It’s important to look at history to understand how bad things can get. Australia’s most extensive Bush fires were known as the ‘Black Thursday’ Bushfires, where on the 6th Feb 1851 (Co2 levels 285 ppm) when the temperature hit an incredible 117°F (47.2 C) at 11am in Melbourne, and quarter of Victoria, 5 million hectares in total were burnt out (10 times more than from the current Bushfires in NSW). 12 lives were lost and one million sheep and thousands of cattle were lost.
Thomas McCombie recorded the scene in Melbourne on that day:
"For two months preceding, the country had been under the desiccating winds, which appeared to be highly charged with electricity. The herbage was parched up, and everything that the eye could rest upon was dry, dusty, and disagreeable. The 6th of February dawned much as very hot days generally do; the roseate tints of the horizon were rather brighter and more lurid than usual - the glassed glare over the sky more vividly perceptible.
The north wind set strongly in early in the morning, and by eleven o'clock in the fore-noon it had increased to almost a hurricane. ‘’In the streets of Melbourne the heat was intense, and the atmosphere densely oppressive. Clouds of smoke and dust hung over the city. The fires which blazed in the surrounding country no doubt increased the suffocating sensation which was generally experienced. It was hardly possible to go abroad; the streets were nearly deserted; and a few of the persons who were compelled to make the effort to traverse them stalked along with their faces closely enveloped in cloth; no man, however bold, appeared able to face the furiously-suffocating blast, which seemed to wither up their physical energies. By noon, the inhabitants, generally, had shut themselves up in their various dwellings, too happy to have got out of the reach of the overpowering blast.
They continued to sit until night listening in terror to the howl of this real sirocco. Had any portion of Melbourne ignited the whole of the city must have been reduced to ashes, as no effort of the inhabitants could have prevented the conflagration from extending and becoming general. The citizens were providentially preserved from so terrible a disaster."
Catastrophic Bushfires hit Victoria again in 1898 (Co2 levels 295 ppm) known as ‘ Red Tuesday’ when fires burned 260,000 hectares in South Gippsland.
Twelve lives and more than 2,000 buildings were destroyed.
In 1939 (Co2 levels 311 ppm) the 13th Jan became known as ‘Black Friday’, the fires in Victoria burned 1.5 to 2 million hectares, they killed 71 people and destroyed more than 650 buildings.
In 1944 (Co2 310 ppm) levels fires in the Western Districts of Victoria destroyed more than 500 houses and caused huge losses in the pastoral industry.
Four or more grass fires near Hamilton, Dunkeld, Skipton and Lake Bolac burned about 440,000 hectares in eight hours. Between 15 and 20 people died. The total area covered by grass fires that season was about one million hectares.
In 1962, (318 ppm) Fires in the Dandenong Ranges and on the outskirts of Melbourne killed 32 and destroyed more than 450 houses. In 1965, (320 ppm) fires the in Gippsland burned for 17 days, covering 300,000 hectares of forest and 15,000 hectares of grassland. More than 60 buildings and 4,000 stock were destroyed.
In 1969, (324 ppm) Two hundred and eighty fires broke out on the 8th Jan, Twelve reached major proportions and burned 250,000 hectares. Twenty-three people died, including 17 motorists at Lara, trapped on the then highway between Geelong and Melbourne. The fires also destroyed 230 houses, 21 other buildings and more than 12,000 stock.
In 1977, (333 ppm) widespread fires occurred across the Western District of Victoria. The fires killed four people and burned about 103,000 hectares. More than 198,500 stock, 116 houses and 340 other buildings were also lost.
In 1983, (342 ppm) the 16th Feb became known as ‘Ash Wednesday’ more than 100 fires burned 210,000 hectares and killed 47 people. More than 27,000 stock and 2,000 houses were lost.
That’s just Victoria. And to think, that the Greens have the anti-scientific superstitious belief that we can stop Bushfires by importing more solar panels from China. These people are not only demented, they have a complete ignorance of Australia’s history. But then again they are perhaps just the worst of dishonest liars, exploiting tragedy and spreading untruths for their own political gain.
The image is William Strutt's massive historical painting ‘Black Thursday, February 6th 1851.’
