 Bushfires have been a part of the Australian landscape for millions of years and the State of Victoria is one of the most bushfire-prone places on the planet. Before European settlement, fire played a central role in the lives of Indigenous Australians. Recent history has shown us how devastating bushfires can be. January 1939. It has been a long, hot summer. The State is suffering under years of drought. The bush is tender dry. Tall eucalypt forests are ready to burn. Friday the 13th of January 1939. Temperatures soar above 40 degrees. Dry northerly winds sweep fires across Victoria. The many small bushfires burning across the State converge and intensify. The speed of the fires was appalling. They leapt from mountain peak to mountain peak, blown by a wind of great force. Townships were obliterated in a few minutes. Mills, houses, bridges, tramways, machinery were burned to the ground. Finally, on Sunday the 15th of January, rain falls. The losses are horrific. Thousands of square miles of blackened ruin. 71 lives were lost. 69 sawmills destroyed. Travellers on the highway were trapped and perished. When a bushfire grows to this size, it becomes incredibly powerful. As wind pushes the fire front forward, it gains speed and intensity, consuming the fuel in its path. A huge convection column rises high into the atmosphere above the inferno. The 1939 fires remind a new generation of the terrible devastation bushfires can cause. February 1983. Victoria and Swelter through another hot summer. A short but intense drought grips the State. Strong northwesterly winds on the 8th of February carry topsoil from the Maly and Wimmera. A 300-metre thick wall of dust sweeps over Melbourne. It is an ominous sign of things to come. Last night, Melbourne dwellers tossed through the hottest night this summer and continued to swelter as the city temperature rose to 41 degrees at about one o'clock this afternoon. Wednesday the 16th of February is another scorching day. Fierce winds buffered the State. By that afternoon there are eight major bushfires. Wind gusts up to 100 kilometers an hour spur the fire front forward. Then, just before nightfall, the southwesterly wind change turns the long flanks of the fires into a dangerous new front. The wind changed direction, and that was it. You didn't have a hope. You just had to get out because you could. This is one of the many fires being fought throughout the night. It's three o'clock in the morning and we're at Kerry just a few kilometers west of Riddles Creek. Firemen here are trying to save the local school. A few minutes ago the wind blew up and now they've got a real battle on their hands. What are you able to save? My children. That's it. 47 Victorians died. Thousands of buildings were destroyed and more than 300,000 farm animals perished. This disaster will forever be remembered as the Ash Wednesday bushfires. In an intense fire like this, convection columns dominate fire behavior. Embers are carried ahead of the front, creating spotfires. These spotfires are drawn into the main front, while distant others grow in isolation, burning away from the main fire. For anyone inside the impacted area, the surrounding fires can appear chaotic. After only a few weeks, there's new growth in the forests. But for the towns damaged by the bushfires, it will take much longer to recover. February 2009. After 12 years of drought, Melbourne's water reserves are at an all-time low. Water restrictions have been in place for years. The weather is oppressive and there appears to be no relief in sight. It is just as bad a day as you can imagine and on top of that the state is just tender dry. The forecast for Saturday the 7th of February is the most extreme on record. Saturday morning. The strong northwesterly winds push hot, dry air in from the desert. The temperature continues to climb. Firefighters battle more than 300 fires. At half past 12, the wind surged. Within a minute, what had been light smoke began billowing into the sky. The fire was out of control. The shape of the land or topography can influence the way a fire behaves. Bushfires can spread rapidly uphill because there's a shorter distance for the heat to travel to reach the next piece of fuel. On an exposed hill is often more wind and hotter sun to dry out the trees and grasses. Difficult terrain have made conditions so dangerous that no one has been allowed near this town on the ground. On the 7th of February 2009, 173 people lost their lives. Over 400 more were injured. The fires destroyed over 2,000 homes. It is estimated that more than 1 million animals were killed. As the main fire approaches spot fires, they are drawn into and feed a growing front. The convection column formed by this enlarged fire can create localised cyclonic winds and extreme fire behaviour. The forests are devastated but soon show signs of regeneration. The rebuilding of towns and the recovery of survivors continues. Drought, extreme weather and topography combine to produce catastrophic bushfire conditions. Black Friday, Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday are reminders of the huge impact bushfires can have on lives and property. Bushfire is a natural part of the environment in which we live.