Meteorological drivers of extreme fire behaviour during the Waroona bushfire, Western Australia, January 2016

Abstract

The Waroona bushfire burnt 69, 000 ha south of Perth in January 2016. During the first two days of the fire, there were two pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) events and two destructive evening fire runs. Over 160 homes were destroyed and there were two fatalities. This case study examines in detail the links between the meteorological observations and the fire behaviour reconstruction.