Map of fire affected areas in South Australia

The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983, which was Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km/h (68 mph) caused widespread destruction across the states of Victoria and South Australia.^[4] Years of severe drought and extreme weather combined to create one of Australia's worst fire days in a century.^[5] The fires became the deadliest bushfire in Australian history, until the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash Wednesday bushfires