The Mount Lubra bushfire, also called the Mount Warrinaburb bushfire, was a

bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

, started by a

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

strike, that burnt approximately from late on 19 January 2006 until mid-February 2006 near The Grampians in,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia. The fire burned, in difficult terrain, throughout 20–21 January without any serious impact. On 22 January, hot and dry conditions that had persisted for several days worsened. The fire spread rapidly in a southerly direction towards

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, sco, Dunkell, from gd, Dùn Chailleann, "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to t ...

, south of Grampians National Park. The fire front reached the outskirts of

Willaura Willaura is a town in western Victoria, Australia in the Rural City of Ararat local government area, west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Willaura and surrounding area had a population of 439. According to tradition, the town's name i ...

(south-west of Ararat), before a strong but dry wind change took the fire back in the opposite direction. Winds of up to sent the fire northward extremely quickly, impacting a number of small communities along the eastern side of The Grampians, including

Mafeking Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg. In ...

, Moyston, Barton, Jallukar and

Pomonal Pomonal is a town in western Victoria, Australia within the Rural City of Ararat local government area, north west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Pomonal had a population of 356. History Reflecting the many orchards in the area ...

. A man and his son died between Moyston and Pomonal when they were caught up in the fire. The fire was eventually controlled approximately two weeks later, having burned nearly 47% of the

Grampians National Park The Grampians National Park commonly referred to as The Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd. The national park is situated betwee ...

, as well as a significant amount of private property, a total of . Approximately 25 homes were destroyed, mostly to the west of Moyston and around Pomonal. Over 50 sheds and outbuildings, of fencing, as well as 62,000 head of sheep and 500 head of cattle were lost to the blaze.

References

Bushfires in Victoria (Australia) 2006 fires in Oceania Grampians (region) 2000s in Victoria (Australia) 2006 in Australia {{VictoriaAU-stub

See also

References