Black Friday Bushfires (1939)
January 13, 1939, turned day to night as multiple bushfires merged into unstoppable firestorms across Victoria. Settlers had carelessly used fire for land clearing during times of extreme heat. Sudden wind changes trapped communities with no escape routes. Poor communication prevented coordinated evacuations. The disaster killed 71 people and incinerated 3.6 million acres. Australia finally established coordinated firefighting systems in response to this catastrophe.
