A series of bushfires in Australia occurred over the summer of 1996–1997.
The most prominent fires during the season were in the Dandenong Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula in the state of Victoria.
In October 1996, one house was destroyed in a bushfire near Ravensbourne in southeast Queensland.
[10] From 19 to 21 January 1997, fires burnt over 400 hectares (about 990 acres) through much of the Dandenong Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula, precipitated by over forty-degree Celsius dry heat and strong northerly winds.
[11] Fires began at all locations except the Dandenongs on the 19th; the Dandenongs fires began on the morning of the 21st in the foothills of the western face of the ranges.