This is a list of major bushfires in Australia. The list contains individual bushfires and bushfire seasons that have resulted in fatalities, or bushfires that have burned in excess of , or was significant for its damage to particular Australian landmarks.

, Australian bushfires accounted for over 800 deaths since 1851 and, in 2012, the total accumulated cost was estimated to be 1.6 billion. In terms of monetary cost however, bushfires have not cost as much in financial terms as the damage caused by drought, severe storms, hail, and cyclones, perhaps because they most commonly occur outside highly populated urban areas.

Of all the recorded fires in Australia, the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in the state of Victoria claimed the largest number of recorded deaths of any individual Australian bushfire or bushfires season173 fatalities over 21 days. The largest known area burnt was between , impacting approximately 15 per cent of Australia's physical land mass, during the 1974–75 Australian bushfire season. The highest number of homes destroyed was approximately 3,700 dwellings, attributed to Victoria's 1939 Black Friday bushfires.

The fires of the summer of 2019–2020 affected densely populated areas including holiday destinations resulting in the New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, to claim it was "absolutely" the worst bushfire season on record [in that state]. Australian National University described the 2019 fire year as "close to average" and the 2020 fire year as "unusually small".

Some of the most severe Australian bushfires (single fires and fire seasons) have included:

List Date Name or description State(s) /territories Area burned (approx.) Fatalities Properties damaged Notes ha acres Homes Other buildings Other damage Black Thursday bushfires Victoria approximately 12 0 0 9 September 1895 Upper Blue Mountains fires New South Wales 0 24 Sheds Main Western Railway Line at Mount Victoria 1 February 1898 Red Tuesday bushfires Victoria 12 0 2,000 1926 bushfires Victoria 60 1,000 0 Black Friday bushfires Victoria 71 3,700 0 14 January – 14 February 1944 1944 Victorian bushfires Victoria 15–20 approximately 500 0 18 November 1944 1944 Blue Mountains bushfire New South Wales 0 approximately 40 0 October 1951 – January 1952 1951–52 bushfires Victoria 11 0 0 New South Wales (South Coast)2,000,0005850New South Wales (Western)4,500,0011??Australian Capital Territory10,0002?? 2 January 1955 Black Sunday bushfires South Australia 2 40 0 30 November 1957 1957 Grose Valley bushfire, Blue Mountains New South Wales 4 0 0 2 December 1957 1957 bushfire, Blue Mountains New South Wales 0 170 0 January – March 1961 1961 Western Australian bushfires 0 160 0 14–16 January 1962 1962 Victorian bushfires Victoria 32 450 0 16 February – 13 March 19651965 Gippsland bushfires Victoria 0 more than 20 60 4,000 livestock 5–14 March 1965 Southern Highlands bushfires 3 59 0 7 February 1967 Black Tuesday bushfires Tasmania 64 1,293 0 19 February 1968 Dandenong Ranges bushfire Victoria 0 53 10 1968–69 1968–69 Killarney Top Springs bushfires Northern Territory 0 0 0 29 November 1968 1968 Blue Mountains Bushfire New South Wales 4 approximately 120 0 8 January 1969 1969 bushfires Victoria 23 230 0 1969–70 1969–70 Dry River–Victoria River fire Northern Territory 0 0 0 1974–1975 summer fire season(defined as October 1974 to February 1975 in Queensland only) 1974–75 Australian bushfire season 6 unknown unknown 15% of Australia was burnt. The damage was mostly in central Australia and so it did not impact many communities. 12 February 1977 Western Districts bushfires Victoria 4 116 340 17 December 1977 Blue Mountains Fires 1977 New South Wales 2 49 0 4 April 1978 1978 Western Australian bushfires Western Australia 2 0 6 December 1979 1979 Sydney bushfires New South Wales 5 28 0 3 November 1980 1980 bushfire New South Wales 5 14 0 9 January 1983 bushfire New South Wales 3 0 0 16 February 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires 75 approximately 2,400 0 25 December 1984 1984 Western New South Wales grasslands bushfires New South Wales 0 0 0 Mid-January 1985 1985 Cobar bushfire New South Wales 0 1984–1985 season1984–85 New South Wales bushfires New South Wales 5 14 January 1985 Central Victoria bushfires Victoria 3 180 0 New South Wales 4 225 0 "Bushfires – Get the Facts ". Attorney-General's Department. Retrieved 9 January 2013 8 January 1997 Wooroloo bushfire Western Australia 0 16 0 21 January 1997 Dandenongs bushfire Victoria 3 41 0 2 December 1997 Lithgow bushfire New South Wales 2 0 0 2 December 1997 Menai bushfire New South Wales 1 11 0 2 December 1997 Perth and South-West Region bushfires Western Australia 2 1 0 2 December 1998 Linton bushfire Victoria 5 0 0 25 December 2001 – 7 January 2002 Black Christmas bushfires New South Wales 0 121 0 August–November 2002 2002 NT bushfires Northern Territory 0 0 0 19 October 2002 Thurlgona Road Bushfire New South Wales 0 10 Numerous Sheds20 October 2002 Abernathy Bushfire New South Wales 1,400 3,459 1 13 Numerous Sheds4 December 2002 2002 NSW Bushfires New South Wales 1 20 Significant damage to Holsworthy Army Base 18–22 January 2003 2003 Canberra bushfires 4 approximately 500 0 8 January – 8 March 2003 2003 Eastern Victorian alpine bushfires Victoria 0 41 213 10,000 livestock December 2003 Tenterden Western Australia15,000 37,000 0 20 10–12 January 2005 2005 Eyre Peninsula bushfire South Australia 9 93 0 New Years Day, 2006 2006 Central Coast bushfire New South Wales 0 New Years Day 2006 Jail Break Inn Fire, New South Wales 0 7 4 December 2005 – January 2006 2005 Victorian bushfires Victoria 4 57 359 65,000 livestock January 2006 Grampians bushfire Victoria 2 0 0 6 February 2006 Pulletop bushfire, New South Wales 0 0 2 1 December 2006 – March 2007 The Great Divides bushfire Victoria 1 51 0 September 2006 – January 2007 2006–07 Australian bushfire season 5 83 4 February 2007 Dwellingup bushfire Western Australia 0 16 0 6–14 December 2007 2007 Kangaroo Island bushfires South Australia 1 0 0 30 December 2007 Boorabbin National Park Western Australia 3 0 0 7 February – Black Saturday bushfires Victoria 173 2,029 2,000 29 December 2009 Toodyay bushfire Western Australia 0 38 0 11 January 2011 Lake Clifton bushfire Western Australia 0 10 0 6–8 February 2011 Roleystone Kelmscott bushfire Western Australia 0 72 0 Buckingham Bridge on Brookton Highway collapsed and closed for 3 weeks whilst a temporary bridge was constructed and opened a month after the fires. 24 November 2011 Margaret River bushfire Western Australia 0 34 0 4 January 2013 Tasmanian bushfires Tasmania 1 18 January 2013 Warrumbungle bushfire New South Wales 0 53 118 17–28 October 2013 New South Wales 1 208 40 27 December 2011 – 3 February 2012 Carnarvon bushfire complex Western Australia 0 0 0 11 pastoral stations 12 January 2014 Parkerville bushfire Western Australia 0 56 0 2–9 January 2015 2015 Sampson Flat bushfires South Australia 0 27 140 29 January – 20 February 2015 2015 O'Sullivan bushfire (Northcliffe – Windy Harbour) Western Australia 0 2 5 Thousands of hectares of production forests (karri and jarrah) or national parks January 2015 2015 Lower Hotham bushfire (Boddington) Western Australia 0 1 1 1–9 August 2015 2015 Wentworthfalls Winter Fire New South Wales 0 0 0 October–November 2015 2015 Esperance bushfires Western Australia 4 10 0 15–24 November 2015 Perth Hills bushfire complex – Solus Group Western Australia 0 0 0 Jarrah production forest and Conservation Park 25 November – 2 December 2015 2015 Pinery bushfire South Australia 2 91 0 January 2016 2016 Murray Road bushfire (Waroona and Harvey) Western Australia 2 181 Yarloop Workshops 11–14 February 2017 2017 New South Wales bushfires New South Wales 0 35 0 17–18 February 2017 2017 Carwoola bushfire New South Wales 0 11 0 18–19 March 2018 2018 Tathra bushfire New South Wales 0 69 30 early February 2019 Tabulam bushfire New South Wales 0 10 23 Early February 2019 Tingha bushfire New South Wales 0 19 5 September 2019 – 2 March 20202019–20 Australian bushfire season (Black Summer) Nationwide 34 approximately 6,000 At least one billion wild animals are estimated to have died (not including frogs and insects) with some species thought to be facing extinction. Area Other1 June 2020 – 1 June 20212020–21 Australian bushfire seasonNationwide 250,000 617,763 0 85

Australia Bushfire Seasons

1974–75 Australian bushfire season 2002–03 Australian bushfire season 2004–05 Australian bushfire season 2005–06 Australian bushfire season 2006–07 Australian bushfire season 2007–08 Australian bushfire season 2008–09 Australian bushfire season 2009–10 Australian bushfire season 2010–11 Australian bushfire season 2011–12 Australian bushfire season 2012–13 Australian bushfire season 2013–14 Australian bushfire season 2014–15 Australian bushfire season 2015–16 Australian bushfire season 2016–17 Australian bushfire season 2017–18 Australian bushfire season 2018–19 Australian bushfire season 2019–20 Australian bushfire season 2020–21 Australian bushfire season 2021–22 Australian bushfire season 2022–23 Australian bushfire season 2023–24 Australian bushfire season 2024–25 Australian bushfire season 2025–26 Australian bushfire season

Notes

References