Firefighters said nothing could stop the Gospers Mountain mega fire. Here's why Sydney was spared

An ABC visual investigation reveals fresh details about Australia's biggest-ever bushfire, which scorched more than 1 million hectares last summer and left a trail of destruction on Sydney's doorstep.
Data, fresh pictures and interviews collide to create a new narrative of the Gospers Mountain “mega-blaze.”
For more from ABC News, click here: ab.co/2kd3ALi
You can watch more ABC News content on iview: ab.co/39iq2Xt
Subscribe to ABC News In-depth: / abcnewsindepth
For breaking and trending news, subscribe to ABC News on KZbin: ab.co/1svxLVE
You can also like us on Facebook: / abcnews.au
Or follow us on Instagram: / abcnews_au
Or even on Twitter: / abcnews

[@fester2306]

That's amazing that they know which lightning strike started the fire.

[@bernadettebecher5668]

I went to check out the area - drove through Mtn Lagoon and to Colo Heights ( after it had gone through) and was surprised how little was actually burnt HOWEVER on this same day, the wind was strong/clear blue sky and I was surprised to see the Putty rd closed - asked what was going on and informed that Back-burning taking place! On the drive back home that day, the sky was filled with smoke and looked orange. No doubt from the backburn. Now the area is annhililated and burnt to a crisp.

[@suemills4434]

So fkn insane!

[@carlosalbertoteixeira375]

Fantastic reporting.

[@ritadaniels3881]

This is a terrible thing to see happening here today now.

[@hughmcdonald9045]

Nice film Philippa! Very epic

[@suemills4434]

Why have we not focused on early identification & fighting the fires where& when they start? We see again that waiting till they're out of control & bearing down on a town is no good for anyone

[@LilySugdenRacing4]

They don’t wait until they are out of control, sometimes fire stations can be up to an hour away from where the fire starts. They can spread so quickly from strong winds

[@seanoreilly1832]

ANATOMY OF A MEGA BLAZE A boxing promoter must have taken up a job at the ABC

[@sarcasmo57]

2020 has been a hell of a year. Next year WW3.

[@suemills4434]

The foodcorp s haven't quite bought up all the land yet, so ww3 probs not next year. Funny.. If they want water wars & aust's aquifer, they'll get a surprise... Irrigation salts the land & the topsoil blows away off bare soil in duststorms. Salt in soil from irrigation is What happened to mesopotamia, was mentioned in a report to oz parl in late 1800s, still a problem today. Aborigines left trees/ bush on poorest soils so clearing bushland won't feed the world, just mean even less oxygen created.. Scuse rant ;P

[@aaronewen1234]

This aged well

[@ritadaniels3881]

It’s a scary thing to see them people trying so hard to put the fire off there today now.

[@seanoreilly1832]

What

[@derekg791]

Say again

[@rjl110919581]

THANK YOU SPECIAL SHARE THIS VIDEO AS SHOW SPECIAL PEOPLE WHO FIRE FIGHTING IN BUSH LAND WHY GOVERNMENT ALL WAY CUT FUNDING BACK ON SERVICE IN AUSTRALIA ALL HERE ALL FAT PENSION WHICH IS 4 TIMES HIGH BASIC PENSION IN AUSTRALIA? AS TRUE WAIST OF MONEY THAT USE PAID OUT SERVICE IN AUSTRALIA FOR PEOPLE AND GIVE MORE SAFETY ALL

[@ritadaniels3881]

Oh it is damage with all that fires burning out over there today now.

[@rhettgibson7407]

Proper waterpiplines

[@ritadaniels3881]

What is this happening my dear Lord Jesus Christ the buliding did not break down out all .

[@derekg791]

You may be confused

[@biulaimh3097]

Ingeneous methods of fighting fires will not be enough. These fires will get worse. Humanity needs to get serious about global warming. Coal exports must stop.

[@namchebarwa1]

"Near Lithgow crews racing to put in containment on the Newnes Plateau couldn't keep up and the main fire front that swept through flames setting the cities outskirts ablaze".... For almost a month prior to the "Glowworn Tunnel Backburn", which is what you are referring to here, the Newnes Plateau was cut off to the public and the RFS had bulldozers heading into the Newnes Plateau then one day an enormous fire was started by the RFS, I have photos which are pretty damning.... people don't realize the scale of the fires that the RFS light. They light mega fires deliberately, they view national parks as a hazard, its all happened before in 2013 & 2006. Within 5 days all of the Newnes plateau was burnt which is what this "Glowworn Tunnel Backburn" was supposed to prevent. In my opinion the RFS wanted this area and many others burnt, it appeared the Gospers Mountain fire was never going to burn this area so they gave it a bit of a boost. The fires which burnt houses in Lithgow, I suspect were not coming off the Newnes Plateau but look like they were local. That is coming from back burns the RFS were doing up gullies all around Lithgow, these appear to have started along dirt roads (i.e. one side of the road has been set alight by the RFS and the other side is untouched, just look at the number of times this is happening in the above video) these then burned up the hills and came down the other side where there were houses on the edge of Lithgow, some of which were burnt.

[@Brickmotionstudios07]

It's called a hazard reduction burn. It's supposed to be controlled but they lost control the fire