Black Christmas (bushfires)
Overview
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was the longest continuous bushfire emergency in NSW history.
Low rainfall across winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
& spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
2001 combined with a hot, dry December
December 2001
December 2001: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-----December 2, 2001:* Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five days after Dynegy canceled a buyout bid .-December 4, 2001:...
created ideal conditions for bushfires. On the day of Christmas Eve, firefighters from the Grose Vale Rural Fire Service (RFS) brigade attended a blaze in rugged terrain at the end of Cabbage Tree Rd, Grose Vale
Grose Vale, New South Wales
Grose Vale is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the City of Hawkesbury. It was previously known as Grose Wold North.Grose Vale's population is 709 .- Geography :...
, believed to have been caused by a poorly-extinguished campfire in the Grose Valley.
On Christmas Day, strong westerly winds fuelled more than 100 bushfires across the state, creating a plume of smoke that extended across Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.