The Black Friday Bushfires

In January 1939, the state of Victoria, Australia, was suffering through one of the worst heatwaves in history. Temperatures reached 112.5 degrees in Melbourne and 438 people died. The dry temperatures and extremely strong winds caused raging bushfires to ignite, burning millions of hectares of land. Tragedy continued to strike on 'Black Friday', the 13th of January, 1939, when strong northerly winds fanned the flames of several different fires, which caused them to combine and create a massive wall of fire. The fire swept across the state of Victoria, killing 71 people and destroying entire townships. It would prove to be one the most disastrous fires in Australia's history. A Royal Commission later recommended that a State Fire Authority be created to prevent future tragedies.