In the days preceding the fires , the state capital , Melbourne , experienced some of its hottest temperatures on record at the time : on 8 January and on 10 January . On 13 January , the day of the fires , temperatures reached , which stood as the hottest day officially recorded in Melbourne for the next 70 years . ( Unofficial records show temperatures of around were reported on the Black Thursday fires of 6 February 1851 )
Black Thursday fires
Black Thursday bushfires
Black Friday bushfires