Australia is facing an unprecedented national crisis, as bushfires tear through rural communities across the nation. Since September, at least 25 people have died and more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed. The scale of the threat is immense, and fires continue to burn, with authorities calling for people to evacuate their homes. Eerily, the bushfire season has just begun and Australia is bracing for continuous weeks of catastrophic danger. 

Australians caught up in the crisis are taking to social media and pleading for help. Entire towns have been flattened as fires snaked through bushland, across highways and up mountains. In New South Wales and Victoria, the most populous states in the country, people tried to outrun the blaze and highways were clogged with cars. South Australia’s Kangaroo Island experienced some of the worst conditions in early January, with a third of the island ablaze. The Army reserves were called in to help the relief effort across the nation, while major cities, such as Sydney and Melbourne, continue to be covered in a dense smoke that has not lifted for months. Some regions of the country recorded air quality measurements 20 times above the hazardous level.

The situation remains dire. Australians are exhausted and frustrated by a lack of clear leadership. With the fire season still in its earliest days and conditions continuing to fluctuate between poor and manageable, help is required.

What areas are affected?

Fires are raging in every state, with some of the greatest conflagrations in NSW and Victoria. The Gospers Mountains fires, in NSW, have burned over half a million hectares, and scientists suggest it could be the largest single-ignition point fire in Australia’s history. The total area that’s been burned is rapidly approaching 8 million hectares (almost 20 million acres). That’s almost ten times the amount of burnt area the Amazon experienced in 2019 and about three times the amount burnt in California’s 2018 wildfires.

Who is fighting the fires?

The majority of these fires are burning in regional and rural areas where volunteer firefighting services are the chief firefighting organizations. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has around 70,000 members, but most of them are performing unpaid work to protect the lives and homes of their compatriots. A report by the BBC suggests approximately 3,000 firefighters are on the ground every day battling blazes.

American and Canadian firefighters and fire experts have been flown in over the past month to help control the blazes. Over 100 US firefighters have been flown in, with more flying out on Jan. 6.

On Jan. 4, Morrison announced the Australian government would be sending in military support including the country’s largest warship, HMAS Adelaide, to help evacuate regional communities on Victoria’s coast. Additionally, 3,000 army reservists were asked to assist in fire recovery efforts. Four extra water-bombers have been leased to provide additional air support.

When will they end?

Another complex question. Predictions suggest they will stretch well into 2020. After all, Australia is only one month through summer and dry, hot conditions persist through March and April. Much-needed rain, which would help alleviate some of the uncontrolled blazes, is still forecast to be months away.

Are koalas at risk of extinction?

An erroneous report in November 2019 stated that the koala, an Australian icon, was “functionally extinct” due to the bushfires burning across NSW and Queensland. Experts do not believe this to be true, but the species — and many other native Australian fauna — are under threat as a direct result of the uncontrolled blazes.

An ecologist at the University of Sydney estimates that up to 480 million animals may have perished or will die in the conflagrations, including up to 8,000 koalas, based on a methodology used to estimate how many animals live within the fire zone. Sussan Ley, Australia’s environment minister, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the true extent of deaths can’t be fully grasped until the fires have stopped burning and “a proper assessment can be made.” 

If you want to help follow the link – https://www.californiawildfirerelief.com/donations/australia-wildfire-fund/