Australia burning: bushfire crisis spreads

[Maofan7]

Tennis player collapses at Australian Open amid poor air quality

Australia bushfires: Tennis player collapses at Australian Open amid poor air quality

Dozens have been killed and thousands of homes destroyed by the fires and the smoke has already made it to parts of South America.

news.sky.com

Smoke to make 'full circuit' around globe, Nasa says

Australia fires: Smoke to make 'full circuit' around globe, Nasa says

Smoke from huge fires is expected to travel back to Australia after circling the globe, Nasa says.

www.bbc.co.uk

Downpours to help douse flames as more than 100 Australia bushfires continue to burn

https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/downpours-to-help-douse-flames-as-more-than-100-australia-bushfires-continue-to-burn/661550

 

[Buzz]

Koala rescue - Team deployed to save animals from horrors of Australia bushfires

A disaster response team has been deployed to Kangaroo Island in South Australia to begin a search and rescue mission for thousands of koalas and other anima...

www.youtube.com

 

[misskarne]

A strike team of firefighters succeeded in their secret mission to save the Wollemi Pines!

There is a forest of the ancient Wollemi pines in the Blue Mountains that have literally been there since the dinosaur era. This stand is the last stand of pines left in the wild. Its location is kept very secret to avoid people coming and damaging them. Everyone thought we would lose them because of the size of the fires, but NSW Parks had a plan!

Endangered 'dinosaur' Wollemi pines saved by firefighters ahead of bushfires

Authorities are preparing for forecast heavy rains that could impact water quality and lead to flooding and land slips in bushfire-ravaged parts of NSW.

www.sbs.com.au

Today it has been raining on and off. I have been mostly enjoying it, though still a little sad because it's not enough. It's supposed to rain more over the coming days.

 

[Japanfan]

Not sure whether I should have posted this in the pet thread, chose to post it here because a bit of good news admist the unfolding tragedy is welcome, at least to me.

Good dog! Dog leads over 200 sheep to safety from fires.

220 Sheep Saved From Australian Bushfires After Heroic Pup Herds Them to Safety

Patsy the terrier-shepherd mix is being hailed as a hero after she rushed to rescue more than 220 sheep from a field during the Australian bushfires.

www.goodnewsnetwork.org

Glad for the rain.

 

[Maofan7]

Rain falls over Australian bushfires

Relief as rain falls over Australian bushfires

SYDNEY: Rain fell across parts of bushfire-ravaged eastern Australia on Thursday (Jan 16) and more wet weather was forecast, giving some relief ...

www.channelnewsasia.com

Rain and hail pelt fire-ravaged Australian states, bringing new risks

Rain pelts fire-ravaged Australian states, bringing new risks -- and some relief | CNN

Severe thunderstorms are pelting some regions of Australia suffering from historic wildfires with powerful rain, bringing much-needed relief to firefighters battling some of the worst blazes the country has seen in decades.

edition.cnn.com

Article Entitled "The bushfire crisis has shown a way forward for Australia – and revealed who we truly are"

The bushfire crisis has shown a way forward for Australia – and revealed who we truly are | Van Badham

The collective selflessness that has come to define us can help guide us through a period of nation-building and innovation that can be exported

www.theguardian.com

Article Reads:-

I started to avoid too much of the bushfire coverage after I heard the stories of the NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers traumatised by the sound of koalas screaming as they burned to death.

We had already had our “watch and act” notice at our small cottage in the countryside, the fearful hours of soaking compost heaps and woodpiles with the hose, tearing anything too plastic and flammable out of the garden, packing our bags.

The evacuation alert sounded and I stood in the spare room, emotionally reckoning with the chance that our clothes, books, artworks, photographs, ornaments and beloved pieces of furniture I may never see again. My spleen emptied and I trembled. Seven minutes later, the wind had changed, the fire was under control, the evacuation was called off … but I was still flooded with adrenalin and shaking.

The human suffering is carved into the lines around exhausted firefighters eyes, the grime on their uniforms, they parched lips. It doesn’t need details.

Our last months as a nation are summarised in the burnt fur of our innocent icons, the images of our children, still and terrified, wearing oxygen masks under our thick, smoky skies. I learned this week that in the remains of the flattened town where a friend’s father’s house burned down, there’s a man living in a chicken coop because there are no other options. I couldn’t read on.

The toxin that saps the Australian body is a hybrid of crisis fatigue and grief fatigue. Everyone’s suffering.

I suggest if we want to see our country and our people not only served but represented than we must. Because if there’s a second optimism we can seize from the fires, it’s the example of a collective selflessness that has come to define Australians through this crisis.

From the unpaid, relentless firefighters to the neighbourhood volunteers, the heaving instinct to charity to the painful empathy that we realise in our grief and sadness, we’ve learned a nation-building truth about ourselves.

There may indeed be one instinct alone that culturally defines what it means to be Australian. It’s community.

 

[MacMadame]

Today it has been raining on and off. I have been mostly enjoying it, though still a little sad because it's not enough. It's supposed to rain more over the coming days.

In some ways, it's better to get it more spread out. A problem here with the various fires we've had is that everything washes away in the next big rain. This year we're getting smaller rainfall more often and that has helped avoid flash floods and topsoil being swept away.

 

[TOADS]

5 Australian fire failures: Lessons for the world from a climate catastrophe

There is plenty of blame to go around.

www.motherjones.com

Interesting article.

Made a contribution to the fire fighting effort in the names of our Canes. Ironic yes, but our little guys have feelings too.

 

[TOADS]

Setting the Record Straight on Climate Change and Arson in Australia's Bushfires - FactCheck.org

Various claims online suggest that climate change hasn't contributed to the bushfires ravaging the East Coast of Australia, pinning the blame instead on arson. Those claims distort the facts.

www.factcheck.org

Another interesting article.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

In Hillsboro, Oregon, (USA), there is a highway billboard that lists a website for Aussie Fire Help.

 

[Alilou]

Poor Australia can't catch a break

Massive but patchy wild stormy weather with hail the size of golf balls in Melbourne and Canberra - trees down, people without power. In the middle of summer!
Scary huge dust storms in central western NSW - one woman there says she's seen something like this twice in the past decade, and now it's happened 6 times in the past 2 weeks - so storms bringing only dust but no rain.
In/near Brisbane so much rain there's flooding but it soaks into the parched ground instead of flowing into the rivers so still water restrictions.
Some of the fire grounds have benefited from the rains but not all.

Giant hail hits Melbourne while dust storm blocks out the sun in western NSW | ABC News

Communities in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland are cleaning up after major weather events today and over the weekend.People in Melbourne are being t...

www.youtube.com

Vehicles smashed as hailstones the size of golf balls pelt Canberra | ABC News

Hail as big as golf balls and ferocious winds of up to 116 kilometres per hour have torn through Canberra in a storm that had residents running for cover.The...

www.youtube.com

First hand account of one of the firies in Nelligen on the South Coast:

The Firefighter Whose Denunciation of Australia’s Prime Minister Made Him a Folk Hero

The response of Australia’s P.M. to the country’s catastrophic bushfires has provoked widespread anger, which Paul Parker, a small-town firefighter, channelled in a video that went viral.

www.newyorker.com

 

[Vagabond]

All searches on Ecosia on Thursday will be used to kickstart a reforestation program in Australia. Details here.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Trying to put something positive into this. The Empty Esky Campaign encourages people to travel to tourist destinations that are doing it tough as a result of the fires. They weren't impacted but just don't have the foot traffic they need to keep busy and afloat financially.

The towns to travel to with your empty eskies

While some parts of the country are still at risk from Australia's bushfire crisis, others are in need of tourists to help local businesses get back on their feet.

www.domain.com.au

A suggestion for those overseas to think about taking a holiday in Australia and visit these places.

 

[Cachoo]

Just read about three firefighters who died: These fires have a human toll and an enormous toll on wildlife. Honestly I am ready to shoot any arsonist.

 

[misskarne]

Tragedy begets tragedy.

This afternoon contact was lost with a C-130 Large Air Tanker over the Snowy Monaro area. It has now been confirmed that the plane has crashed, with three fatalities. The tanker and the firefighters on it were among our friends from America. They will now forever be Australians, too.

Conditions were hell today. The wind has been incredibly strong. A bunch of fires were whipped back up. Hopefully the southerly change due tonight will help. We've had a little respite, but it's only January. This fire season is far from over.

 

[Cachoo]

Of course it is Superbowl time stateside and during the playoff games there have been pleas from the Red Cross specifically about Australia and Puerto Rico (hurricane damage)(and blood donations) throughout the games with a few psa's from the athletes.

 

[Bunny Hop]

Heavy layer of dust over Sydney this morning. Anyone whose car was outside overnight came out to find them looking like they'd been off road.

Oh, and then we had heavy rain (good!) which turned the dust into mud.

 

[misskarne]

This is the dangerous time - when we've had enough rain that the ash and dirt turns to unstable sludge, and the firefighters' exhaustion will start to catch up with them.

Conditions will be bad for the rest of the week. Fingers crossed.

 

[CaliSteve]

Can folks post links to an organization(s) where we can make a contribution?

 

[Bunny Hop]

Can folks post links to an organization(s) where we can make a contribution?

Posts 19 & 20 on page 1 of this thread (sorry, can’t link at the moment as on the iPad).

 

[misskarne]

Conditions are deteriorating. The ATSB investigators have had to evacuate the site of the crash as it's too dangerous for them there with the fire conditions.

Too many people are relaxing after the big fires over New Year. The fire season won't end until April.

 

[TOADS]

Conditions are deteriorating. The ATSB investigators have had to evacuate the site of the crash as it's too dangerous for them there with the fire conditions.

Too many people are relaxing after the big fires over New Year. The fire season won't end until April.

Too many people are relaxing and compounding the problem is the growing Wuhan virus outbreak grabbing more of the headlines.

 

[TOADS]

The Wuhan virus is increasingly likely to sweep the planet and has pushed the bushfires in Australia down the page.

However they are still raging and will get worse again as heatwave and high wind conditions return.

Australia is still hurting....badly.

 

[Alilou]

Really badly. Fires are threatening Canberra, with a state of emergency declared. I'm in tears. Again. It's my Aussie hometown. I have a lot of family there.

Australia fires: State of emergency declared for Canberra region

Huge bushfires are raging near Canberra in the worst threat to the region since 2003, officials say.

www.bbc.com

State of emergency declared in Australia’s capital as authorities warn of severe bushfire danger

With temperatures above 40 C, emergency officials urged people to prepare for fires in parts of the southeast

www.theglobeandmail.com

Orroral fire 'likely to cross NSW border' as state of emergency declared in ACT

A major fire burning in the ACT is moving in an easterly direction towards NSW, the RFS has warned.

www.smh.com.au

 

[TOADS]

Australia’s bushfires are approaching its capital Canberra

Authorities are warning of “ember attacks” amid high heat and winds.

www.vox.com

It only seems to get worse.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Trying to put something positive into this. The Empty Esky Campaign encourages people to travel to tourist destinations that are doing it tough as a result of the fires. They weren't impacted but just don't have the foot traffic they need to keep busy and afloat financially.

The towns to travel to with your empty eskies

While some parts of the country are still at risk from Australia's bushfire crisis, others are in need of tourists to help local businesses get back on their feet.

www.domain.com.au

A suggestion for those overseas to think about taking a holiday in Australia and visit these places.

I have always wanted to visit and the one time when had the money to go and enough vacation time from work to go, I was diagnosed with cancer. That killed that hope.

Some day. Hopefully. Australia is at the top of my Bucket List.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Tragedy begets tragedy.

This afternoon contact was lost with a C-130 Large Air Tanker over the Snowy Monaro area. It has now been confirmed that the plane has crashed, with three fatalities. The tanker and the firefighters on it were among our friends from America. They will now forever be Australians, too.

Conditions were hell today. The wind has been incredibly strong. A bunch of fires were whipped back up. Hopefully the southerly change due tonight will help. We've had a little respite, but it's only January. This fire season is far from over.

I know how much you Australians love your country. I love mine, too.

The fact that you said the American crew who died in their firefighting efforts there, brought tears to my eyes. It is an honor not lightly given.

 

[misskarne]

Australia’s bushfires are approaching its capital Canberra

Authorities are warning of “ember attacks” amid high heat and winds.

www.vox.com

It only seems to get worse.

If the wind swings at all - if it drives the fire north - the southern end of the city will be done for.

 

[Japanfan]

Really badly. Fires are threatening Canberra, with a state of emergency declared. I'm in tears. Again. It's my Aussie hometown. I have a lot of family there.

How awful.

One thing I've wondered about - does the government help evacuees pay for accommodation? Some people are away from their homes for a fair amount of time, while others have no homes to return to. Having to pay for accommodation could be rather impossible for the poor, and even the no-so-poor.

 

[once_upon]

How awful.

One thing I've wondered about - does the government help evacuees pay for accommodation? Some people are away from their homes for a fair amount of time, while others have no homes to return to. Having to pay for accommodation could be rather impossible for the poor, and even the no-so-poor.

I know what happened in our area of the US with flooding-not much assistance and in addition to finding temporary or even a more permanent relocation you have people paying mortgages for property no longer existing as well as their new living expenses. Not many can cover that for very long. With the number displaced or homes destroyed I can't begin to imagine the depths of economic impact for them.

 

[Alilou]

How awful.

One thing I've wondered about - does the government help evacuees pay for accommodation? Some people are away from their homes for a fair amount of time, while others have no homes to return to. Having to pay for accommodation could be rather impossible for the poor, and even the no-so-poor.

I don't know details except that people who've lost their homes are being given some paltry sum like about $1500 to meet immediate expenses. Oh and I read something like you had to have a bill, or something like that with your address on it to prove you lived where you lived to get the compensation, as if you'd think to take something like that with you while you're evacuating your home and hoping not to die.

Also there was some compensation for work lost for the firies but get this: If they were fighting a fire for 12 hours over night, went home and changed and got to work at 10am instead of 8am they were only compensated for the 2 hours of work they missed. The govt is being incredibly stingy. It's heartbreaking.

Also my nephew is a chef working casual shifts in one of the summer holiday towns on the coast south of Sydney. This was supposed to be the summer when he'd finally get out of debt. But of course there's no work now. All those towns shut down. This is why the empty esky project is so important - to get local tourism happening back in those beach towns. Local tourism was their life-blood, especially over the summer holidays. I don't know what will happen now school's back and people aren't taking hols anymore. Not til Easter anyway probably.

I don't know about accommodation except in Canberra with the current threat they have already set up evacuation shelters in the city so at least people who have to evacuate have somewhere to sleep. I remember the last time the fires came into Canberra (2003) my BIL and others I knew were delivering mattresses to the evacuation shelters. Everyone pitched in to help. I imagine the same is happening now. It's the one little silver lining about it all - people, communities, come together to help each other regardless of the uncaring government. And make no mistake - this current Oz federal govt really doesn't care.