Many of the worst bushfires in eastern Australia , such as the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires , accompany El Niño – Southern Oscillation events which tend to cause a warm , dry and windy climate . The worst bushfires in Australian history occurred on Black Saturday in February 2009 . The human death toll of the disaster was 173 , and over 2000 homes were lost
Ash Wednesday fires
Ash Wednesday bushfires
Climate of Australia