Police alleged arsonists lit the Mount Ainslie fires which burnt 100 hectares of the nature reserve making headlines on this day in 1988.
Firefighters were fighting about seven fires in the foothills of Mount Ainslie across a front extending from the top of Canning Street to Fisher Street.
Police said the fires were deliberately lit.
At the height of the outbreak, 70 people were involved in fighting the fire, while several tankers, five light units, a bulldozer and units from the ACT Fire Brigade were dotted along the front.
To complicate matters, another fire was reported the day earlier, in a section of the Black Mountain reserve, along Barry Drive.
That fire was soon extinguished and firefighters and equipment returned to Mount Ainslie.
Although the fire came within 50 metres of buildings, there were no reports of damage to houses.
Residents of Ainslie and firefighters on the scene were not the only ones disturbed by the events.
Soon after the fire broke out, the NRMA insurance group directed employees that no cover notes for bush fire damage were to be issued.
