The Fires

 

The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that ignited or were burning across the Australian state of Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009. 

 

The fires occurred during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, and resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire 173 people died and 414 were injured as a result of the fires.

 

As many as 400 individual fires were recorded on 7 February. Following the events of 7 February 2009 and its aftermath, that day has become widely referred to as Black Saturday