2013 New South Wales bushfires

2013 October New South Wales bushfires
View of the Blue Mountains fires and the Sydney metropolitan area from NASA's Aqua, using MODIS imagery on 17 October.
Date(s)17 October 2013 (2013-10-17) – 28 October 2013 (2013-10-28)
LocationNew South Wales, Australia
Statistics
Burned area118,000 hectares (290,000 acres)[1]
Land use • Residential,
 • Urban/rural fringe areas,
 • Farmland,
 • Forest reserves,
 • Parts of the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site and adjacent national parks
Impacts
Deaths2[2][3]
Non-fatal injuries2[4]
Structures destroyed500[5]
DamageA$94 million[6]
Ignition
CauseMultiple causes:

 • Strong winds causing powerline damage[7]
 • Military operations and the use of explosive devices[8]

 • Suspected arson[9]
Smoke ejecting from both the State Mine fire and the Springwood fire over the Sydney metropolitan area on the afternoon of 17 October 2013, looking from Kingsgrove.

The 2013 New South Wales bushfires were a series of bushfires in Australia across the state of New South Wales primarily starting, or becoming notable, on 13 October 2013; followed by the worst of the fires beginning in the Greater Blue Mountains Area on 16 and 17 October 2013.

High fuel loads, coupled with warm, dry and windy weather, provided dangerous conditions which fuelled the fires. They all swept everywhere across the state. At the peak of the fires, on the morning of 18 October, over 100 fires were burning across the state.[10] The Premier of New South Wales Barry O'Farrell declared a state of emergency on 20 October,[11] empowering firefighters to evict residents and demolish fire-affected buildings.[12]

The fires were the worst in New South Wales since the 1960s, although they were dwarfed by the 2019-2020 Australia bushfires.[12] As of 19 October 2013, 248 houses and other structures were destroyed across the state.[5] Two fatalities were attributed to the fires.[2][3] It was estimated that claims will exceed A$94 million.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference RFScurrent was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ABC20131018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Browne, Rachel. "Aircraft fighting NSW bushfire crashes, pilot killed". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian20131018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NSWRFSpress20131019impact was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference SMH20131026Murphy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Update – Fire investigation" (PDF) (Press release). New South Wales Rural Fire Service. 19 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference SMH20131023Tovey was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference SMH20131022boys was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Bushfire reprieve may be short-lived, with more bad weather forecast for Sunday". The Australian. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference SBS20131020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Owens, Jared (21 October 2013). "Emergency state in battle against 300 km firestorm in NSW". The Australian. Retrieved 21 October 2013.