Let Us Pray For Australia

Australian Bushfires

Trinity Robertson, Editor|March 11, 2020

A cartoon depicting a firefighter embracing the animals whose homes were burned in the Australian wildfires. Photo courtesy of https://www.boredpanda.com/tribute-art-to-australian-bushfires/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic.

The devastating news of the bushfires in Australia has completely taken the world by surprise. In mid-November of 2019, the country declared a state of emergency as the bushfires continued to rapidly grow since September, which is usually the last month of the fire season. 

States such as New South Wales and Queensland have been negatively affected: forests, wildlife, homes and much more have been damaged by the bushfires. Dust storms caused by the fires have also been seen from New Zealand, which is over 1,200 miles away from Australia. 

As for the beginning of the month of January, thousands of homes have been destroyed, and over one billion animals, some of which are already endangered, have lost their lives.

 The 2019 Australian fires have burned 20 million acres which is much larger when compared to the recent wildfire events in California, the Amazon, and Siberia. According to a source from Bloomberg Green, the bushfires have destroyed an area almost the size of England. 

A map showing the areas in which Australia is engulfed by flames. Photo courtesy of https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/21/everything-burning-australian-inferno-continues-choking-access-cities-across-country.

This is due to natural causes such as the hot, dry, and windy weather in 2019; however, some might believe the fires could have been started because of arson. So far, 24 people have been arrested by New Wales police due to the relation of purposely lighting a fire. The police have also taken legal action against 183 people, who have been related to fire offensenses starting from early November. 

Environmentalist and actor Leonardo DiCaprio has continuously spoken about the massive event and how climate change has affected the impact of the bushfires. “Climate change means hotter temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and periods of low rainfall that can dry out vegetation, and an increased chance of lighting strikes,” wrote DiCaprio in an Instagram post on January 14th, 2020. The post explains how hotter weather conditions will lead to a longer fire season, increasing the risk of dry land and lighting strikes. 

Recently, Australia has received heavy rain which has helped put out the bushfires, but has also caused a disadvantage towards wildlife rescue teams to bring animals to safety and leads to a risk of dangerous flash floods.

On February 15th, the state confirmed that the fires were finally under control due to the heavy rain, which helped extinguish a number of fires in a short amount of time. Additionally, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service stated in a tweet,“For the first time since early July 2019, there is currently no active bush or grass fires in #NSW. That’s more than 240 days of fire activity for the state. #nswfires #nswrfs”.

As from March 3rd, 2020, the fire service of New South Wales declared that the fires have been cleared for the first time since the bushfires have started.

Located below are resources that allow people all around the world to donate and learn more information about the bushfires.

Influencers Who Have Supported Australia

  • Selena Gomez
  • Mike Holston 
  • P!nk
  • Nicole Kidman
  • Leonardo Dicaprio
  • Keith Urban 
  • Greta Thunberg
  • Kylie Jenner
  • Jeff Bezos 
  • Ellen DeGeneres 
  • Rebel Wilson 
  • The Family of Steve Irwin 
  • Chris Hemsworth 
  • Joaquin Phoenix
  • Dacre Montgomery