The Day the Scorched Earth Wind Wailed--Memories of Black Saturday (February 2009)

The Day the Scorched Earth Wind Wailed--Memories of Black Saturday (February 2009)

The wildfires that ravaged the state of Victoria, Australia, on February 7, 2009, have gone down in history as "Black Saturday. Considered the worst in the country's history, the fires were set in truly hellish weather conditions of scorching temperatures, raging winds, and extreme dryness. The temperature was 46 degrees Celsius, wind speeds exceeded 100 kilometers per hour, and humidity was only 5 percent. It was as if all of nature welcomed the fire.

The firestorm claimed the lives of 173 people and seriously injured about 400 others. More than 2,000 houses were destroyed and 450,000 hectares of forest were charred. The number of affected areas reached 78, and the number of victims is estimated to have reached approximately 30,000. In Kinglake, the most severely affected area, a large portion of the town was lost. The heat and speed of the fires were tremendous, with flames spreading as fast as 12 kilometers per hour in some areas.

Climate change looms large as a remote cause of this unprecedented disaster. Global warming has caused chronic drought in southeastern Australia, and flammable dead trees and fallen leaves have accumulated in the forests. In addition, past changes in forest management policies have scaled back preventative measures such as periodic firebreaks and blurred the boundary between urban and mountain forests, which has also increased damage. In addition, collapsed power lines and the possibility of arson were noted in some of the fires, creating a complex background where nature and mankind intersected.

Even before Black Saturday, Australia had been hit by fires with "black" in their names on numerous occasions: "Black Friday" in January 1939 killed 71 people and burned 1.93 million hectares. The 1983 "Ash Wednesday fires" also claimed 75 lives in South Australia and Victoria, and in the 21st century, the "Black Summer" of 2019-2020 spread throughout the country, causing enormous environmental losses: 33 deaths and over 3 billion animals and caused more than 3 billion animals to be killed.

Black Saturday is more than just fires. It was a symbol of a climate cataclysm, a policy gap, and the hubris of civilization all erupting in an instant. The winds that swept across the scorched earth that day spoke quietly of human frailty and the fury of nature, while questioning the mistakes made. How humanity faces that question will be the key to defining the century to come.