by a prolonged drought thought to be caused by the El Niño climatic cycle. In many places, rainfall over winter and spring had been as little as half the previous record low in a record dating back to the 1870s and severe water restrictions were imposed in Melbourne in November. On 24 November, the earliest Total Fire Ban in forty years was proclaimed in Victoria. By February 1983, summer rainfall for Victoria was up to 75% less than in previous years. The first week of February was punctuated by intense heat, with record-high temperatures experienced on 1 and 8 February. This combination further destabilised an already volatile fire situation in the forested upland areas surrounding the Victorian and South Australian capitals of Melbourne and Adelaide. Early fire season Victorian Government firefighting agencies employed extra staff and organised for extra equipment and aircraft to be ready for firefighting over the summer. The first big bushfire occurred on 25 November 1982 and was followed by large fires on 3 and 13 December 1982. Even before 16 February, fires were already causing destruction in Victoria. An ongoing fire near Cann River in the state's east had been burning uncontrolled for almost a month. Prior to that, a major bushfire on 8 January had taken hold north of Bacchus Marsh in the Wombat State Forest where two Forest Commission workers lost their lives defending Greendale. On 1 February 1983, a fire burnt the north face of Mount Macedon and areas of state forest. Fifty houses were destroyed. These fires were already creating a strain on firefighting resources. In the 1982/83 season, 3500 fires were reported to the CFA in Victoria alone. Dust storm On 8 February, Melbourne was enveloped by a giant dust storm. The dust cloud was over 300 metres high and 500 kilometres long and was composed of an estimated 50,000 tonnes of topsoil from the drought-ravaged Wimmera and Mallee areas of north-west Victoria. Leading a dry cool change and preceded by record temperatures, the dust storm cut visibility in Melbourne to 100 metres, creating near darkness for almost an hour. There was also a dust storm in Adelaide on the day of the bushfires. Events of 16 February Wednesday 16 February dawned as another unrelentingly hot, dry day. The weather early on Ash Wednesday was complex and did not signify how the day would develop. A front separated hot, dry air