Bushfire

seasonal wild fire events in Australia

A bushfire is a wildfire that happens mostly in the Australian bush. Bush is the word for scrub, woodland or grassland of Australia and New Zealand. In south east and south west of Australia, bushfires are most common in the summer and early autumn. In the north of Australia, bushfires usually happen during winter which is the dry season.[1][2] Many Australian plants burn easily. Eucalyptus trees have a high oil content which makes them burn.[2] Over the last 40 years, Australian bushfires have cost around 2.5 billion Australian dollars. In the same period, Australian bushfires caused the death of around 250 people and the destruction of 4,554 homes.[3]But these figures do not include the 173 people who died and the 2000 homes destroyed in the 2009 Victorian bushfires. They can also kill wildlife including rare koalas.

New growth 2 years after the bushfire at Bogong, 2003.
Smoke from bushfires can cover a large area. This is eastern Victoria.
The city of Melbourne covered in smoke during the 2006-2007 bushfire season.
An Australian bustard searching for food behind a bushfire.
Ladysmith NSW RFS fire fighting tanker

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References change

  1. "Monsoonal Climate". Questacon. Archived from the original (html) on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "The Bushfire Threat". Bushfire Weather. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  3. "What is a bushfire". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 2008-10-25.