 Fires were also started in the Australian Alps by lightning strikes from dry thunderstorms in north-east Victoria and south-east New South Wales.The tail end of the heat wave also precipitated the Black Saturday bushfires, in which 173 people died, 414 injured and 2,029 houses destroyed at various locations across the state.Several locations around the state recorded their highest temperatures since records began in 1859 and winds gusted up to 110 km/h.