Fire extent and severity mapping report for the 2023–24 fire year

Abstract

The fire season of 2023–24 had the most fire activity since the 2019–20 bushfire crisis. Wildfires were concentrated in the north-east and scattered across much of the central and west (Figure 1 and Figure 2). Australia had its driest 3 months on record from August to October 2023. This was followed by above average summer rainfall (AFAC 2024). Several large fires with erratic behaviour burnt from July to October 2023, including the Willi Willi Road and Coolagolite fires (Figure 3). The Duck Creek Pilliga fire started on 8 December 2023 (Figure 4). This was the largest fire event of the year. There were 2 fire thunderstorm events associated with this fire recorded on 9 December and 18 December (McRae 2024). The 2023–24 fire year had a large proportion of fires in central and western NSW, with large areas of grass fires. Grassy fuel biomass has increased following several years of above-average rainfall. This may generate an increased risk of wildfires in the coming years (AFAC 2024). A total of 82,425 hectares of wildfire burnt within the 2019–20 fire ground (Table 2). This included 20,683 hectares that was burnt at high or extreme severity in both 2019–20 and 2023–24 fires.