The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC, has put together the story of the largest bushfire in the recorded history of the continent. When the spread of the Gospers Mountain Fire finally halted during the 2019-2020 bushfire season, it had merged with four other large blazes to ultimately burn 1,071,740 hectares (2,648,323 acres).
Sometimes in the United States we call a fire that reaches 100,000 acres a “megafire”, but the prefix “mega” means a million (106). Last bushfire season the Aussies had a legitimate megafire.
The article at ABC is well researched and interesting. It includes details that previously were not widely known — such as the fact that firefighters were worried that the fire could burn into the northern suburbs of Sydney, the state capital of New South Wales.
Below are excerpts. You can read the entire story here.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Sean. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
