The Canberra bushfires of 2003 caused severe damage to the outskirts of the Australian capital city. They were the second most expensive in Australian history, behind Ash Wednesday, and were recorded by the BBC as being the worst in Canberra's history. After burning for a week around the edges of the Australian Capital Territory, the fires entered the suburbs of Canberra on January 18. Over the next ten days, four people died and more than 500 homes and tens of square kilometres of forest were destroyed or severely damaged, requiring a massive relief and reconstruction effort.
The beginning
Fires had been burning in the adjoining Kosciuszko National Park to the west of the ACT since 8 January 2003 when lightning strikes had lit some 150 fires there.
On 13 January, a helicopter that had been waterbombing the fires in the forests west of Canberra crashed into Bendora Dam, and ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, who was reviewing the progress of the fires, was one of the rescuers.
Black Saturday
As strong winds and high temperatures continued into the morning of Saturday, January 18, residents in rural areas west and north-west of the city were told to prepare for the worst. Two fires continued to burn out of control in the Namadgi National Park, with the entire park, along with the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve being closed due to the threat. A second fire in the Brindabella Ranges was threatening to break containment lines.
Throughout the day, the fires burned closer and closer to the fringes of Canberra's suburbs, and there was still no sign of gaining control of the situation. By mid-afternoon, it had become apparent that the fires posed a immediate threat to houses on the city's urban limits, and a state of emergency had been declared. Residents of the suburb of Bonython were evacuated, and residents of sixteen more suburbs were placed on alert and advised to return home from work.
The blazes, which CNN described as a "firestorm", had reached Canberra by 4pm, by which time houses were alight in the suburbs of Duffy and Giralang , with the loss of a home in Holder soon after. In Duffy, firefighters had been forced to retreat, abandoning an entire block. Evacuation centres were set up at four schools - Phillip College, Ginninderra College, Erindale College and Narrabundah College. A dark cloud hung over the city, and though it was not in danger, Parliament House was closed. Parts of the city also lost power.
By 5pm, houses were reported destroyed in Duffy, Giralang, Holder and Rivett, as well as a school in Uriarra . Houses were also burning in Kambah and Uriarra, with some Holder residents being asked to evacuate. The Monaro Highway into Canberra was closed off, and more suburbs were reported to have lost power. Within an hour, houses were also burning in Torrens and Weston, as well as one suburban fire station. The Canberra Hospital, though it was relying on auxiliary power due to the blackout, faced increasing numbers of patients suffering from smoke inhalation and other fire-related illnesses.
The first casualty of the fires occurred in the mid-evening, as a result of smoke inhalation. The fires subsequently spread to the suburb of Curtin and Lyons , and residents of several suburbs were given the option of evacuating to Queanbeyan. The Emergency Services Bureau, based in Curtin, which was the centre of command for the firefighting operation, came under threat itself. The army, which has a significant presence in and around Canberra, was called in to provide support.
By 10pm, one of the four evacuation centres in Canberra was completely full, and others were filling up quickly. Reports of looting also began to arrive from the damaged areas. Both Prime Minister John Howard and then-Governor General Peter Hollingworth changed their plans in order to return to Canberra as soon as was possible. While the very worst of the fires had passed, the situation was still far from stable, and going into Sunday January 19, houses were still ablaze across numerous suburbs.
Mt Stromlo Observatory
Perhaps the most notable cultural and scientific loss
caused by the fires was the damage to the scenic and renowned Mount Stromlo Observatory (headquarters of the
Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics
of the Australian National University) which is estimated to be the source of a third of Australia's astronomical research
(New Scientist, 20 January 2003).
Five historically significant telescopes were destroyed.
Instrumentation & engineering workshops, the observatory's library and the main administration buildings were consumed. The insurance payment sought by the Australian National University, amounting to 75 million Australian dollars, could become the largest claim in Australian history (The Australian, 15 December 2004).
The aftermath
In the weeks after January 18, the impact of the fires was studied in detail in order to determine how the damage had been done, and how to better work against such natural disasters in future. The Cities Project compiled information on as many as 431 damaged properties, stratified into the groups of "destroyed", "heavy damage", "medium damage", "light damage", and "superficial damage". This data was split by suburb to form a table which illustrated which areas had taken the most damage. Their data allowed them to conclude that the high levels of "destroyed" property (91%) indicated the high speed with which the fire had moved. It was also able to be concluded that once the establishments has caught fire, there was little chance of their being put out. In addition, their study showed that it was not only the fire which caused such damage, but also the fierce winds recorded on the day, which were strong enough to uproot some small trees. It is believed that with the aid of this information, better policies and regulations have been formulated, which may help to reduce the destruction in future bushfires, in Canberra, as well as in other locales.
The Bushfire Recovery Taskforce was established to advise the Government, provide leadership for the recovery and act as a bridge between Government agencies and the community.
McLeod Inquiry
The ACT Government established the McLeod Inquiry to examine and report on the
operational response to the bushfires. The Inquiry was headed by Ron McLeod, a former Commonwealth Ombudsman. The Inquiry handed down its findings on 1 August, 2003.
The inquiry found that:
- The fires, started by lightning strikes, might have been contained had they been attacked more aggressively in the 24 hours after they broke out. Large stretches of dry drought affected vegetation and weather conditions that were extremely conducive to fire meant that once the fires reached a certain size, that they were very difficult to control.
- That management of fuel load in parks and access to remote area was lacking.
- Emergency service personnel performed creditably, but they were overwhelmed by the intensity of the fires and the unexpected speed of their advance on the 18th of January.
- A Comprehensive ACT emergency plan was in place at the time of the fire, it worked particularly in recovery after the fires in dealing with the large number of people who needed temporary shelter and assistance as a consequence of the fires.
- That inadequacies in the physical construction and layout of the Emergency Services Bureau centre in Curtin were a hindrance. The centre was unable to handle efficiently the large amount of data and communications traffic into and out of the centre at the height of the crisis.
- That there were some equipment and resourcing deficiencies within the ACT’s emergency service organisations.
- That information and advice given to the community about about the progress of the fires, the seriousness of the threat and the preparations the public should be making was seriously inadequate. There was also confusion as to whether homes should be evacuated.
The Inquiry recommended there should be increased emphasis given to controlled burning as a fuel-reduction strategy. That access to and training of emergeny personnel in remote areas need to be improved. That a number of changes be made to the emergency services and the policies that govern their operations, icluding a greater emphasis on provision of information to the public.
ACT Coroner's Bushfire Inquiry
See main article:ACT Coroner's Bushfire Inquiry
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