Bushfire Recovery

Bushfire Recovery Program Home

The 2003 Alpine fires burnt 1.19 million hectares of public land and 90,000 hectares of private land. It was the largest fire since Black Friday on 13 January 1939 when almost two million hectares were burnt.

This site provides information on the 2003 Victorian Alpine Fires, its impacts, and the Victorian Government’s recovery program.

The rebuilding of local communities and the recovery of natural resources in bushfire-affected areas was a Victorian Government priority. A Ministerial Taskforce was established to determine how best to provide assistance and what the priorities were for recovery works on public land associated with natural and cultural assets and support for agricultural private landowners affected by the fires.

The Government allocated $70.6 million for a Bushfire Recovery Program for the environment and
agriculture. It focussed on four areas:

1. Asset repair or replacement in parks, forests and alpine resorts ($24.9 million);
2. Protection and restoration of water catchments and water supply ($23.9 million);
3. Restoration of ecological and cultural heritage values ($13.2 million); and
4. Providing practical assistance for affected farm enterprises ($8.6 million).

This is the biggest bushfire recovery effort ever undertaken in Victoria and was characterised by a collaborative whole-of-government approach. The government agencies involved with coordinating and doing much of the recovery work were the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Parks Victoria and the Department of Primary Industries. Also involved were the North East and East Gippsland Catchment Management Authorities, VicForests and the managers of the three affected alpine resorts.

About 60% of the Alpine National Park and 81% of the Mt Buffalo National Park were burnt during the fires. Firefighting efforts were in hard to access, remote and rugged forest terrain, making the fires very difficult to control and put out.

The consequences of the fires included reduced water quality and quantity, loss of vegetation including habitats for flora and fauna, destruction of commercial timber, and damage to recreation and tourism infrastructure assets, cultural sites and farms adjacent to public land.

A comprehensive publication has been produced that provides details of the massive amount of work that went into recovery projects. The Recovery Story – The 2003 Alpine Fires tells the story of the enormous work that was done to help the recovery of our natural resources and support private landholders whose properties were burnt. For a copy of the publication, contact DSE's Customer Service Centre on 136 186.

The Victorian Government’s Bushfire Recovery Program is now formally complete but government agencies will continue to support the recovery efforts of land managers, private landholders and communities.

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Conservation and Environment