Bushfires are almost 20 times more deadly and 80 times more destructive than a century ago, with experts warning that the devastation will continue to grow as urban sprawl pushes further into bushland. In today's money, the combined damage caused by bushfires over the past 90 years is almost A$7 billion (US$6.1 billion), and A$2.6 billion of this damage was caused in the past 13 years.