[12][13][14][15] It also caused significant damage to rural produce; 53,000 poultry and 17,500 head of livestock perished and up to A$40 million worth of fodder and unharvested grains were destroyed.
[1][6][15][16][17] Communities affected by the fire included Barabba, Daveyston, Freeling, Greenock, Hamley Bridge, Kapunda, Magdala, Mallala, Nain, Nuriootpa, Owen, Pinery, Pinkerton Plains, Redbanks, Roseworthy, Stockport, Tarlee, Templers, Wasleys and Woolsheds.
[22][23] The record rainfall in early November prompted growth of both agricultural crops and other plant material, which increased the fuel load across the fire ground.
[27] At Nuriootpa, the Bureau of Meteorology observed a maximum wind gust of 72 kilometres per hour (45 mph) from the northwest at 13:25 ACDT (UTC+10:30), the highest recording in November 2015.
The wind at Roseworthy was observed as having shifted to 54 kilometres per hour (34 mph) from the west-south-west, and the mean sea level pressure had fallen to a low of 999.4 at 15:00 ACDT (UTC+10:30).
[34] The members of three Country Fire Service brigades were trapped between Wasleys and Mallala during the wind change and sheltered in their vehicles during a burn over, however there were no injuries.
Fellow residents believed Mrs. Hughes was attempting to reach her partner, who was at work in nearby Balaklava, when her car left the road and ignited.
[39] While assisting another man to defend a neighbor's property, Allan Tiller, 69, was overcome by the fire front in a Pinery paddock and died of his injuries at the scene.
[43] Approximately two-thirds of the area burned in the Pinery fire was estimated to have been paddocks and fields of produce; 120,000 tonnes of agricultural crops—including wheat, barley, canola, lentils and chickpeas—with a value of up to A$40 million were destroyed.
[17][44] On 17 March 2016, winds of up to 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph) during a thunderstorm that passed over the fire ground created a dust storm, which affected towns in the mid-north of South Australia and in the Barossa Valley.