The 2020–21 Australian bushfire season was the season of summer

bushfires in Australia Bushfires in Australia are a widespread and regular occurrence that have contributed significantly to shaping the nature of the continent over millions of years. Eastern Australia is one of the most fire-prone regions of the world, and its pr ...

. Following the devastating 2019–20 bushfires in Australia, authorities were urged to prepare early for the 2020–21 Australian bushfire season. The bushfire outlook for July to September 2020 was predicting a normal fire potential in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

with a good grass growth in many areas giving an increased risk of grass fires, an above normal season in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

as a result of good rains from tropical cyclones, a normal but earlier season in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, an above normal season on the south coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and normal seasons elsewhere.

Fires by state or territory

New South Wales

In mid-August 2020, a bushfire starting from a burn off quickly got out of control in grassy vegetation in the Duranbah region. The fire burned out around of grass and swampland. It threatened the small community of Duranbah near the

and

border. On 10 October 2020, a bushfire began in the

Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a state park, protected national park that is located in the Sutherland Shire local government area in Southern Sydney and in the City of Wollongong local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Au ...

near

Waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

on Kangaroo Ridge, south of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The

New South Wales Rural Fire Service The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting government agency, agency and statutory body of the Government of New South Wales. The NSW RFS is responsible for fire protection to approximately 95% of the la ...

(NSWRFS) believes this started due to a spot fire from a hazard reduction burn on the other side of the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

. The fire severely disrupted highway and railway traffic as both were halted that afternoon. As of 11 October, it was burning out of control in a north-easterly direction and was in size. The railway was open and the highway operated at reduced speeds. The 'Marie Bashir', the NSWRFS's

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

Large Air Tanker water bombing aircraft was used to fight it on 10 and 11 October, the first time the aircraft was used this fire season. On 23 November 2020, a bushfire flared to Watch and Act Level at Glenugie south of Grafton due to a short-lived heatwave which soared temperatures on the North and Far North Coastlines. It crossed the Pacific Highway and caused numerous spot fires adjacent to the Highway. On 28 November 2020, severe fire danger warnings were in place for the Far North Coast, North Coast, Greater Hunter, Greater Sydney Region and North Western region. There was a very high fire danger for Illawarra, Shoalhaven, Central Ranges, New England and Northern Slopes. Total fire bans were in place in all those localities. On 29 November 2020, three fires flared to Watch and Act level as a result of a heatwave of up to , and winds that had been wreaking havoc since 28 November. The first fire began in the suburb of

Northmead Northmead is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Northmead is located 26 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. Northmead is ...

, threatening homes there. Multiple RFS crews went to the area, and helicopters scooped water from the Parramatta River to douse flames. One home was fire damaged. By 3pm the fire was under control. The second fire broke out in Faulconbridge, a suburb of the Blue Mountains, and quickly spread by . The third fire broke out near Kenthurst in Sydney's Northwest.

Northern Territory

Sixteen fires during the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

in the

followed two record-breaking dry

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

s meaning that vegetation was drying faster and earlier. The presence of

gamba grass ''Andropogon gayanus'', commonly known as gamba grass, Rhodesian blue grass, tambuki grass, and other names, is a species of grass native to most of the tropical and subtropical savannas of Africa. History and naming ''Andropogon gayanus'' was ...

, introduced in the 1930s, in the savannah is also problematic with the grass being more combustible than native species.

Queensland (Fraser Island)

2020-11-14_Fraser_Island_Aqua_MODIS-LABELS-EN

A large bushfire was started on 14 October 2020 by an illegal campfire within the Duling Camp Zone of Eastern Beach on

Fraser Island K'gari ( , ), also known by its former name Fraser Island, is a World Heritage-listed sand island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. The island lies approximately north of the state capi ...

. It impacted multiple communities and caused people to flee their homes as it burned out of control. In early December interstate assistance, including from the

who provided a

Boeing 737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...

Large Air Tanker waterbombing aircraft, was used to fight the fire as Happy Valley township was threatened. Early in the morning (3:35am) the

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services The Queensland Fire Department (QFD) is the primary provider of fire services in Queensland, Australia. The QFD was established on the 1st of July, 2024, and has committed to a refocus on firefighting operations after the organisational chang ...

(QFES) issued an emergency warning in which residents were advised to "leave immediately". High temperatures of , and strong winds hindered fire fighting and QFES Director Brian Cox said "A lot of this fire is burning in inaccessible country …". Heavy rainfall in mid-December helped contain the fire and the QFES was able to hand control back to the

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) is a business division of the Department of Environment and Science within the Government of Queensland. The division’s primary concern is with the management and maintenance of Protected areas ...

(QPWS). This was the longest burning fire this fire season up to 14 December 2020 as it had been burning since October, over two months, and as of that date, more than half the island had been "blackened" by fire. The fire was still burning, but the island was safe for visitors though some walking trails and areas were still restricted for safety. The island reopened on 15 December. The area burnt by the fire was estimated at . It is expected that the burned areas will successfully regenerate. Four men, aged 21 to 24, were charged over the bushfire and on 21 January 2021 at

Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to ...

Magistrates Court two of the four pled guilty to one count each of "unlawfully lighting a fire and leaving a fire unattended", were fined A$667 on each offence, and did not have a conviction recorded. The other two were charged with "unlawfully lighting a fire" but had their cases adjourned to 11 February. A 17-year-old minor was allegedly involved, but not charged and is instead being dealt with through the Youth Justice Act due to his age.

South Australia

On 10 November, a series of Bushfires took place due to hot and windy conditions contributing to Severe Thunderstorms mainly in the

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula, known as Guuranda by the original inhabitants, the Narungga people, is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula ...

. As of 11:20 pm ACDT there were 63 power outages affecting over 23,000 customers and over 100 incidents the South Australian Country Fire Service had attended throughout the day. This comes after the first Total Fire Bans were issued for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

for the first time in the 2020–21 Australian bushfire season. At 12:48 pm ACDT on 27 November, the South Australian Country Fire Service responded to a grass fire at

Templers Templers may refer to: * Templers, South Australia is a town in South Australia * Templers (religious believers) The German Templer Society, also known as Templers, is a Radical Pietist group that emerged in Germany during the mid-nineteenth ...

in the State's Mid North. Shortly after arriving the CFS declared an Emergency Warning and ordered people around

, Freeling,

Lyndoch Lyndoch is a town in Barossa Valley, located on the Barossa Valley Highway between Gawler, South Australia, Gawler and Tanunda, South Australia, Tanunda, 58 km northeast of Adelaide. The town has an elevation of 175m and an average Precipi ...

and Roseworthy to evacuate. Just after 3pm the fire was declared contained. At 12:37 pm ACDT on 11 January, an out-of-control bushfire raged in the Lower South East of

near the township of Lucindale. As of 2:36 pm 12 January over 14,000 ha of grass and scrub was burnt. After having over 200 firefighters working around the clock, the fire threat has reduced and contained with help from the Victorian

Country Fire Authority The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a Volunteer fire department, volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia ...

. At 4:15 pm ACDT on 24 January, a bushfire took hold at Cherry Gardens under Extreme weather conditions, located in the

Adelaide Hills The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...

. At 4:36pm the first Emergency Warning was issued for people living on Hicks Hill Road, Orchard Road, Lewis Street and Prith Road, soon towns were being notified to evacuate as the fire raged out-of-control towards homes that would pose a threat to lives in its path. As of 7:15pm on 25 January the fire was declared Contained after heavy rain improved the firefighting conditions. Four months later a 61-year-old man was charged with starting the fires. Smoke from the Cherry Gardens Fire

Western Australia

A Bushfire Emergency Warning was declared for the

City of Swan The City of Swan is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area of Western Australia, in the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council, eastern metropolitan region of Perth. It is named after the Swan River (Western Austral ...

on 24 December with of land being burnt. A bushfire started burning on 2 January in areas to the north of Perth. By 5 January, a total area of of bushland had been burned out and properties threatened in Gingin and Dandaragan with residents of Ocean Farms Estate being ordered to evacuate and farmers east of Lancelin also encouraged to leave. By 7 January, of land over the Gingin and Dandaragan shires had been burned with 200 fire fighters combating the blaze. On 3 January a dangerous bushfire began in Postans and quickly spread through bushland in The Spectacles, Hope Valley and

Kwinana Beach Kwinana may refer to: * City of Kwinana, a local government area in Western Australia * Electoral district of Kwinana, an electorate of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly * Kwinana Beach, Western Australia, a suburb in Western Australia * ...

, putting industrial buildings and the oil refinery at risk, as well as Perth Motorplex. Strong winds made the fire hard to control, but it was downgraded to a watch and act on 4 January. A bushfire in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

, a suburb in the east of Perth, on 15 January and burned through about of bushland requiring some 75 firefighters to contain it. Another fire was also burning in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

on 15 January resulting in the loss of one home and shed on a hobby farm near the

Great Southern Highway Great Southern Highway is a highway in the southern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, starting from Great Eastern Highway at The Lakes, from Perth, and ending at Albany Highway near Cranbrook. It is the primary thoroughfare for this ...

. Another fire started burning on 16 January in a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in the suburb of Oakford in Perth's southern suburbs resulting in the closure of

Kwinana Freeway The Kwinana Freeway is a freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with Mandurah to the south. It is the central section of State Route 2, which continues north as Mitchell Freeway to A ...

between Mortimer and Anketell Roads and the loss of one house. Approximately 150 fire fighters and 50 vehicles along with aerial bombers were required to combat the blaze. Over of bushland was burned out. On 1 February 2021, the 2021 Wooroloo bushfire started at Werribee Road,

Wooroloo Wooroloo is a town on the outer fringe of the Perth metropolitan region, located off Great Eastern Highway in the eastern part of the Shire of Mundaring. At the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, Wooroloo had a population of 2,613. History T ...

. Over 500 fire fighters and 90 fire trucks were required to battle the fire and spread to parts of Wundowie, Gidgegannup and Chidlow. More than three houses, outbuildings and two fire trucks were destroyed. The fire remained uncontrollable overnight, and reached ground just east of The Vines by mid morning on the following day, by that stage it had a 60 km perimeter and was 7000 hectares in size. At lunch time on 3 February it was confirmed that 71 houses had been lost, with areas of Bullsbrook and Shady hills in Perth's north advised to evacuate due to predicted wind changes combined with steep terrain that is inaccessible to vehicles. By 6 February it had destroyed at least 86 houses and 2 fire trucks and burned out an area of over . On 5 February, two new bushfires in the South West were ignited, one near Injidup and the other near Yallingup, with one thought to have been deliberately lit. 100 firefighters were needed to control the fires which were apart, with the Yallingup fire coming close to Ngilgi Cave.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Australian bushfire season Bushfire seasons in Australia Australian bushfire season Australian bushfire season 2020 disasters in Australia 2021 disasters in Australia 2020 fires in Oceania 2021 fires in Oceania