blazes/story-e6frf7jo-1111118804624|url-status=live}} More than 440 personnel worked to contain a separate front that threatened Gundowring and Eskdale, having jumped the Kiewa River. Late on the night of 9 February the greatest threat was to Eskdale, and fires also burnt in pine plantations {{convert|8|km|mi}} from the large town of Myrtleford, at the western end of the fire area. While smaller towns to the east, including Gundowring and Kergunyah, remained under threat, the CFA said that there was no immediate danger to the larger towns of Beechworth and Yackandandah on the northern fringe of the fire area.{{cite news|author1=Hannan, Ewin|author2=Wallace, Rick|name-list-style=amp|title=Inquiry ordered into Victoria bushfires, hunt for arsonists begins|newspaper=The Australian|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation-weeps-as-toll-tops-166/story-e6frg6n6-1111118804823|access-date=10 February 2009}}

By 10 February, firefighters had completed a {{convert|115|km|mi|adj=on|abbr=on}} containment line around the Beechworth fire, and sought to construct {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} more, though the fire continued to burn out of control.{{cite news|title=Prisoners help fight Beechworth blaze|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/prisoners-help-fight-beechworth-blaze/1429502.aspx|access-date=10 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215011337/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/prisoners-help-fight-beechworth-blaze/1429502.aspx|archive-date=15 February 2009}} By that afternoon, threat messages for the area had been downgraded, though firefighters were tackling a separate fire near Koetong, to the east of the main Beechworth fire, of between {{convert|50|and|80|ha|acre|abbr=on}}.{{Cite news|title=North-east residents urged to remain on fire alert|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/10/2487509.htm|access-date=10 February 2009|archive-date=13 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213064816/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/10/2487509.htm|url-status=dead}} Residents of Beechworth and surrounding towns were advised on the evening of 10 February to expect increased smoke cover as 250 firefighters would be undertaking backburning to eliminate fuel within the control lines.{{Cite news|title=Smoke increases with Beechworth backburning|work=Border Mail|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/local/news/general/smoke-increases-with-beechworth-backburning/1429957.aspx|access-date=10 February 2009|archive-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211211108/http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/local/news/general/smoke-increases-with-beechworth-backburning/1429957.aspx|url-status=live}}

The Beechworth Correctional Centre minimum-security prison offered up to thirty of its inmates to provide assistance to firefighters; a local DSE manager said that though untrained personnel would not be allowed at the fire front, the prisoners would be welcome in support roles.

File:Bendigo Fires 07022009 1.jpg at 5:52 pm]]

A fire to the west of the city of Bendigo burned out {{convert|500|ha|acre}}.{{Cite news|title=Meeting held for fire-affected Bendigo residents|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485623.htm|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209222753/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485623.htm|url-status=dead}} The fire broke out at about 4:30 pm on the afternoon of 7 February, and burned through Long Gully and Eaglehawk, coming within {{convert|2|km|abbr=on}} of central Bendigo, before it was brought under control late on 7 February. It destroyed around 61 houses{{cite web|url=http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/news/local/news/general/inferno-warning-cfa/1435265.aspx|title=Inferno warning: CFA – Local News – News – General|publisher=Bendigo Advertiser|date=17 February 2009|access-date=29 December 2011|archive-date=13 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213003037/http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/news/local/news/general/inferno-warning-cfa/1435265.aspx|url-status=live}} in Bendigo's western suburbs, and damaged an electricity distribution line, resulting in blackouts to substantial parts of the city.{{cite news|title=The man up the road is on fire|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25025484-2862,00.html|access-date=9 February 2009|first1=Emily|last1=Power|first2=Karen|last2=Collier|archive-date=30 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230150352/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/archives/old-news-pages/the-man-up-the-road-is-on-fire/story-e6frf8zo-1111118793125|url-status=live}} One Long Gully resident, ill and confined to his house, was killed in the fire despite the efforts of his neighbours to rescue him. The fire changed direction late on 7 February with the cool change, and headed back towards Eaglehawk; it was contained at 9:52 pm, though it was still burning within containment lines well into the next day.{{cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Peter|title=Fire had a mind of its own, like a beast|newspaper=The Age|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/fire-had-a-mind-of-its-own-like-a-beast-20090208-8115.html|access-date=9 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211143240/http://www.theage.com.au/national/fire-had-a-mind-of-its-own-like-a-beast-20090208-8115.html|url-status=live}}

A relief centre was set up at Kangaroo Flat Senior Citizens Centre.{{cite web|title=Downgrade Message – Urgent Threat to Final Advice Bracewell Fire (Bendigo), 2.30 am|publisher=CFA|url=http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/incidents/incident_updates.htm#1476708465993|access-date=8 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118001216/http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/incidents/incident_updates.htm|archive-date=18 January 2009}} During the fire, residents from Long Gully, Eaglehawk, Maiden Gully, California Gully, and West Bendigo were evacuated and advised to assemble at the centre.{{Cite news|title=Bendigo Battles Wall of Flames|publisher=Bendigo Advertiser|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/news/local/news/general/bendigo-battles-wall-of-flames/1427780.aspx|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211085656/http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/news/local/news/general/bendigo-battles-wall-of-flames/1427780.aspx|url-status=live}} A town meeting was held for the affected residents on 8 February. On the same day, Victoria Police indicated that they were investigating whether arson was the cause of the fire.

The CFA initially suspected that the most likely cause was a cigarette butt discarded from a car or truck along Bracewell Street in Maiden Gully.{{Cite news|last=Perkin|first=Corrie|title=Cigarette butt blamed for West Bendigo fire; two dead, 50 homes lost|publisher=News.com.au|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25027063-1243,00.html|access-date=9 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210111138/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C27574%2C25027063-1243%2C00.html|archive-date=10 February 2009}} However, the arson squad and local Bendigo detectives spent 9 February investigating the fire scene, and while they could not determine exactly what had caused the fire as of 10 February, they suspected arson.{{Cite news|title=Arson suspected in deadly Bendigo blaze|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/10/2487050.htm|access-date=10 February 2009|archive-date=12 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212185307/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/10/2487050.htm|url-status=dead}} On 10 June 2009, Victoria Police announced that they were 'completely satisfied' that the fire had been deliberately lit.{{cite news|last=Cooper|first=Mex|title=Black Saturday: Bendigo fatal fire 'arson'|newspaper=The Age|date=10 July 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/black-saturday-bendigo-fatal-fire-arson-20090610-c2pw.html|access-date=14 December 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=12 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212190754/http://www.theage.com.au/national/black-saturday-bendigo-fatal-fire-arson-20090610-c2pw.html|url-status=live}}

On 2 February 2010, police announced that the taskforce investigating the arson had arrested two youths in relation to the Bendigo fires. The youths, aged 14 and 15, were each charged with arson causing death, deliberately lighting a bushfire, lighting of a fire on a day of total fire ban and lighting of a fire in a country area during extreme weather conditions. They were also charged with multiple counts of using telecommunications systems to menace, harass and offend as well as 135 counts each of arson.{{cite news|title=Teens charged over killer Bendigo fire on Black Saturday|first=Thomas|last=Hunter|newspaper=The Age|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/teens-charged-over-killer-bendigo-fire-on-black-saturday-20100202-na6u.html|date=2 February 2010|access-date=25 August 2010|location=Melbourne|archive-date=6 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406011406/http://www.theage.com.au/national/teens-charged-over-killer-bendigo-fire-on-black-saturday-20100202-na6u.html|url-status=live}}

On 7 November 2011, the Victorian Supreme Court Justice, Paul Coghlan, on advice from the prosecutor, Steven Milesi, found that the two youths were unfit to stand trial before a jury due to their intellectual disabilities.{{Cite news|title=Teens in Black Saturday arson case let off|first=Michelle|last=Henderson|publisher=9 News|url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8370820/black-saturday-arson-case-discontinued|access-date=7 November 2011|location=Melbourne|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107163011/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8370820/black-saturday-arson-case-discontinued|archive-date=7 November 2011|url-status=dead}}

In Redesdale, southeast of Bendigo, a fire starting {{convert|9|km|abbr=on}} west of the town burnt {{convert|10000|ha|acre|abbr=on}} and destroyed twelve houses and various outbuildings. The fire threatened the towns of Baynton{{cite web|last=Cain|first=Kim|date=2 March 2009|title=Five minutes and it's fire|url=http://crosslight.org.au/2009/03/02/five-minutes-and-its-fire/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331020948/http://crosslight.org.au/2009/03/02/five-minutes-and-its-fire/|archive-date=31 March 2014|access-date=5 February 2014|website=Crosslight}} and Glenhope.{{Cite web|date=26 August 2013|title=Back from the brink|url=http://www.elliottmidnews.com.au/story/1731025/back-from-the-brink/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221195508/http://www.elliottmidnews.com.au/story/1731025/back-from-the-brink/|archive-date=21 February 2014|access-date=5 February 2014|website=Midland Express}}{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}} Glenhope was threatened again on 9 February from a smaller fire that broke away from the main front, resulting in extra fire crews being brought in from Bendigo and Kyneton. The fire was contained by 10 February.

A fire started at Bunyip Ridge in the Bunyip State Park on 4 February, originating near walking tracks; it was thought to have been deliberately lit.{{Cite news|last=Miller|first=Elisa|title=Battle to control Bunyip State Park blaze|publisher=Berwick & District Journal|date=12 February 2009|url=http://berwick.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/battle-to-control-bunyip-state-park-blaze/1432527.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110821174141/http://berwick.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/battle-to-control-bunyip-state-park-blaze/1432527.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 August 2011|access-date=22 February 2009}} By 6 February, the fire had burned out {{convert|123|ha|acre}}, and emergency services personnel engaged in fighting the fire feared, despite efforts to establish containment lines in the park, that once the extreme weather conditions of 7 February arrived the fire would escape the confines of the park and threaten surrounding towns.{{cite news|title=Bushfire threatens to break free|newspaper=The Australian|date=6 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25015607-12377,00.html|access-date=22 February 2009}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

By the morning of 7 February, the fire had broken through containment lines.{{Cite news|title=Residents warned as fire breaks lines|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=7 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/07/2484988.htm|access-date=22 February 2009|archive-date=9 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209155734/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/07/2484988.htm|url-status=dead}} According to the DSE incident controller for the fire, the weather conditions deteriorated much more quickly than predicted, stating that "conditions overnight and in the early hours are usually mild, but our firefighters are reporting strong winds and flame heights of five to 10 metres".{{cite news|title=Residents on high alert as fire nears|newspaper=The Australian|date=7 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25020249-12377,00.html|access-date=22 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210143048/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25020249-12377,00.html|archive-date=10 February 2009|url-status=dead}} Ground-based fire crews had to retreat from the fire front as the escalating conditions made firefighting in the bushland terrain impossible.{{cite news|title=Fire crews forced to retreat|newspaper=The Australian|date=7 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25020330-12377,00.html|access-date=22 February 2009}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} The fire broke out of the park around 4:00 pm, and by 6:00 pm had burnt out {{convert|2400|ha|acre}} of forest and farmland, threatening the towns of Labertouche, Tonimbuk, Jindivick, Drouin, Warragul and Longwarry, and embers were starting spot fires up to {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the south.{{cite news|author1=Egan, Carmel|author2=Holland, Steve|name-list-style=amp|title=Inferno terrorises communities as it rages out of control|newspaper=The Age|date=7 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/inferno-terrorises-communities-as-it-rages-out-of-control-20090207-80fw.html|access-date=22 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=10 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210132444/http://www.theage.com.au/national/inferno-terrorises-communities-as-it-rages-out-of-control-20090207-80fw.html|url-status=live}}

The fire destroyed approximately a dozen houses at Labertouche, Tonimbuk, and Drouin West,{{Cite news|last=White|first=Leslie|title=Rain the only fire hope|work=Weekly Times|date=11 February 2009|url=http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/02/11/51711_latest-news.html|access-date=22 February 2009|archive-date=21 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221034725/http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/02/11/51711_latest-news.html|url-status=live}} in addition to various outbuildings and a factory.{{cite news|last=Wotherspoon|first=Sarah|title=Dozens of towns on high alert as strong winds fan flames|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/towns-on-high-alert-as-winds-change/story-e6frf7jo-1111118796733|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=22 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322111824/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/towns-on-high-alert-as-winds-change/story-e6frf7jo-1111118796733|url-status=live}} The progress of the fire had been stopped by the afternoon of 9 February, though it had burned through {{convert|24500|ha|acre}}.{{Cite news|title=At a glance: fires of concern|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2485733.htm|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=10 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210122727/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2485733.htm|url-status=dead}} DSE crews conducted backburning operations to ensure containment of the fire on 9 February, warning residents of areas between Pakenham and Warragul about smoke from those fires.

The fire was controlled and co-ordinated at the Pakenham ICC in the Combined Emergency Services building, with CFA and DSE personnel running the operation depending on where the fire was at the time. Pakenham VICSES, who shared the building, also provided assistance during the fire operation.

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The Central Gippsland bushfires began in a pine plantation {{convert|1|km|miles|abbr=on}} southeast of Churchill at about 1:30 pm on the afternoon of 7 February.{{cite web|last=Jackson|first=Nicole|website=Latrobe Valley Express|title=Blaze claims lives|date=12 February 2009|url=http://latrobevalley.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/blaze-claims-lives/1428488.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212204101/http://latrobevalley.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/blaze-claims-lives/1428488.aspx|archive-date=12 February 2009|url-status=dead|access-date=30 September 2023}}{{Cite web|date=8 February 2009|title=Nine confirmed dead in Gippsland, fires still burning|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-08/nine-confirmed-dead-in-gippsland-fires-still/287424|access-date=17 July 2021|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|archive-date=2 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202065323/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-08/nine-confirmed-dead-in-gippsland-fires-still/287424|url-status=live}}{{cite web|date=July 2010|title=The Churchill Fire|url=http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/commission-reports/final-report/volume-1/chapters/the-churchill-fire|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330051237/http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/commission-reports/final-report/volume-1/chapters/the-churchill-fire|archive-date=30 March 2014|access-date=17 July 2021|website=2009 VBRC – Final Report – Vol 1|publisher=Victorian Government|via=National Library of Australia}} Within 30 minutes it had spread to the southeast, threatening Hazelwood South, Jeeralang, and Budgeree East, and by late afternoon the fire was approaching Yarram and Woodside on the south Gippsland coast. The cool change came through the area about 6:00 pm, but the southwesterly winds it brought pushed the fire northeast through Callignee, destroying 57 of its 61 homes.{{Cite book|last=McGourty|first=John|title=Black Saturday|publisher=Harper Collins|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7322-9010-8}} The fire continued on to Koornalla and Traralgon South, and towards Gormandale and Willung South on the Hyland Highway. About 500 evacuees from the area sheltered at an emergency centre established in a theatre in Traralgon.

The fire threatened the Loy Yang Power Station, particularly the station's open-cut coal mine.{{Cite news|title=Victoria's power 'secure but under threat'|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC News (Australian radio network)|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485646.htm|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211150924/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485646.htm|url-status=dead}} On the night of 7 February, the fire approached the mine's overburden dump, but did not damage any infrastructure, nor did it affect the station's operations.{{Cite news|title=Loy Yang on alert|newspaper=Latrobe Valley Express|date=9 February 2009|url=http://latrobevalley.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/loy-yang-on-alert/1428502.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110822020413/http://latrobevalley.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/loy-yang-on-alert/1428502.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 August 2011|access-date=9 February 2009}} Several small fires broke out in the bunker storing raw coal from the mine, but were contained with no damage. The threat eased by the evening of 8 February as temperatures cooled and some light rain fell. One small spot fire broke out to the south of the power station, but it was contained by water bombing aircraft.

By 9 February, the Churchill fire complex was still burning out of control, with fronts through the Latrobe Valley and the Strzelecki Ranges.{{Cite news|title=Gippsland fires continue to rage|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2485927.htm|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211161012/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2485927.htm|url-status=dead}} By late that afternoon, the complex had burnt out {{convert|32860|ha|acre}} and had killed eleven people.{{Cite news|title=Bushfire races towards Loy Yang power station|newspaper=Geelong Advertiser|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/02/09/49745_news.html|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=12 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212152755/http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/02/09/49745_news.html|url-status=live}} Wind changes that evening exacerbated parts of the Churchill complex, causing the CFA to issue further warnings to residents at Won Wron and surrounding areas.{{cite news|title=Shifting winds flare up fire fronts|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.news.com.au/news/towns-under-attack-as-fires-rage/story-fna7dq6e-1111118800360|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=27 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027115706/http://www.news.com.au/news/towns-under-attack-as-fires-rage/story-fna7dq6e-1111118800360|url-status=live}}

Investigators revealed that they strongly believed arson was the most likely cause of the Churchill fire. A man from Churchill, Brendan Sokaluk of Churchill,{{cite news|last=Moses|first=Asher|title=Vigilantes publish alleged arsonist's image online|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/02/16/1234632703992.html|work=The Age|access-date=10 February 2011|date=16 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=16 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116075502/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/02/16/1234632703992.html|url-status=live}} was arrested by police on 12 February and charged with one count each of arson causing death and intentionally lighting a bushfire. He was convicted of 10 counts of arson causing death and sentenced to 17 years 9 months' imprisonment in April 2012.{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-27/black-saturday-arsonist-sentenced-to-28holdholdhold29/3976564|title=Black Saturday arsonist jailed for almost 18 years|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=27 April 2012|access-date=10 March 2017|archive-date=14 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314053912/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-27/black-saturday-arsonist-sentenced-to-28holdholdhold29/3976564|url-status=live}} Sokaluk was released on parole on 30 April 2024 on the condition that he stays at least 80 km away from the town of Churchill.{{Cite web |last=Pedersen |first=Daniel |date=2024-05-07 |title=Black Saturday arsonist released and dangerous driver pleads guilty |url=https://latrobevalleyexpress.com.au/news/2024/05/07/black-saturday-arsonist-released-and-dangerous-driver-pleads-guilty/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Latrobe Valley Express |language=en-US}}

To also be noted: Mirboo North, known as the Delburn bushfire was lit 7 February 2009. This fire stretch out toward Morwell, devastating the beautiful towns of Mirboo North, Darlimurla, Boolarra and Boolarra South.

File:Ringwood - Belgrave Rail Trail Bushfires.JPG in Upper Ferntree Gully]]

File:Ftgfire.jpg

In Upper Ferntree Gully a fire damaged the rail track and caused the closure of the Belgrave railway line, as well as all major roads.{{cite web|title=Gippsland, Seymour & Warrnambool lines ~ Services suspended due to bushfires ~ Sun 8 Feb|publisher=V/Line|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.vline.com.au/home/news/TodaysServiceChanges/361096156/Article.aspx|access-date=8 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928175315/http://www.vline.com.au/home/news/TodaysServiceChanges/361096156/Article.aspx|archive-date=28 September 2011|url-status=dead}} The fire, which was contained by CFA crews within three hours, burned at least {{convert|2|ha|acre|abbr=on}} along the railway.{{cite news|title=Owners flee as fires gut homes|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25023951-662,00.html|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=31 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231003707/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/owners-flee-as-fires-gut-homes/story-e6frf7kx-1111118788735|url-status=live}}

In the southern Dandenong Ranges, bushfires ignited around Narre Warren, one of which was caused by sparks from a power tool.{{Cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bushfires-ravage-state/2009/02/07/1233423565321.html|title=Many may be trapped in homes|date=8 February 2009|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=8 February 2009|archive-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211094350/http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bushfires-ravage-state/2009/02/07/1233423565321.html|url-status=live}} Six homes were destroyed in Narre Warren South and three in Narre Warren North.{{Cite news|url=http://dandenong-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/bunyip-fires-continue/|title=Fire crews mop up after Narre Warren South blaze|date=8 February 2009|publisher=Dandenong Leader|access-date=8 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706113405/http://dandenong-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/bunyip-fires-continue/|archive-date=6 July 2011|url-status=dead}}

In the weeks following Black Saturday, fires were started in bushland along Terrys Avenue in Belgrave (which was quickly contained and extinguished by the CFA), and Lysterfield State Forest in Upwey. Amongst the damage was the almost new Upper Ferntree Gully CFA Tanker 1.

On 8 February lightning sparked a fire in Wilsons Promontory which burned more than {{convert|11000|ha|acre|abbr=on}}.{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/17/2493953.htm|title=Crews unable to slow Wilsons Promontory blaze|date=17 February 2009|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|access-date=18 February 2009|archive-date=21 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221005908/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/17/2493953.htm|url-status=dead}} This fire posed no immediate threat to campers, but due to excessive fuel and inaccessibility authorities chose to evacuate the park, with some campers being evacuated by boat.{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2486078.htm?section=australia|title=Tidal River camping ground evacuated as fire spreads|date=9 February 2009|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|access-date=10 February 2009|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717094926/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-09/tidal-river-camping-ground-evacuated-as-fire/288950|url-status=dead}}

At a community meeting on 11 February, DSE and Parks Victoria authorities revealed a plan to back-burn across the entrance to the promontory, in order to prevent any possibility of the fire burning out of the park and into farmland and towards the towns of Yanakie and Sandy Point.{{cite news|last=Millar|first=Royce|title=National park at forefront of backburning debate|newspaper=The Age|date=12 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/national-park-at-forefront-of-backburning-debate-20090212-85iy.html|access-date=16 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=15 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215202216/http://www.theage.com.au/national/national-park-at-forefront-of-backburning-debate-20090212-85iy.html|url-status=live}} Crikey reported that locals were divided on the merits of the plan, some concerned as to why the back-burning had not been carried out earlier, and some worried at the large scale of the proposed burns, which were reported to be larger than both the existing fire as well as the April 2005 fires that affected the park{{cite magazine|last=Elmore|first=Lionel|title=Parks Victoria uses the fire crisis to light up the Prom again|magazine=Crikey|date=12 February 2009|url=http://www.crikey.com.au/Bushfires/20090212-Parks-Victoria-use-the-fire-crisis-to-light-the-prom-again.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230111835/http://www.crikey.com.au/Bushfires/20090212-Parks-Victoria-use-the-fire-crisis-to-light-the-prom-again.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 December 2012|access-date=16 February 2009}} Strong easterly winds on 12 February forced authorities to postpone the proposed burns lest they themselves pose a danger to surrounding communities, though they did proceed with preparatory work.{{Cite news|title=Winds force change to backburning plans|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=12 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/12/2489694.htm|access-date=16 February 2009|archive-date=15 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215222633/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/12/2489694.htm|url-status=dead}}

File:09 vic bushfires maroondah yarra complex 01.JPG, on 10 February]]

The Maroondah/Yarra complex was a combination of several fires that had earlier been burning to the east of Healesville and Toolangi on 10 February, as part of the greater Kilmore East – Murrindindi complex south.{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Britt|title=Fires threaten Yarra Valley|newspaper=The Age|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/fires-threaten-yarra-valley-20090210-82m1.html|access-date=10 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=12 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212063639/http://www.theage.com.au/national/fires-threaten-yarra-valley-20090210-82m1.html|url-status=live}} By late that morning, the complex had burned out {{convert|505|ha|acre}}, with 184 personnel and 56 tankers responding to the fires. A CFA spokesperson said that while temperatures had cooled, strong winds were proving problematic, with towns in the area being threatened by embers blown from the fires. Around midday, the immediate threat to property in the areas around Healesville was downgraded, though a DSE spokesperson said that residents should be mindful of localised changes in the weather.{{cite news|last=Grace|first=Robyn|title=Healesville fire threat downgraded|newspaper=The Age|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/healesville-fire-threat-downgraded-20090210-82ur.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230215716/http://www.theage.com.au/national/healesville-fire-threat-downgraded-20090210-82ur.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 December 2012|access-date=10 February 2009|location=Melbourne}}

The Horsham fire burnt {{convert|5700|ha|acre|abbr=on}}, including the golf club and eight homes. Two firefighters from the Dimboola brigade narrowly escaped when their ute was engulfed by fire.{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/02/08/2485469.htm|title=Horsham assesses bushfire damage|work=ABC South East SA|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=8 February 2009|access-date=20 February 2009|archive-date=8 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108210447/http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/02/08/2485469.htm|url-status=live}}

The fire was ignited at 12:30 pm on 7 February when strong winds initiated the failure of a 40-year-old tie wire, felling a power line at Remlaw, west of the city.{{cite news|last=Thom|first=Greg|title=It's frightening in the firing line|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25025676-2862,00.html|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=30 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230180027/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/its-frightening-in-the-firing-line/story-e6frf7kx-1111118793625|url-status=live}} The fire spread southwest and then southeast, across the Wimmera Highway and Wimmera River, to the Horsham Golf Course, and then to Haven, south of the city.{{Cite news|title=Horsham fire: The latest report|publisher=Wimmera Mail-Times|date=8 February 2009|url=http://wimmera.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/horsham-fire-the-latest-report/1427805.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231084331/http://wimmera.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/horsham-fire-the-latest-report/1427805.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 December 2012|access-date=8 February 2009}} Firefighters managed to save the general store, town hall and school at Haven, though flames came within metres of those buildings.{{Cite news|title=Haven school, hall, general store saved|publisher=Wimmera Mail-Times|date=7 February 2009|url=http://wimmera.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/haven-school-hall-general-store-saved/1427514.aspx|access-date=7 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211152700/http://wimmera.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/haven-school-hall-general-store-saved/1427514.aspx|archive-date=11 February 2009}} Winds of up to {{convert|90|km/h|abbr=on}} changed direction three times throughout the day, producing conditions described by the local CFA incident controller as the worst he had ever seen. To the southwest of Horsham an 82-year-old woman in a wheelchair and her daughter were collected from her house by a taxi when the fire was no more than {{convert|100|m|yd|abbr=on}} away; the house was alight as the taxi drove off, and burned down within minutes.{{cite news|last=Flitton|first=Daniel|title=Molly flees the scene of 61 good years in a cab|newspaper=The Age|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/molly-flees-the-scene-of-61-good-years-in-a-cab-20090208-8117.html|access-date=9 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211142417/http://www.theage.com.au/national/molly-flees-the-scene-of-61-good-years-in-a-cab-20090208-8117.html|url-status=live}}

At 3:00 pm more than 400 personnel were engaged in fighting the fire, as well as two water-bombing aircraft, 54 CFA tankers, and 35 DSE units. By 6:00 pm the front had moved east, and a wind change then pushed it northeast across the Western Highway to Drung, east of Horsham.

Shortly before 12:30 pm on 7 February 2009 a fire started on farmland, {{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of Coleraine in western Victoria.{{cite web|title=Counsel Assisting submission re Coleraine fire|publisher=2009 Bushfires Royal Commission|date=23 December 2009|url=http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/getdoc/2d57334a-d7a3-41fd-a469-04891009875e/SUBM-202-006-0001|access-date=14 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314181415/http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/getdoc/2d57334a-d7a3-41fd-a469-04891009875e/SUBM-202-006-0001|archive-date=14 March 2011|url-status=dead}} In gusting winds, a corroded tie wire holding a 48-year-old single wire earth return (SWER) conductor to an insulator failed due to metal fatigue. The insulator was atop Pole 3 {{Coord|37|34|51.7|S|141|38|28.8|E|display=inline|type:event}} on the 12,700-volt Colfitz North spur line. The galvanised steel conductor swung free in the wind, suspended by poles 2 and 4, a span of {{convert|540|m|ft|abbr=on}}. It is not believed to have touched the ground, but was pushed into a nearby eucalyptus tree by the strong prevailing wind.

Burning gumleaves fell to the ground and ignited grass, from which the fire grew extremely rapidly in the hot, dry and windy conditions. Over 230 firefighters, with 43 appliances and two water bombing aircraft, worked to contain the fire which burnt {{convert|770|ha|acre|abbr=on}}.{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Alex|title=Man badly burnt when wind gust changes blaze direction|work=Warrnambool Standard|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.standard.net.au/news/local/news/general/man-badly-burnt-when-wind-gust-changes-blaze-direction/1427877.aspx|access-date=17 February 2009|archive-date=22 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022222401/http://www.standard.net.au/news/local/news/general/man-badly-burnt-when-wind-gust-changes-blaze-direction/1427877.aspx|url-status=live}} The fire destroyed one house, two haysheds, three tractors, the Coleraine Avenue of Honour, and {{convert|200|km|mi|abbr=on}} of fences, as well as injuring livestock, but firefighters were able to save six other homes, including that of the parents of Victorian Premier John Brumby.

The fire threatened to burn through the township, but a wind change around 2:00 pm pushed the fire to the northeast instead.{{Cite news|title=Coleraine saved from fire devastation|publisher=The Border Watch|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.borderwatch.com.au/archives/2307|access-date=17 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212123437/http://www.borderwatch.com.au/archives/2307|archive-date=12 February 2009}} The regional CFA operations officer said of the wind change that "[a]ll that happened within about an hour and we were lucky; we thought it would go through Coleraine, but it headed off at the last minute." At about 6:00 pm the fire was controlled.

A local man was badly burned while helping a farmer move livestock out of harm's way; the man was caught when the same wind change that saved the town pushed the fire in his direction, and he suffered burns to 50% of his body, but recovered.{{Cite news|title=Bushfire burns victim takes first steps in recovery|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=9 March 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/09/2510820.htm|access-date=14 February 2010|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717094927/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-03-09/bushfire-burns-victim-takes-first-steps-in-recovery/1612584|url-status=dead}}

At Weerite, east of Camperdown, a fire burnt {{convert|1300|ha|acre|abbr=on}}, and damaged the rail line between Geelong and Warrnambool.{{cite web|url=http://www.vline.com.au/media/news/MediaReleases/167160954/Article.aspx|title=Urgent travel advice – Train disruptions to continue on Sunday due to bush fires|work=VLine|access-date=8 February 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231080137/http://www.vline.com.au/media/news/MediaReleases/167160954/Article.aspx|archive-date=31 December 2012|url-status=dead}} Approximately 3,000 sleepers were burnt across a {{convert|4|km|mi|abbr=on}} section of track.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/10/2487383.htm?site=southwestvic|title=Rail services to get back on track|publisher=ABC Local Radio|access-date=11 February 2009|date=10 February 2009|archive-date=12 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112115111/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/10/2487383.htm?site=southwestvic|url-status=dead}} The rail line was re-opened by 16 February.{{cite web|url=http://www.vline.com.au/home/news/TodaysServiceChanges/1619813874/Article.aspx|title=Warrnambool services – Full train service has returned|work=V/Line|access-date=17 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314012913/http://www.vline.com.au/home/news/TodaysServiceChanges/1619813874/Article.aspx|archive-date=14 March 2012|url-status=dead}}

The fire caused unquantified losses of stock, and destroyed several outbuildings, but all houses under threat were saved by CFA firefighters.{{Cite news|title=Breaking News: Fire races through Pombo|work=Warrnambool Standard|date=8 February 2009|url=http://www.standard.net.au/news/local/news/general/breaking-news-fire-races-through-pombo/1427768.aspx|access-date=8 February 2009|archive-date=12 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212190204/http://www.standard.net.au/news/local/news/general/breaking-news-fire-races-through-pombo/1427768.aspx|url-status=live}} The fire is thought to have been started by sparking from felled power lines along the Princes Highway, which carried restricted speeds for a short time due to the heavy smoke in the area.{{cite web|url=http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/NewsRoom/BushFiresRoadClosures/|title=Bush Fires – Road Closures: VicRoads|work=VicRoads|access-date=9 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516031620/http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/NewsRoom/BushFiresRoadClosures/|archive-date=16 May 2009}}

File:CSIRO ScienceImage 10300 Property destroyed by fire at Kinglake after the Black Saturday bushfires.jpg

File:CSIRO ScienceImage 10347 Remains of a destroyed property at Kinglake after the Black Saturday bushfires.jpg

File:CSIRO ScienceImage 10346 A burntout car at Kinglake after the Black Saturday bushfires.jpg

File:CSIRO ScienceImage 10430 A destroyed property at Kinglake after the Black Saturday bushfires.jpg

Investigations began almost immediately following the fires to determine a wide variety of things, including identification of victims, cause of ignition sources, and assessments of authority responses. A Royal Commission into the Black Saturday bushfires was conducted, a process that was intended to determine the true nature of the background causes, preparation of responsible agencies, circumstances on the day, chronology, and impacts of the events in question.

Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, formed a taskforce to assist in identifying victims, coordinated by Inspector Greg Hough.{{Cite news|last=Moncrief|first=Mark|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/emotional-premier-gives-fire-warning-20090208-80n3.html|title=Emotional Premier gives fire warning|date=8 February 2009|work=The Age|access-date=8 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717094922/https://www.theage.com.au/national/10-million-government-fund-for-bushfire-victims-20090208-80n3.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25031605-662,00.html|title=Months to identify bodies in Victorian bushfires, police say|date=9 February 2009|work=Herald Sun|access-date=9 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210115638/http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0%2C21985%2C25031605-662%2C00.html|archive-date=10 February 2009}} Around forty police from interstate and overseas assisted with Disaster Victim Identification (DVI). The police were sourced from the Australian Federal Police, Tasmania, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. New Zealand police also provided four victim identification dogs and handlers.Victoria Police Media Release 17 February 2009. http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=19541 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930133323/http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=19541 |date=30 September 2009 }}{{Cite news|title=Kiwis to help identify victims|work=The New Zealand Herald|date=11 February 2009|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10556104|access-date=11 February 2009|first=Beck|last=Vass|archive-date=20 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020063650/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10556104|url-status=live}}

Some of the fires were suspected to have been deliberately lit by arsonists. Chief Commissioner Nixon stated on 9 February 2009 that all fire sites would be treated as crime scenes.{{cite news|author1=Callick, Rowan|author2=Akerman, Pia|name-list-style=amp|title=Police track arsonists responsible for Victoria bushfires|newspaper=The Australian|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25032884-2702,00.html|access-date=10 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213044555/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25032884-2702,00.html|archive-date=13 February 2009|url-status=dead}}

On 9 February a man was arrested in connection with the fires at Narre Warren; it was alleged by police that he had been operating a power tool, sparks from which ignited a grass fire, destroying two houses. On 12 February, two people were arrested in connection with the fires, having been observed by members of the public acting suspiciously in areas between Yea and Seymour; however, they were subsequently released without charges being laid.{{cite news|last=Grace|first=Robyn|title=Arson suspects arrested|newspaper=The Age|date=12 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/arson-suspects-arrested-20090212-852y.html|access-date=12 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=13 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213065608/http://www.theage.com.au/national/arson-suspects-arrested-20090212-852y.html|url-status=live}}

A man from Churchill, Brendan Sokaluk, was arrested by police on 12 February, in relation to the Churchill fires, and was questioned at the Morwell police station, before being charged on 13 February with one count each of arson causing death, intentionally lighting a bushfire, and possession of child pornography.{{cite news|last=Silvester|first=John|title=Churchill arson suspect arrested|newspaper=The Age|date=13 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/churchill-arson-suspect-arrested-20090213-86o3.html|access-date=13 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717094943/https://www.theage.com.au/national/churchill-arson-suspect-charged-20090213-86o3.html|url-status=live}} At a file hearing in the Magistrates' Court in Melbourne on 16 February the man was remanded in custody ahead of a committal hearing scheduled for 26 May.{{cite news|last=Rennie|first=Reko|title=Churchill arson accused fails to face court|newspaper=The Age|date=16 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/churchill-arson-accused-fails-to-face-court-20090216-88bq.html|access-date=16 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=17 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217025530/http://www.theage.com.au/national/churchill-arson-accused-fails-to-face-court-20090216-88bq.html|url-status=live}} Following the hearing, a suppression order on the 42-year-old man's identity was lifted, though the order remained in force with respect to publishing his address or any images of him. Despite the order, several members of the public obtained his photograph from his MySpace profile and published it on the social networking website Facebook along with his home address, and others made threats of violence against him.{{cite news|last=Moses|first=Asher|title=Vigilantes publish alleged arsonist's image online|newspaper=The Age|date=16 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/02/16/1234632703992.html|access-date=16 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=18 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218080339/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/02/16/1234632703992.html|url-status=live}} The man's lawyer said that, as a consequence of that information being published, threats were made against the man's family.{{cite news|last=Moses|first=Asher|title='Arsonist' online threats taken down|newspaper=The Age|date=17 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/02/17/1234632787036.html|access-date=17 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=19 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219012633/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/02/17/1234632787036.html|url-status=live}} The man's ex-girlfriend and her family were also harassed after the Herald Sun newspaper published a photograph and a story about her.{{cite news|title=Family of Brendan Sokaluk's ex-girlfriend calls for calm|newspaper=The Australian|date=17 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/accused-arsonists-ex-harassed/story-e6frg6n6-1111118877151|access-date=17 February 2009|archive-date=25 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225040248/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/accused-arsonists-ex-harassed/story-e6frg6n6-1111118877151|url-status=live}} On 17 February, after requests from Victoria Police, the man's MySpace profile was removed; Facebook commenced deleting postings containing threats, and deleted a photo from one group.

By the morning of 11 February 2009, reports of looting had been posted. Witnesses reported seeing acts of looting occurring at a property at Heathcote Junction, shortly after the removal of the body of a victim from the property.{{Cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/looters-move-in-to-rob-the-dead/story-e6frf7jo-1111118813856|title=Looters move in to rob the dead at Heathcote Junction|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=11 February 2009|access-date=6 April 2016|archive-date=22 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322101806/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/looters-move-in-to-rob-the-dead/story-e6frf7jo-1111118813856|url-status=live}} That evening, via a report on ABC Local Radio, a number of residents of Kinglake who had been allowed back into the area to inspect the damage, revealed that a "Looters Will Be Shot" sign had been posted in the town, after a number of suspicious people and vehicles were seen moving through the town. On 12 February, a small number of arrests were made, and charges laid against people in relation to "looting offences", as announced by the Victoria Police chief commissioner, Christine Nixon.{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/13/2490280.htm?section=justin|title=Alleged looters charged in bushfire aftermath|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=13 February 2009|access-date=13 February 2009|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717094928/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-13/alleged-looters-charged-in-bushfire-aftermath/293976|url-status=dead}}

{{Main|2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission}}

The Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, announced in April 2009 that a royal commission into the fires would be held which would examine "all aspects of the government's bushfire strategy".{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2486489.htm?section=justin|title=Brumby announces bushfires Royal Commission|date=9 February 2009|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=12 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212071911/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2486489.htm?section=justin|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25029098-5001021,00.html|title=Victorian fires royal commission|date=9 February 2009|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=10 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210103658/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25029098-5001021,00.html|url-status=live}}

File:09 vic bushfire damage Yarra Glen 03.JPG left standing]]

File:2009 vic bushfire damage Yarra Glen 01.JPG

A total of 173 people were confirmed to have died as a result of the fires. The figure was originally estimated at 14 on the night of 7 February, and steadily increased over the following two weeks to 210. It was feared that it could rise as high as 240–280,{{Cite news|last=Dobbin|first=Marika|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/missing-may-lift-death-toll-to-240-20090225-8hy7.html|title=Missing may lift death toll to 240|work=The Age|access-date=26 February 2009|date=26 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=28 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228072343/http://www.theage.com.au/national/missing-may-lift-death-toll-to-240-20090225-8hy7.html|url-status=live}} but these figures were later revised down to 173 after further forensic examinations of remains, and after several missing people were located.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/victorian-bushfires-death-toll-slashed-to-173-20090330-9g9s.html|title=Victorian bushfires death toll slashed to 173|date=30 March 2009|work=The Age|access-date=30 March 2009|location=Melbourne|first=Mex|last=Cooper|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717094953/https://www.theage.com.au/national/bushfires-toll-cut-to-173-police-suggest-mass-funeral-for-unidentified-20141112-9g9s.html|url-status=live}}

A temporary morgue was established at the Coronial Services Centre at Southbank, capable of holding up to three hundred bodies. The Victorian Coroner compared this to a similar facility established after the July 2005 London bombings.{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Bridie|title=Identity may not be possible for all|newspaper=The Age|date=11 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/identity-may-not-be-possible-for-all-20090210-83kb.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230171906/http://www.theage.com.au/national/identity-may-not-be-possible-for-all-20090210-83kb.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 December 2012|access-date=11 February 2009|location=Melbourne}} By the morning of 10 February 101 bodies had been transported to the temporary morgue. The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine stated that it could be impossible to positively identify many of the remains.{{Cite news|title=Fifty bodies may never be identified in Victoria fires|work=The Australian|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25037227-26103,00.html|access-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212165833/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25037227-26103,00.html|archive-date=12 February 2009|url-status=dead}}

On 11 February, fire authorities estimated that as many as 100 of Marysville's 519 residents could have perished. By 16 February, over 150 forensic investigators were engaged in searching the ruins of Marysville.{{Cite news|last=Murdoch|first=Lindsay|title=Fire's intensity leaves no trace of victims|work=The Age|date=16 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/fires-intensity-leaves-no-trace-of-victims-20090215-886b.html|access-date=16 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=17 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217031118/http://www.theage.com.au/national/fires-intensity-leaves-no-trace-of-victims-20090215-886b.html|url-status=live}} A senior lecturer in fire ecology from the University of Melbourne estimated that the fires may have been burning at temperatures of {{convert|1200|C|F}}, and concluded that, as a result, the remains of some people caught in the fires may have been obliterated. The final death toll for Marysville was later downgraded to 34 after a large group of residents who remained unaccounted for were officially located.

Among the dead in the Kinglake West area were former Seven Network and Nine Network news anchor Brian Naylor, and his wife Moiree.{{Cite news|url=http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/02/09/49501_news.html|title=Brian Naylor and wife die in Kinglake inferno|date=9 February 2009|work=Geelong Advertiser|access-date=9 February 2009|archive-date=11 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311061848/http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/02/09/49501_news.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25026070-661,00.html|title=TV legend Brian Naylor found dead|date=9 February 2009|work=Herald Sun|access-date=9 February 2009|agency=Australian Associated Press|last=And|archive-date=30 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121230130349/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/archives/old-news-pages/tv-legend-found-dead/story-e6frf8zo-1111118794286|url-status=live}} Veteran TV actor Reg Evans and his partner, artist Angela Brunton, residing on a small farm in the St Andrews area, also died in the Kinglake area fire.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25038335-5013404,00.html|title=TV star dies with partner in Victorian Bushfires|date=11 February 2009|work=The Australian|access-date=11 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214191252/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25038335-5013404,00.html|archive-date=14 February 2009|url-status=dead}} Ornithologist Richard Zann perished in the Kinglake fire, together with his wife Eileen and daughter Eva.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25042616-5006785,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120703165536/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25042616-5006785,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 July 2012|title=Birdsong expert was ready for Victoria bushfires but it was no use|last=Trounson|first=Andrew|date=12 February 2009|work=The Australian|access-date=12 February 2009}}

File:Feb 7 09 vic bushfires map.PNG

General statistics

• 164 people died in the fires themselves, 12 died later in hospital, and 4 died from other causes including car crashes
• Out of the 173 deaths, 100 were male, 73 were female.
• There were 164 Australians, 9 foreign nationals,Victoria Police, Press conference: Bushfires death toll revised to 173, Release date: Mon 30 March 2009 http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=20350 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019173953/http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=20350 |date=19 October 2013 }} killed in the bushfires. The foreign nationals comprised citizens of:
• Greece (2){{Cite news|title=Fire in Australia Kills two Greeks|url=http://news.ert.gr/en/world/news/18807-ena-zeygari-ellinon-metaksy-ton-thymaton-tis-fotias-sti-biktoria-tis-aystralias.htm|access-date=12 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215190817/http://news.ert.gr/en/world/news/18807-ena-zeygari-ellinon-metaksy-ton-thymaton-tis-fotias-sti-biktoria-tis-aystralias.htm|archive-date=15 February 2009}}
• Indonesia (2){{cite web|last=Hughes|first=Gary|title=Black Saturday inquiry hears of victims' last calls|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/black-saturday-inquiry-hears-of-victims-last-calls/story-e6frg6of-1225794498802|work=The Australian|access-date=11 February 2011|date=5 November 2009|archive-date=30 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530064738/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/black-saturday-inquiry-hears-of-victims-last-calls/story-e6frg6of-1225794498802|url-status=live}}
• Philippines (2){{Cite news|title=Two Filipinos killed in bushfires in Australia|url=http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=439109&publicationSubCategoryId=200|access-date=12 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602212754/http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=439109&publicationSubCategoryId=200|archive-date=2 June 2016|url-status=dead}}
• Chile (1){{Cite news|title=Chilena muere en incendios de Australia|url=http://www.chilesomostodos.gov.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=527&Itemid=7|access-date=21 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707010413/http://www.chilesomostodos.gov.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=527&Itemid=7|archive-date=7 July 2011|url-status=dead}}
• New Zealand (1){{cite web|title=Bushfires claim first NZ victim|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/1396780|publisher=Stuff|location=New Zealand|access-date=13 February 2009|date=8 February 2009|archive-date=22 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422111052/http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/1396780|url-status=live}}
• United Kingdom (1){{Cite news|title=British Family's Grief Over Bushfire Victims|url=http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/84455/British-family-s-grief-over-bushfire-victims|access-date=13 February 2009|archive-date=28 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128102957/http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/84455/British-family-s-grief-over-bushfire-victims|url-status=live}}
• 7 of the deaths occurred in bunkers of both fire-specific and non-fire-specific design.
• 1 firefighter, David Balfour, 47, from Gilmore, ACT, was killed near Cambarville on the night of 17 February, when a burnt-out tree fell on him as he attached a hose to a fire tanker.{{cite news|last=Murdoch|first=Lindsay|title=Dead firefighter professional with young family|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/dead-firefighter-professional-with-young-family-20090218-8aol.html|work=The Age|access-date=13 February 2011|date=18 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=28 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628183708/http://www.theage.com.au/national/dead-firefighter-professional-with-young-family-20090218-8aol.html|url-status=live}}

Location of deaths:[http://www.theage.com.au/national/black-saturday-data-reveals-where-victims-died-20090528-borp.html Black Saturday data reveals where victims died] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529100226/http://www.theage.com.au/national/black-saturday-data-reveals-where-victims-died-20090528-borp.html |date=29 May 2009 }}, 28 May 2009, The Age

• Inside houses (113)
• Outside houses (27)
• In vehicles (11)
• In garages (6)
• Near vehicles (5)
• On roadways (5)
• Attributed to or associated with the fire but not within fire location (4)
• On reserves (1)
• In sheds (1)

Locality of deaths:

; Kinglake/Whittlesea Area (120)

{{col-begin}}

{{col-break}}

• Kinglake (38)
• Strathewen (27)
• St Andrews (12)
• Steels Creek (10)

{{col-break}}

• Hazeldene (10)
• Humevale (6)
• Kinglake West (4)
• Flowerdale (2)

{{col-break}}

• Whittlesea (2)
• Toolangi (2)
• Arthurs Creek (2)
• Clonbinane (1)

{{col-break}}

• Heathcote Junction (1)
• Strath Creek (1)
• Upper Plenty (1)
• Yarra Glen (1)

{{col-end}}

; Marysville Area (39)

{{col-begin}}

{{col-break}}

• Marysville (34)

{{col-break}}

• Narbethong (4)

{{col-break}}

• Cambarville (ACT firefighter) (1)

{{col-break}}

{{col-end}}

; Central Gippsland (11)

{{col-begin}}

{{col-break}}

• Callignee (4)

{{col-break}}

• Koornalla (4)

{{col-break}}

• Churchill (2)

{{col-break}}

• Jeerralang Junction (1)

{{col-end}}

; Beechworth (2)

• Mudgegonga (2)

; Bendigo (1)

• Eaglehawk (1)

; Total: 173

File:09 vic bushfire damage Steels Creek 01.JPG]]

A total of 414 people were injured during the Black Saturday bushfires. Due to the intensity and speed of the fires, most casualties of the bushfires either died, or survived with minor injuries. There were significantly fewer major burns than in previous bushfires, such as Ash Wednesday. Of the people who presented to medical treatment centres and hospitals, there were 22 with serious burns and 390 with minor burns and other bushfire-related injuries.[http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/191_01_060709/cam10194_fm.html Australian Medical Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606125345/http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/191_01_060709/cam10194_fm.html |date=6 June 2011 }} article abstract

National and statewide burns disaster plans were activated. Twenty-two patients with major burns presented to the state's burns referral centres, of which eighteen were adults. One patient admitted to the Royal Children's Hospital and two at The Alfred Hospital died from their injuries. Adult burns patients at The Alfred spent 48.7 hours in theatre in the first 72 hours. There were a further 390 bushfire-related presentations across the state in the first 72 hours. Most patients with serious burns were triaged to, and managed at, burns referral centres. Throughout the disaster, burns referral centres continued to have substantial surge capacity.

File:CSIRO ScienceImage 10345 The Kinglake National Park after the Black Saturday bushfires.jpg

File:St.Andrews Kinglake Road April 2009.JPG

File:2009 Victorian bushfires Acheron Way DSC 0324.JPG

It was estimated that the amount of energy released during the firestorm in the Kinglake-Marysville area was equivalent to the amount of energy that would be released by 1,500 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs.{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2009/11/the-australian-%22black-saturday%22-bushfires-of-2009/|title=The Australian "Black Saturday" Bushfires of 2009|last=Stewart|first=Cameron|date=23 November 2009|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=3 May 2010}}{{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/black-saturday-fires-had-power-of-1500-a-bombs/story-e6frg6nf-1225714533980|title=Black Saturday fires had power of 1500 A-bombs|last=Hughes|first=Gary|date=22 May 2009|newspaper=The Australian|access-date=3 May 2010|archive-date=11 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711232035/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/black-saturday-fires-had-power-of-1500-a-bombs/story-e6frg6nf-1225714533980|url-status=live}}

Beyond the casualty list detailed above, physical damage caused by the bushfires included:

• {{Convert|450000|ha|acre|abbr=on}} burnt
• 7,562 people displaced
• Over 3,500 structures destroyed, including:
• 2,029+ houses
• 59 commercial properties (shops, pubs, service stations, golf clubs, etc.)
• 12 community buildings (including 2 police stations, 3 schools, 3 churches, 1 fire station)
• 399 machinery sheds, 363 hay sheds, 19 dairies, 26 woolsheds, 729 other farm buildings
• Agricultural and horticultural losses:
• Over 11,800 head of livestock, consisting of 2,150 sheep, 1,207 cattle, and an unknown number of horses, goats, alpacas, poultry, and pigsThe Land, "Farmers do their bit", Peter J Austin, p.12, Rural Press, 19 February 2009
• {{Convert|25600|t|ton}} of stored fodder and grain
• {{Convert|32000|t|ton}} of hay and silage
• {{Convert|190|ha|acre|abbr=on}} of standing crops
• {{Convert|62000|ha|acre|abbr=on}} of pasture
• {{Convert|735|ha|acre|abbr=on}} of fruit trees, olives and vines
• Over {{convert|10000|km}} of boundary and internal fencing destroyed or damagedNorthern Daily Leader, 18 May 2009, "Steady progress on bushfire clean-up", p. 8
• {{Convert|7000|ha|acre|abbr=on}} of plantation timber
• {{Convert|98932|ha|acre|abbr=on}} of parks damaged, 90 percent of which was national park. It was claimed that 950 local parks, 70 national parks and reserves, and over 600 cultural sites and historic places were impacted or destroyed
• {{Convert|3921|ha|acre|abbr=on}} of private bushland
• Over 55 businesses destroyed{{cite web|url=http://www.diird.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/121581/Black-Saturday.pdf|title=Black Saturday|work=Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development|publisher=Victorian Government|access-date=3 May 2010}}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• Electricity supply was disrupted to 60,000 residents
• Several mobile phone base stations and telephone exchanges damaged or destroyed{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/telco-says-its-ready-for-the-next-black-saturday/story-e6frgakx-1225805505764|title=Telstra says it's ready for the next Black Saturday|last=Bingemann|first=Mitchell|date=1 December 2009|newspaper=The Australian|access-date=3 May 2010}}

{{Main|Reactions to the Black Saturday bushfire crisis}}

Responses to the Black Saturday bushfires included immediate community response, donations, and international aid efforts. Later responses included Government inquiries including a Royal Commission, and recommendations and discussions from a wide variety of bodies, organisations, authorities and communities.

In September 2009 it was announced that Australia's most prominent fire ecologist, Kevin Tolhurst, was developing a new course for the University of Melbourne on fire behaviour.{{Cite news|last=Costigan|first=Justine|title=Responding to Tragedy|work=Melbourne University Magazine|date=September 2009|pages=15–17|url=http://mag.alumni.unimelb.edu.au/major-feature/responding-tragedy|access-date=3 September 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910093356/http://mag.alumni.unimelb.edu.au/major-feature/responding-tragedy|archive-date=10 September 2009}} Later that month the City of Manningham announced it was developing the state's first integrated fire management plan in conjunction with the interim findings of the Royal Commission.{{Cite news|last=Crowe|first=Danielle|title=Hotspots register|work=Manningham Leader|date=9 September 2009|page=5|url=http://manningham-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/pilot-project-manningham-council-is-mapping-our-fire-hotspots/|access-date=22 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090914125600/http://manningham-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/pilot-project-manningham-council-is-mapping-our-fire-hotspots/|archive-date=14 September 2009|url-status=dead}} It is expected that eventually all Victorian councils responsible for both urban and rural land will need to develop such plans, which define fire risks in open space areas, along major roads, and in parkland.

In September/October 2009, it was announced that a new fire hazard system would replace the previous one. The new system involves a six-tier scale to indicating such things as the level of risk and activity of the fire. This standardised Fire Danger Rating (FDR) was subsequently adopted by all Australian states in late 2009. Every day during the fire season the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecasts an outlook of the Fire Danger Index (FDI) by considering the predicted weather including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and dryness of vegetation.{{cite web|url=http://www.cfaconnect.net.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=873|title=New Warning System Explained|publisher=Country Fire Authority|access-date=1 February 2010|archive-date=6 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706123231/http://www.cfaconnect.net.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=873|url-status=live}} On the highest risk days, residents are advised to leave the potentially affected areas.

The RSPCA estimated that over a million animals perished in the bushfires. Additionally, many of the surviving wildlife suffered from severe burns. For example, large numbers of kangaroos were afflicted with burned feet due to territorial instincts that drew them back to their recently burned and smouldering home ranges.{{cite news|last=Gelineau|first=Kristen|title=Millions of animals dead in Australia fires|agency=Associated Press|date=11 February 2009|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hn9MswZT1UDQOM4JFexha4JktfeQD969HIS80|access-date=11 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20090215064620/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hn9MswZT1UDQOM4JFexha4JktfeQD969HIS80|archive-date=15 February 2009}} The affected area, particularly around Marysville, contains the only known habitat of Leadbeater's possum, Victoria's faunal emblem,[http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=95950 Last captive Leadbeater's possum dies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405140432/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=95950 |date=5 April 2012 }}. ninemsn.com.au. 15 April 2006. putting this species under further threat.

Forested catchment areas supplying five of Melbourne's nine major dams were affected by the fires, with the worst affected being the Maroondah Reservoir and O'Shannassy Reservoir.{{cite news|last=Ker|first=Peter|title=Dash to save Melbourne's drinking water|newspaper=The Age|date=17 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/dash-to-save-melbournes-drinking-water-20090217-89wm.html|access-date=17 February 2009|archive-date=21 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221000233/http://www.theage.com.au/national/dash-to-save-melbournes-drinking-water-20090217-89wm.html|url-status=live}} As of 17 February 2009, over ten billion litres of water had been shifted out of affected dams into others.{{Cite news|last=Roberts|first=Greg|title=Vic bushfires may affect water supplies|newspaper=The Age|date=17 February 2009|url=http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/vic-bushfires-may-affect-water-supplies-20090217-89zb.html|access-date=14 December 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=18 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218075849/http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/vic-bushfires-may-affect-water-supplies-20090217-89zb.html|url-status=live}}

In early March 2009, smoke from the fires was discovered in the atmosphere over Antarctica at record altitudes.{{Cite news|title=Bushfire aftermath: smoke trapped over Antarctica|location=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=28 May 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/28/2583676.htm|access-date=14 December 2009|archive-date=13 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213104147/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/28/2583676.htm|url-status=dead}}

File:Kinglake aerial.jpg

The Bushfires Royal Commission gave a "conservative" estimate of the total cost of the Black Saturday bushfires of $4.4 billion. This figure included a value of $645 million placed on the 173 lives lost using an accepted method the government uses to value lives, however did not include any assessment of the cost of the injuries received.{{cite news|last=Gray|first=Darren|title=Black Saturday cost $4.4 billion|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/black-saturday-cost-44-billion-20100801-11116.html|work=The Age|access-date=15 February 2011|date=1 August 2010|location=Melbourne|archive-date=28 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628185757/http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/black-saturday-cost-44-billion-20100801-11116.html|url-status=live}}

The largest contributor to the total cost was insurance claims, which the Insurance Council of Australia reported as $1.2 billion as of August 2010. This figure was composed of 84 per cent for property or contents, and 16 per cent for vehicles. However, the report also estimated that up to 13 per cent of residential properties destroyed may have had no insurance, with many more under-insured, thus suggesting that the actual cost of asset damage in the bushfires was considerably higher than that recorded. The report from the commission said that: "... the level of insurance claims is likely to underestimate the true extent of property losses, but it is unable to calculate the extent of this underestimation".

Also omitted from the $4.4 billion figure were the agricultural losses sustained in the fires, and the ongoing impacts on agriculture in following seasons. The Victorian Department of Primary Industries estimated losses shortly after the fires as 11,800 head of livestock, {{convert|62000|ha|acres}} of grazing pasture, and {{Convert|32000|t|ton}} of hay and silage.

As of February 2011, two years after the fires, the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority stated that based on figures from the end of 2010, permits had been issued for the rebuilding of only 731 of the 1,795, or 41 per cent of the principal places of residence destroyed in the fires.{{cite news|last=Johanson|first=Simon|title=Recovery a painfully slow path|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/recovery-a-painfully-slow-path-20110206-1aigz.html|work=The Age|access-date=15 February 2011|date=7 February 2011|location=Melbourne|archive-date=10 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210211234/http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/recovery-a-painfully-slow-path-20110206-1aigz.html|url-status=live}}

A class action lawsuit was initiated in the Supreme Court of Victoria on 13 February 2009 by Slidders Lawyers against electricity distribution company SP AusNet, in relation to the Kilmore East fire that became part of the Kinglake complex, and the Beechworth fires. A partner at the firm indicated that the claim would centre on alleged negligence by SP AusNet in its management of electricity infrastructure. On 12 February police had taken away a section of power line as well as a power pole from near Kilmore East, part of a two-kilometre section of line that fell on the morning of 7 February and was believed to have started the fire there.{{cite news|author1=Houston, Cameron|author-link2=Michael Bachelard|author2=Bachelard, Michael|name-list-style=amp|title=Huge fire class action launched|newspaper=The Age|date=15 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/huge-fire-class-action-launched-20090214-87pg.html?page=-1|access-date=15 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=18 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218081252/http://www.theage.com.au/national/huge-fire-class-action-launched-20090214-87pg.html?page=-1|url-status=live}} The class action was ultimately run by law firm Maurice Blackburn. The action alleged the power company failed to fit a $10 protective device on the power line, which contributed to it breaking and starting the devastating Kilmore East/Kinglake fire.{{cite web|url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1072983/hundreds-sign-for-bushfire-class-action|title=Hundreds sign for bushfire class action|date=19 June 2010|publisher=9news.com.au|access-date=16 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623001848/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1072983/hundreds-sign-for-bushfire-class-action|archive-date=23 June 2010}} The case settled in December 2014 with a settlement of $494.67 million,{{cite web|title=Court approves distribution of almost $700M in 2009 Black Saturday bushfire class actions|website=The Supreme Court of Victoria|url=https://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/for-the-media/media-releases/court-approves-distribution-of-almost-700m-in-2009-black-saturday|access-date=30 September 2023}} the country's largest class action settlement,{{cite news|title=Record payout over Australia Black Saturday fires|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28305127|access-date=6 February 2015|publisher=BBC News (Asia)|date=15 July 2014|quote=A 2009 Royal Commission found that the fire began when an electricity line failed between two poles. Contact between the live conductor and a cable stay supporting the pole caused arcing that ignited vegetation.|archive-date=16 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216082200/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28305127|url-status=live}} approved by the Supreme Court of Victoria.{{cite news|title=Black Saturday class action: Judge approves $494m Kilmore East bushfire settlement|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-23/judge-approves-black-saturday-class-action-settlement/5984374|access-date=6 February 2015|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=23 December 2014|quote=Victoria's Supreme Court has approved a $494 million payout to victims of the deadly 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, in what is considered to be the biggest class action in Australia's legal history.|archive-date=8 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208221316/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-23/judge-approves-black-saturday-class-action-settlement/5984374|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Black Saturday bushfire survivors secure $500 million in Australia's largest class action payout|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-15/black-saturday-bushfire-survivors-secure-record-payout/5597062|access-date=6 February 2015|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=15 July 2014|archive-date=16 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216101154/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-15/black-saturday-bushfire-survivors-secure-record-payout/5597062|url-status=live}} (The previous highest payout was $200 Million in Kirby v Centro Properties Limited (No 6) [2012] FCA 650 (19 June 2012).{{cite web|title=Record settlement in Black Saturday bushfires class action|url=http://www.marysvillecommunity.net/index.php/kilmore-east-kinglake-bushfire-class-action/98-record-settlement-in-black-saturday-bushfires-class-action.html|publisher=marysvillecommunity.net|access-date=6 February 2015|date=15 July 2014|quote=At nearly $500 million, the payout is more than double the previous highest Australian class action settlement of $200 million in the Centro shareholder class action|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206070754/http://www.marysvillecommunity.net/index.php/kilmore-east-kinglake-bushfire-class-action/98-record-settlement-in-black-saturday-bushfires-class-action.html|archive-date=6 February 2015|url-status=dead}})

In February 2014 a class action trial against SP AusNet by victims of the Marysville blaze was begun in the Supreme Court. It was alleged that the fire was caused by a "break in an electrical conductor on a power pole near the Murrindindi Saw Mill". A$300 million settlement was announced before the trial began.{{cite news|last1=Ferrier|first1=Steph|title=Marysville bushfire class action: Black Saturday bushfire victims to get $300 million payout|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-06/class-action-over-marysville-black-saturday-bushfire-reached/6071068|access-date=6 February 2015|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=6 February 2015|quote=Electricity company AusNet has announced a $300 million settlement with the Marysville victims of the Black Saturday bushfires.|archive-date=10 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210080239/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-06/class-action-over-marysville-black-saturday-bushfire-reached/6071068|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Victims of Black Saturday fire launch class action|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-07/victims-of--black-saturday-fire-launch-class-action/4181682|access-date=6 February 2015|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=7 August 2012|quote=A class action will be launched in the Supreme Court today on behalf of victims of the Murrindindi bushfire on Black Saturday in 2009.|archive-date=16 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216095533/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-07/victims-of--black-saturday-fire-launch-class-action/4181682|url-status=live}} The class action by Murrindindi/Marysville victims was settled in February 2015 for $300 million.

A total of nearly $700 million (after legal expenses) was shared among the claimants of the two highly complex class actions, which were presided over by Justices Jack Forrest and John Dixon. Various other claimants by communities around Coleraine, Horsham, Weerite-Pomborneit, and Beechworth-Mudgegonga also had lawsuits managed by the Supreme Court.

File:09 vic bushfire damage Yarra Glen 02.JPG

In the wake of the fires and the mounting casualty toll, there was debate about policies for dealing with bushfires and the management practices that may have contributed to them. Naomi Brown, chief executive of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council, argued that the high number of fatalities in these fires, as opposed to earlier fires such as the Ash Wednesday fires, was partly attributable to increased population densities on Melbourne's fringes. David Packham, bushfire expert and research fellow at Monash University, argued that high fuel loads in bushland led to the destructive intensity of the fires, saying that "There has been total mismanagement of the Australian forest environment."{{cite news|last=Rood|first=David|title=Forest strategies questioned|newspaper=The Age|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/forest-strategies-questioned-20090209-82d7.html?page=-1|access-date=10 February 2009|location=Melbourne|archive-date=14 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214024137/http://www.theage.com.au/national/forest-strategies-questioned-20090209-82d7.html?page=-1|url-status=live}}

In announcing that the fires would be investigated by a Royal Commission, the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, suggested that the long-standing "stay-and-defend-or-leave-early" policy would be reviewed, saying that while it had proven reliable during normal conditions, the conditions on 7 February had been exceptional.{{cite news|title=Stay-at-home policy best, says NSW fire commissioner|newspaper=The Australian|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25032778-5006784,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211064832/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0%2C25197%2C25032778-5006784%2C00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 February 2009|access-date=10 February 2009}} Brumby said that "There were many people who had done all of the preparations, had the best fire plans in the world and tragically it didn't save them."

Commissioner Nixon, however, defended the policy, saying that it was "well thought of and well based and has stood the test of time and we support it".{{Cite news|title=Nixon defends fire policy|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=9 February 2009|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2486729.htm|access-date=10 February 2009|archive-date=10 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210123639/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/09/2486729.htm|url-status=dead}} Similarly, Commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Shane Fitzsimmons, said that "Decades of science, practice and history show that a well-prepared home provides the best refuge in the event of fire". Nixon also dismissed potential policies involving forced evacuations, saying "There used to be policies where you could make people leave but we're talking about adults." A former Victorian police minister, Pat McNamara, argued that forced evacuations could have worsened the death toll, as many of the dead appeared to have been killed while attempting to evacuate the fire areas by car.

In response to the Black Saturday bushfires new building regulations for Victorian bushfire-prone areas were fast tracked by Standards Australia.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria-looks-at-changes-to-building-standards-20090215-887t.html?skin=text-only|title=Victoria looks at changes to building standards|date=16 February 2009|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=15 February 2009|archive-date=4 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104014652/http://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria-looks-at-changes-to-building-standards-20090215-887t.html?skin=text-only|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.standards.org.au/downloads/091002_Bushfire_Standard_Statement_FINAL.pdf|title=Media Release – Standards Australia to fast track completion of bushfire Standard|publisher=Standards Australia|access-date=17 February 2009|date=11 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219142939/http://standards.org.au/downloads/091002_Bushfire_Standard_Statement_FINAL.pdf|archive-date=19 February 2009}} Through the Department of Planning and Community Development the Victorian government has published a range of new guidelines and standards for bushfire planning and building.{{cite web|title=Bushfire planning and building|url=http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/planning/planning-policy-and-projects/bushfire-planning-and-building-resource|work=Department of Planning and Community Development official website|publisher=State Government of Victoria|access-date=22 April 2011|date=1 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110328120453/http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/planning/planning-policy-and-projects/bushfire-planning-and-building-resource|archive-date=28 March 2011|url-status=dead}}

Based on this information, the Building Commission Victoria has released a range of publications to assist with people returning to properties, moving into temporary dwellings, retrofitting existing dwellings, and building new dwellings in bushfire areas.{{cite web|title=Publications and Fact Sheets|url=http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/www/html/2436-publications-and-fact-sheets.asp|work=Official website|publisher=Building Commission Victoria|access-date=22 April 2011|date=19 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405075215/http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/www/html/2436-publications-and-fact-sheets.asp|archive-date=5 April 2011|url-status=dead}} The new standard states that all properties (not just those in bushfire areas) will now require a "bushfire attack assessment", and will be given a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating that outlines the type of construction required. The BAL takes into consideration such factors as the Fire Danger Index, the slope, and surrounding vegetation. BALs range from "BAL-LOW", for properties with no specific construction requirements such as suburban buildings, to "BAL-FZ" for properties in the fire zone likely to experience direct exposure to the fire front, as well as high heat flux and ember attacks.{{cite web|title=A guide to building in Victoria after bushfires|url=http://www.vba.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/40583/Guide-to-building-in-Victoria-after-bushfires.pdf|work=Official website|publisher=Building Commission Victoria|access-date=23 October 2017|date=19 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313112305/http://www.vba.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/40583/Guide-to-building-in-Victoria-after-bushfires.pdf|archive-date=13 March 2018|url-status=dead}}

While a draft national building code for bushfire-prone areas proposed using {{convert|1000|K|C F|lk=on}} as the standard for the assumed temperature to which houses are subject when hit by bushfire, fire engineers argued that standards should be based on a {{convert|1090|K|C F}} temperature. This was in line with existing New South Wales building laws for bushfire-prone areas, although the temperature of fires can actually peak at approximately {{convert|1600|K|C F}}.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/foolhardy-to-set-building-code-that-underestimates-heat-of-fires-20090211-84r4.html?page=-1|title='Foolhardy' to set building code that underestimates heat of fires|date=12 February 2009|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=14 February 2009|first=Debra|last=Jopson|archive-date=21 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221034418/http://www.smh.com.au/national/foolhardy-to-set-building-code-that-underestimates-heat-of-fires-20090211-84r4.html?page=-1|url-status=live}} The Australian Building Codes Board incorporated the {{convert|1090|K|C F}} temperature in the standard, with the support of the CFA and Australasian Fire Authorities Council.

As part of the building codes debate, an expert panel recommended in 2010 that the state government ban housing in the highest fire risk areas, which are some of the most dangerous in the world.{{cite web|last=Rintoul|first=Stuart|title=Ban development in fire-prone areas, experts tell royal commission|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/ban-development-in-fire-prone-areas-experts-tell-royal-commission/story-e6frg6nf-1225830521084|work=The Australian|access-date=19 February 2011|date=15 February 2010|archive-date=4 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504034232/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/ban-development-in-fire-prone-areas-experts-tell-royal-commission/story-e6frg6nf-1225830521084|url-status=live}} Michael Buxton, a professor at RMIT University, said that after the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires the government bought back tens of thousands of lots across the Dandenong Ranges because they were in extremely high fire risk areas; he backed another similar large-scale buyback scheme to move people away from unacceptably high risk areas.

Another member of the panel, international planning expert Roz Hansen, said that she was "disappointed and alarmed" about the decision to rebuild Marysville, stating that it was unlikely that a new development would have been permitted in the area. She went on to say that in parts of Asia, people had been forcibly moved out of unacceptably high risk cyclone and flooding areas in the public interest despite the difficulties this involved.{{cite web|last=Cowan|first=Jane|title=Marysville should never have been rebuilt, commission told|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/15/2819672.htm|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|access-date=19 February 2011|date=15 February 2010|archive-date=21 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121124559/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/15/2819672.htm|url-status=dead}}

{{Portal bar|Australia}}

• Ash Wednesday bushfires
• Black Friday (1939)
• Black Saturday firestorm (Wildfire case study)
• Utility-caused wildfires
• List of disasters in Australia by death toll
• List of major bushfires in Australia
• List of wildfires
• Recloser
• Sam the Koala
• 1967 Tasmanian fires
• 2008–09 Australian bushfire season
• 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

{{Clear}}

{{Reflist|refs=

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• {{cite book|last=Hooper|first=Chloe|title=The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YFlDwAAQBAJ|year=2018|publisher=Penguin Random House Australia|isbn=978-1-74348-552-1}}
• {{Cite book|last=Hyland|first=Adrian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZApBgAAQBAJ|title=Kinglake-350|publisher=Text Publishing|year=2015|isbn=9781922182920|location=Melbourne}}
• {{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=Kath|last2=Hawkins|first2=Deidre|title=Living with Fire: A Brief History of Fires in the Kinglake Ranges|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ms0KwQEACAAJ|year=2018|publisher=Kinglake Historical Society|isbn=978-0-9871217-8-3}}

{{Commons category|2009 Victorian bushfires }}

{{Wikinews|More than 160 dead in bushfires in Australia | Class action launched by Australian bushfire survivors against SP AusNet}}

• [http://royalcommission.vic.gov.au/ 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission website with transcripts exhibits submissions etc] (very large file)
• [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=black+saturday+bushfires&aq=f Black Saturday bushfires] on YouTube
• [https://www.youtube.com/user/cfavic#grid/user/B3D49B5C05D0FE0E CFA Black Saturday video footage] on YouTube
• {{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/anatomy-of-a-firestorm-20090225-8hvi.html?page=-1|newspaper=The Age|date=26 February 2009|title=Anatomy of a Firestorm, an article on the conditions and air movements of 7 February 2009|first=William|last=Kininmonth|access-date=26 February 2009|location=Melbourne}}
• [http://www.theage.com.au/photogallery/2009/02/08/1234027828219.html The Age's image gallery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328040843/http://www.theage.com.au/photogallery/2009/02/08/1234027828219.html |date=28 March 2009 }}
• [http://mp3.news.com.au/hwt/Victoria_fire/index.html The Herald Sun's interactive fire map]
• {{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20090427/fires2/|title=Eye of the Storm|work=Four Corners|access-date=27 April 2009|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}
• [http://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/content.php?pid=36394&sid=267991 State Library of Victoria's Bushfires in Victoria Research Guide] Guide to locating books, government reports, websites, statistics, newspaper reports and images about the Black Saturday fires.
• {{citation|doi=10.1002/qj.1986|title=The meteorology of Black Saturday|journal=Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society|volume=139|issue=672|pages=585–599|year=2013|last1=Engel|first1=Chermelle B.|last2=Lane|first2=Todd P.|last3=Reeder|first3=Michael J.|last4=Rezny|first4=Michael|bibcode=2013QJRMS.139..585E|s2cid=123623810|doi-access=free}}

{{Bushfires in Australia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Saturday Bushfires}}

Category:2009 disasters in Australia

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Category:2009 wildfires

Category:Bushfires in Victoria (state)

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Category:2000s fires in Oceania

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Category:2009 industrial disasters