2011 Tostaree Fire

The Tostaree Fire started on private property on 1 February 2011 and burned more than 11,000 hectares before being brought under control on 11 February 2011.

The fire destroyed two houses, hundreds of kilometres of fencing and threatened a number of townships and settlements including Orbost. Previous planned burns are credited with slowing or stopping the spread of the fire and giving firefighters the opportunity to attack it more effectively.

The fire was the first time new command and control arrangements recommended by the Black Saturday fires Royal Commission were tested. Tostaree Review Report evaluated the effectiveness of the changes and made several recommendations for improvement.

The following video shows how planned burns stopped or slowed the spread of the Tostaree fire in 2011