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Showing posts sorted by relevance for query BUSHFIRES. Sort by date Show all posts

Wednesday, January 08, 2020

Heartbreaking photos show animals impacted by Australia's bushfires
Ben Mack
A kangaroo with burnt feet pads rescued from bushfires
 in the Blue Mountains. Jill Gralow / Reuters
Massive bushfires are continuing to rage across Australia.The fires have claimed dozens of lives, and destroyed thousands of homes. The smoke is even turning the sky in New Zealand orange — about 1,200 miles away.More than a billion animals are feared to have died so far, and thousands have also been receiving hospital treatment.There are several ways to help — many organizations are taking donations to support rescuers and others affected by the bushfires.Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The bushfires raging in Australia have taken a massive toll on animals — more than a billion of them are thought to have died so far, in what is only the beginning of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.


Fires have burned an estimated 25.5 million acres since September, according to Reuters. The fires have claimed dozens of lives, and destroyed thousands of homes. The fires are so massive, smoke from them has been turning the sky in New Zealand orange — which is about 1,200 miles away. By comparison, the massive Amazon Rainforest fires in 2019 burned an estimated 17.5 million acres.
Shayanne Gal/Insider

Celebrities and other well-known figures throughout the world have been calling on the public to join them in helping Australians, while Celeste Barber's Facebook bushfire fundraiser is officially the largest in the platform's history, raising over $28.5 million in just four days.

The fires have had a heartbreaking impact on pets and wild animals too — tens of thousands of koalas are feared dead on Kangaroo Island alone, and last week, the family of late wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin announced that their animal hospital in Queensland had treated more than 90,000 animal patients.

Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Services (WIRES)
 volunteer and carer Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt
 brushtail possum rescued from fires near Australia's Blue
 Mountains on December 29.
A brushtail possum rescued from fires near Australia's
 Blue Mountains. Jill Gralow / Reuters

WIRES volunteer and carer Tracy Dodd holds a kangaroo 
with burnt feet pads after being rescued from bushfires in 
the Blue Mountains on December 30.

A kangaroo with burnt feet pads rescued from bushfires
 in the Blue Mountains. Jill Gralow / Reuters


A dog visits the burnt-out property of its owner's family
member in Kia, Australia, on January 8.
A dog in Kia following bushfires. Tracey Nearmy / Reuters

A weary kangaroo shelters on a patch of green grass 
surrounded by burnt bushland along the Princes Highway 
near Milton on January 5.
A kangaroo near in Milton. Tracey Nearmy / Reuters


In this image made from video taken on December 22, 
and provided by Oakbank Balhannah CFS, a koala drinks
 water from a bottle given by a firefighter in Cudlee Creek, 
South Australia.

A koala drinking from a water bottle given by a firefighter
 in Cudlee Creek. Oakbank Balhannah CFS via AP

A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the 
Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie on November 2.
A dehydrated koala being cared for in Port Macquarie. 
SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images


A pet cat sits quietly in its animal carrier at the evacuation
center in the Bomaderry Bowls Club in Bomaderry on January 5.

A pet cat at the evacuation center in the Bomaderry 
Bowls Club. Tracey Nearmy / Reuters

Bec Winter stands next to her son, Riley, while hugging her
 horse Charmer, who she rode to safety through bushfires
 on New Year's Eve in Moruya.

Bec Winter, son Riley (right) and horse Charmer. 
Jill Gralow / Reuters

Adelaide wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with a
 koala rescued at a burning forest near Cape Borda on
 Kangaroo Island.
Simon Adamczyk rescuing a koala near Cape Borda on 
Kangaroo Island. AAP Image/David Mariuz/via REUTERS

Animals are seen in Cobargo, as bushfires continue in
New South Wales, Australia on January 5.
Bushfires near Cobargo in New South Wales. 
Tracey Nearmy / Reuters


Giraffes at the Mogo Zoo in Mogo on January 8.
Giraffes at the Mogo Zoo. Alkis Konstantinidis / Reuters

An injured koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie
 Koala Hospital after its rescue from a bushfire on November 19.
An injured koala at Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. 
Tao Shelan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

WIRES volunteer and carer Tracy Dodd holds a kangaroo 
with burnt feet pads after it was rescued from bushfires
 in the Blue Mountains on December 30.
A kangaroo with burnt feet pads rescued from bushfires
 in the Blue Mountains. Jill Gralow / Reuters

A cat sits in a makeshift joey pouch crafted for animals affected by Australia's bushfires, seen in this January 6 image obtained via social media, in Tauranga, New Zealand.
A cat in a makeshift joey pouch for animals 
affected by Australia's bushfires, as seen in
 Tauranga, New Zealand. Lara Mackay via Reuters


Chickens mill around a burnt-out property in Kiah on January 8.
Chickens in Kiah, New South Wales. Tracey Nearmy / Reuters

A Red Heeler dog lies on the ground at the Cobargo evacuation center in Cobargo on January 6.
A Red Heeler dog in Cobargo. Tracey Nearmy / Reuters

Local aboriginal man Anthony Thomas is seen at his uncle's property, destroyed by bushfires, in Kiah on January 8.
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Thursday, January 02, 2020

AUSTRALIAN INFERNO: Stunning images from space reveal the shocking extent of Australia's bushfire crisis

The Himawari-8 satellite's view of the Australian bushfires 
and smoke clouds on January 2. RAMMB/CIRA/CSU
Australian bushfires sparked in September have spread for months, leading to a state of emergency in many regions.
As of the new year, the blazes have scorched more than 14 million acres of land, killed about half a billion animals, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
The blazes are so large and widespread that satellites in space can easily photograph them from orbit.
Specialized sensors on satellites that can see through the thick smoke are recording the bushfires' spread.

Australia's raging bushfires are so bad that satellites thousands of miles above Earth can easily spot their flames and smoke from space.

The fires likely started naturally, though experts think human-caused climate disruption has exacerbated hot arid conditions that fuel the growth of such blazes. Current estimates suggest eastern Australia's bushfire crisis has scorched more than 14 million acres of land, killed about half a billion animals, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

The photo above — which shows plumes of smoke about half the area of Europe darkening skies as far as New Zealand in a yellow haze — was taken on Thursday by the Japan Meteorological Agency's Himawari-8 satellite.

Himawari-8 launched in October 2014 and weighs about as much as a Ford F-150 pickup truck. It now orbits over the same point about 22,300 miles above our planet. Using a variety of onboard sensors, Himawari-8, NASA's Suomi NPP satellite, and other Earth-monitoring machines are returning stunning imagery of Australia's dire situation.

Here are some of the most revealing photos, animations, and illustrations of the crisis on Earth as seen from outer space.

Himawari-8 overlooks the Western Hemisphere and photographs this face of Earth once every 10 minutes. Australia, its bushfires, and smoke plumes are easily visible.

An animation by the Himawari-8 satellite on January 2. 
NICT Science Cloud/CEReS/Kpchi University/Nagoya Science Museum
NASA's Suomi NPP satellite, which orbits about 500 
miles up, offers a much closer view of the planet — though
 a less consistent one. Here, Australia's bushfires are 
shown picking up in November.
 
An animation shows the Himawari-8 satellite's view of the
 eastern Australian bushfires from November 6 to 11. 
RAMMB/CIRA/CSU
Redder and longer wavelengths of light, such as near
 infrared, can show fiery hotspots on the ground through
 the haze and smoke.

Himawari-8's view of eastern Australian bushfires on November 7. RAMMB/CIRA/CSU
Embers from fires that began in September have spread easily in abnormally long, dry, and expansive drought.

Himawari-8's view of the Australian bushfires and smoke 
clouds on January 2. Melbourne is visible in the bottom-left 
corner. RAMMB/CIRA/CSU
This animation, from January 1 and 2, highlights multiple
 hotspots in normally invisible infrared light. Two especially 
large patches of bushfires (shown just southwest of the
 center) stretch dozens of miles long.

Himawari-8's view of the eastern Australian bushfires
 from January 1 to 2. RAMMB/CIRA/CSU
Daytime satellite views of the ground are equally, if not
 more, dramatic. The European Space Agency's 
Sentinel-2 satellite took this image of growing bushfires 
while passing over Bateman Bay on New Year's Eve.

A view of a bushfire in Bateman Bay, Australia, on
 December 31.
Copernicus EMS; Sentinel 2/ESA
Source: Twitter
The scope of the fires is hard to comprehend. In New 
South Wales alone, blazes have created a fire front in the
 state that — if put into a straight line — would stretch 
from Sydney, across the Indian Ocean, and into Afghanistan.

A satellite's view of the eastern Australian bushfires on
 January 2. NASA Worldview
Source: Twitter
The smoke plume alone is about 1.3 billion acres, or half
 the size of Europe, and is drifting more than 1,000 miles
 over New Zealand, where it is choking and yellowing the
 skies.

Himawari-8's view of the fires on January 2.
RAMMB/CIRA/CSU
Source: Twitter
So far, the bushfires have chewed through more than
 twice the area that burned in Amazon's rainforests
 during 2019.
 
An animation shows Himawari-8's view of the Australian 
bushfires and smoke clouds on January 2. RAMMB/CIRA/CSU
Source: Queimadas

At least 17 people have gone missing in the fires, eight have died, and hundreds of thousands have evacuated. Volunteer firefighters are working around the clock to curtail the disaster, though it may burn until cooler fall temperatures arrive in the Southern Hemisphere several months from now.
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Friday, January 03, 2020


Nearly half a billion animals have been killed in Australia's devastating bushfires


A koala drinks water from a bottle given by a firefighter in
 Cudlee Creek, South Australia, on Dec. 22, 2019. Oakbank 
Balhannah CFS via AP

Ecologists at the University of Sydney told News.com.au that an estimated 480 million mammals, birds, and reptiles, have died in the bushfires sweeping Australia.Eight thousand of the animals deaths are believed to be koalas, The Independent reported. Federal environment minister Sussan Ley told ABC Radio on Friday that up to 30% of koalas in New South Wales have been killed by the fires.As of Thursday morning, more than 130 fires were burning in New South Wales and Victoria. The fires have razed more than 9.9 million acres across five states.At least 18 people have died as a result of the bushfires. Some 1,400 homes have been destroyed.

Nearly half a billion animals are believed to be dead in the bushfires still spreading across Australia.

Ecologists at the University of Sydney told News.com.au that an estimated 480 million mammals, birds, and reptiles have died in the bushfires, which have been burning across Australia since September. Eight thousand of the animals deaths are believed to be koalas, The Independent reported.

As of Thursday morning, more than 130 fires were burning in New South Wales and Victoria. The fires have razed more than 9.9 million acres across five states. At least 18 people have died as a result of the bushfires. Some 1,400 homes have been destroyed.

Animals living in the regions include koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, possums, wombats, and echidnas.

Tracy Burgess, a volunteer at Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Services, told Reuters that rescuers aren't receiving as many animal patients as expected, which is cause for concern.

"Our concern is that they don't come into care because they're not there anymore, basically," she said.
Smoke billows during bushfires in Bairnsdale, Victoria, 
Australia, on December 30, 2019. Glen Morey via Reuters

Rescuers across the country have shared videos and photos of burned and dehydrated animals being cared for and fed by local residents.

Federal environment minister Sussan Ley told ABC Radio on Friday that up to 30% of koalas in New South Wales have been killed by the fires.

Nature Conservation Council ecologist Mark Graham told parliament in December that koalas can't move fast enough to escape the fires. Koalas also eat leaves from eucalyptus trees, which are highly flammable.

"The fires have burned so hot and so fast that there has been significant mortality of animals in the trees, but there is such a big area now that is still on fire and still burning that we will probably never find the bodies," he said, according to The Independent.

Food and fuel are running out in remote areas of southeastern Australia as the fires rage on. Weather conditions are expected to worsen through the week.


---30---



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Wednesday, January 01, 2020

AUSTRALIA WILDFIRES UPDATE JAN 2020

Twelve dead, several missing as Australia counts the cost of devastating bushfires
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A third person was confirmed dead on Wednesday in devastating bushfires that engulfed Australia’s southeast coast this week and a fourth was missing and feared dead, as navy ships rushed to provide supplies and assist with evacuations.

Twelve people have now lost their lives in fire-related deaths across Australia since blazes broke out a few months ago, including three volunteer firefighters, after a three-year drought in large parts of the nation created tinder-dry conditions.

Fanned by soaring temperatures, columns of fire and smoke blackened entire towns on Monday and Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents and holidaymakers to seek shelter on beaches. Many stood in shallow water to escape the flames.

Bushfires have destroyed more than 4 million hectares (10 million acres) and new blazes are sparked almost daily by extremely hot and windy conditions and, most recently, dry lightning strikes created by the fires themselves.

Cooler conditions on Wednesday gave the country a moment to count the cost of the fires, although there were still more than 100 blazes in New South Wales (NSW) state alone and thousands of firefighters on the ground.

The body of a man was found in a burnt car early on Wednesday on the south coast of New South Wales after emergency workers began reaching the most damaged areas, and police said the death toll will rise.

“Sadly, we can report today that police have confirmed a further three deaths as a result of the fires on the South Coast,” NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys told reporters in Sydney.

“Police are also at Lake Conjola now, where a house has been destroyed by fire and the occupant of that home is still unaccounted for.”

NSW police did not identify the missing man but said he was 72 years old and authorities have been unable to reach his home.

Police said early assessments have found nearly 200 homes have been destroyed, though they cautioned it was an early estimate.

Large-scale livestock and animal casualties are also expected across Australia’s east coast, though Mogo Zoo - home to Australia’s largest collection of primates, along with zebras, white rhinos, lions, tigers and giraffes – was saved.

The wildlife park was threatened by an out-of-control bushfire, though zoo keepers and firefighters managed to save all 200 animals.

In Victoria state, four people remain missing, state Premier Daniel Andrews said, after a massive blaze ripped through Gippsland - a rural region about 500 km (310 miles) east of Melbourne.

About 4,000 people in the town of Mallacoota in Victoria headed to the waterfront after the main road was cut off.

Mark Tregellas, a resident of Mallacoota who spent the night on a boat ramp, said only a late shift in the wind direction spared lives.

“The fire just continued to grow and then the black started to descend. I couldn’t see the hand in front in my face, and it then it started to glow red and we knew the fire was coming,” Tregellas told Reuters.

“Ash started to fall from the air and then the embers started to come down. At that point, people started to bring their kids and families into the water. Thankfully, the wind changed and the fire moved away.”

In Milton, a small town on the on the NSW south coast, locals queued for hours for the few remaining items left of shelves on supermarkets.

Emma Schirmer, who evacuated from her house in Batemans Bay with her three-month child on Tuesday, said the local shop was limiting sales to six items per customer, while a power outage meant shoppers could pay only with cash.

As shops run low and firefighters struggle with exhaustion, Australia’s military, including Black Hawk helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and naval vessels were being deployed.

“We’ve got choppers taking 90 firefighters out of the Mallacoota area, they can’t be removed any other way - we’re essentially doing a shift change by the air,” Andrews told reporters.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said authorities were working to restore communications with areas cut off by the fires, and she warned conditions will deteriorate again over the weekend.

“Weather conditions on Saturday will be as bad as they were” on Tuesday, Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

Meanwhile, Australia’s capital Canberra was blanketed in thick smoke, reaching about 20 times hazardous levels, prompting health warnings.

The smoke has also drifted to New Zealand where it has turned the daytime sky orange across the South Island.

PHOTOS/VIDEO

 Australian bushfires claim third victim as authorities struggle to reach cut-off areas

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian authorities on Wednesday confirmed a third person had died in devastating bushfires that engulfed the southeast coastal region this week and said a fourth person was missing and feared dead.

Fanned by soaring temperatures, columns of fire and smoke blackened entire towns on Monday and Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents and holidaymakers to seek shelter on beaches. Many stood in shallow water to escape the flames.

In total, there have been 12 fire-related deaths across Australia since blazes broke out a few months ago, including three volunteer firefighters, after a three-year drought in large parts of the nation created tinder-dry conditions.
RELATED COVERAGE Head trusts officials on bushfire smoke in Sydney test
Huge bushfires have destroyed more than 4 million hectares (10 million acres) — an area larger than Japan — and new blazes are sparked almost daily by extremely hot and windy conditions and, most recently, dry lightning strikes created by the fires themselves.

Cooler conditions on Wednesday gave the country a moment to count the cost of the fires, although there were still more than 100 blazes in New South Wales (NSW) state alone and thousands of firefighters on the ground.

The body of a man was found on Wednesday on the south coast of New South Wales after emergency workers began reaching the most damaged areas, according to the state’s Rural Fire Service (RFS).

The death toll is likely to rise, NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

“We still have grave concerns for (another person),” he told reporters in Sydney.

There is “limited access to the remote area to try to identify and confirm one way or the other the status of that person.”

Large-scale livestock and animal casualties are also expected across Australia’s east coast, though Mogo Zoo - home to Australia’s largest collection of primates, along with zebras, white rhinos, lions, tigers and giraffes – was saved.

The wildlife park was threatened by an out-of-control bushfire, though zoo keepers and firefighters managed to save all 200 animals.

In Victoria state, four people remain missing, authorities said, after a massive blaze ripped through Gippsland - a rural region about 500 km (310 miles) east of Melbourne.

About 4,000 people in the town of Mallacoota in Victoria headed to the waterfront after the main road was cut off.

Mark Tregellas, a resident of Mallacoota who spent the night on a boat ramp, said only a late shift in the wind direction sparred lives.

“The fire just continued to grow and then the black started to descend. I couldn’t see the hand in front in my face, and it then it started to glow red and we knew the fire was coming,” Tregellas told Reuters.

“Ash started to fall from the air and then the embers started to come down. At that point, people started to bring their kids and families into the water. Thankfully, the wind changed and the fire moved away.”

With thousands of people still stranded, Australia’s military has been drafted in.

Black Hawk helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and naval vessels have all been deployed, along with military personnel.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said authorities were working to restore communications with areas cut off by the fires, and she warned conditions will deteriorate again over the weekend.

“Weather conditions on Saturday will be as bad as they were” on Tuesday, Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

While avoiding any fires, Australia’s capital was on Wednesday blanketed in thick smoke, reaching about 20 times hazardous levels, prompting health warnings.

The smoke has also drifted to New Zealand where it has turned the daytime sky orange across the South Island.

 PART 1 AUSTRALIA WILDFIRES UPDATES NOV/DEC
Climate of chaos: the suffocating firestorm engulfing Australia
World welcomes 2020, but wildfires, protests, cast a pall over some celebrations
► VIDEO: Australians flee to beach to escape bushfires
Homes, buildings and vast swathes of brush have been reduced to ashes by huge bushfires ripping through parts of Australia. Australians that took shelter on beaches to escape bushfires have been advised to go into the water if the fire situation worsens



Mallacoota: Where Australia's bushfires turned day to night

Mallacoota is a tourist town in Victoria, Australia, some 500km (310 miles) east of Melbourne.
Around 1,000 people live there, but the population swells at Christmas, as Australians head to the coast to enjoy their holidays,
But on Tuesday morning - as bushfires swept the region - thousands of people fled to the beach for a different reason: safety.
Mallacoota red skies






Image copyright

People in the town woke up to thick smoke and pale, orange skies. But as the fires drew closer, the sky turned red.
At 8am a warning siren sounded, telling people to head to the water. By 9.30am, the sky was "pitch black".
"We were bracing for the worst because, it was black," David Jeffrey told the BBC. "Like it should have been daylight and it was black like midnight. And we could hear the fire roaring."
Mallacoota dark








Related conte


Aircraft and ships will be sent to New South Wales and Victoria, as thousands flee to the coast.

IMAGINE A CHILD OR ANIMAL IN THE CAR 

 Man fully cooks a pork roast in car during Australian heatwave
Temperatures inside the car peaked at 81 degrees Celsius.
 

State of emergency as bushfires rage in Australia

A state of emergency was declared in Australia's most populated region on Thursday as an unprecedented heatwave fanned out-of-control bushfires, destroying homes and smothering huge areas with a toxic smoke.


DAILYMAIL.CO.UK|BY DAILY MAIL
'DAY OF HELL': Monster inferno surrounds Sydney 
"Bushfires this season have officially burnt the most land on modern record across eastern New South Wales...
"On December 9, NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons tweeted that fires had burnt about 2.7 million hectares — an area greater than Wales.
"Yes, Wales, the country."

SEE
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=wildfires

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=australia

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=climate+change+
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AUSTRALIA WILDFIRES NEW YEARS CONTINUED



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Australia fires MAP: Death toll rises to 9 as bushfires blaze through New South Wales
FIRES continue to rip through Australia, with at least nine people confirmed dead in the latest series of blazes.

Explained: Australia’s raging bushfires, and the mounting climate emergency
Bushfires are routine in Australia, but authorities are calling this season the worst on record. This year, the fires started in August, much before the Southern ...

Australia sends army to fire-hit towns as death toll rises
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Australia fires create plume of smoke wider than Europe as humanitarian crisis looms
Bushfires ravaging Australia have now killed at least 17 people and created a plume of smoke thought to be present over an area greater than that of Europe.

As death toll rises, Australia deploys military ships to send aid to wildfire-hit towns
On Tuesday morning, 4000 people in the coastal town of Mallacoota fled to the shore as winds pushed a fire toward their homes under a sky darkened by smoke ...




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