Well-watered mulberry tree credited with saving home on NSW South Coast from summer bushfires - ABC News. When Brett Hawkins returned to his remote property in Upper Brogo, north of Bega, after the 2019 New Year's Eve bushfires, he never expected to find his home and one tree left unscathed among total devastation.
Key points: The mudbrick home of Brett Hawkins and Wendy Wolff survived the summer bushfires alongside a mulberry treeThey believed that by keeping the tree watered, it helped it to resist the fireThe bushfire survivors were given a new purpose to stay on the property Living in dense bushland on the edge of Wadbilliga National Park, on the New South Wales Far South Coast, Mr Hawkins and partner Wendy Wolff evacuated as the Badja Road Fire encroached, and spent the night with hundreds of other evacuees in Bermagui, before returning three days later.
"It was apocalyptic," Mr Hawkins said. "There was not a tree left, ash on the ground and smouldering embers everywhere. " But among the blackened trees, Mr Hawkins found his mudbrick house and mulberry tree in full leaf. Key points: Trump doesn't care if wildfires destroy the west – it didn't vote for him. The air outside my window is yellow today.
It was orange yesterday. The Air Quality Index is over 200. The Environmental Protection Agency defines this as a “health alert” in which “everyone may experience more serious health effects if they are exposed for 24 hours”. Unfortunately, the index has been over 200 for several days. It’s important to say this is not a step towards a paywall. Death toll rises as fires choke US west coast and Trump response is lambasted. The death toll from wildfires choking the west coast of the US continued to rise on Sunday as authorities feared more bodies were likely to be found in the charred ruins of towns across several states, and politicians lambasted Donald Trump for his response to the escalating crisis.
In Oregon, where emergency managers warned the public to expect “a mass fatality incident”, 40,000 fled their homes, more than half a million were under some level of evacuation order, flames scorched more than a million acres and the state fire marshal was replaced. At least 33 people are known to have died since mid-August, two-thirds in California and 10 in Oregon, with dozens more reported missing, although local reports on Sunday suggested most had since been accounted for.
Firefighters continued to battle almost 100 separate wildfires, including in Washington state, where a child was killed, and in Idaho and Montana. Across all affected states, the fires have consumed 4.6 million acres, CNN reported. Twitter. Smoke chokes West Coast as wildfire deaths keep climbing. Oregon fires force 500,000 to evacuate as blazes across American west kill 15.
More than 500,000 people in Oregon have been forced to evacuate as unprecedented wildfires rage across the state, amounting to more than 10% of the population, authorities said Thursday.
Wildfires searing through the American west have killed at least 15 people, leveled entire neighborhoods and forced stretched firefighting crews to make tough decisions about where to deploy. The situation is especially acute in Oregon where fire conditions not seen in three decades have fueled huge blazes that have killed at least three people, destroyed at least five towns and forced the evacuation of communities from the southern border to the Portland suburbs. On Thursday night, President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration in the state, enabling federal assistance to bolster local efforts. The Oregon Office of Emergency Management said wildfire activity was made even more dangerous in northwestern Oregon as hot, windy conditions continued.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Royal commission into bushfire crisis begins hearings with focus on impact of climate change - ABC News. Summer of crisis. Description Australia's Black Summer of 2019-20 was characterised by catastrophic bushfires.
The bushfire season started in winter and was the worst on record for New South Wales in terms of its intensity, the area burned, and the number of properties lost. It was also the worst season on record for properties lost in Queensland. This report focuses on New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, because the effects of the bushfires were most severe in these areas, but we acknowledge that the bushfires affected Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
Key findings: Climate change fuelled Australia’s devastating Black Summer Australia’s Black Summer was unprecedented in scale and harm. The Frant: Hero or villain? The saga of firefighter Paul Parker, who told off Scott Morrison – video. I spent weeks reporting on the bushfires. This is the truth about regional Australia. Over summer I spent weeks reporting on the bushfire crisis in northern New South Wales, including the ferocious blazes close to Taree that near destroyed the towns of Bobin and Killabakh through to the Myall Creek fire in the state’s north, which menaced New Italy and Woombah.
I met families with small children who had to flee burning homes in the night. I visited suburban homes filled to the brim with burnt native animals, needing care around the clock. And I interviewed firefighters who broke down and cried recounting efforts to save the homes of friends. These people are regional Australians on the frontline of climate change – climate change that is propelled by burning coal – and while the prime minister, Scott Morrison, has acknowledged the government’s climate policies must “evolve”, he maintains that doesn’t mean “writing off a $70bn industry on which regional Australians depend for their livelihood”.
I enjoy taking climate deniers to task but here's the question Q&A should have answered. I was excited when the ABC asked me to be a panellist on a special bushfires edition of Q&A, the season opener for the Monday night program here in Australia.
But as the event grew nearer trepidation grew as well. Foreshadowing the trouble that might lie ahead, the ABC had to move the event not once but twice, from the initial site of Bega on the south coast, because of imminent fire danger. It finally settled instead on Canberra, another location under grave bushfire threat. Out of the frying pan into the fire. But my concerns went deeper. The bushfire special turned out well, overall, in my view.
Macdonald pushed Molan to explain why he rejects the overwhelming scientific consensus that the climate change behind the unprecedented heat and drought is human-caused. Waking up. Australia fires: A visual guide to the bushfire crisis. Lyrebird may join threatened species, as scale of bird habitat lost to bushfires emerges. The superb lyrebird, famous for its ability to mimic almost any sound, may have plunged from being a common to a threatened species after its three varieties lost between a third and more than half of their known habitat in the bushfire crisis.
A preliminary analysis by Birdlife Australia found that both the central and northern superb lyrebirds, located in NSW and southern Queensland, were likely to have had more than 50% of their habitat affected by fire. The southern superb lyrebird, from Victoria and southern NSW, is estimated to have had 34% of where it lives burned. Across the country, the group found 19 birds had more than half their habitat seriously affected by fire. The C-130 Large Air Tanker that crashed while fighting NSW fires — what we know about the plane.
By Paul Johnson Updated 17 minutes agoFri 24 Jan 2020, 6:37am Australia's devastating bushfire season has claimed the lives of three more people — the crew of an aerial water bomber being leased from a North American company.
The Large Air Tanker, a Lockheed C-130, went down near Cooma, in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains on Thursday, killing the crew from aerial fire-fighting company Coulson Aviation. How Australia's bushfires spread: mapping the east coast fires. It has been a devastating fire season in Australia, with millions of hectares burned, lives lost and almost 2,000 properties destroyed.
Long-term drought conditions and record temperatures have combined with strong winds to create catastrophic fire conditions, resulting in widespread devastation in almost every state. However, it is hard to grasp the geographic scale and speed with which the fires spread. Australia fires are harbinger of planet’s future, say scientists. The bushfires ravaging Australia are a clear sign of what is to come around the world if temperatures are allowed to rise to dangerous levels, according to scientists. “This is what you can expect to happen … at an average of 3C [above pre-industrial levels],” said Richard Betts, professor of geography at Exeter University. “We are seeing a sign of what would be normal conditions in a 3C world.
It tells us what the future world might look like. This really brings home what climate change means.” Looking after yourself after a disaster. People may be at risk of developing anxiety or depression after experiencing a traumatic event or a natural disaster like a bushfire, flood, cyclone or earthquake. Communities and individuals affected by a disaster can experience a range of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that can be intense, confusing and frightening. These are common reactions to an extraordinary situation. Fear, for example, is an important and normal reaction that helps activate our body and mind to make decisions to protect our own life and the lives of loved ones, friends and neighbours. Bushfire season starts early across northern Australia due to ongoing hot, dry conditions. Posted 27 Jun 2019, 4:20amThu 27 Jun 2019, 4:20am Northern Australia is facing an early start to what experts believe will be a higher than average potential bushfire season across parts of Queensland.
Fires are already occurring in some parts of southern QueenslandAbove normal fire potential exists from Rockhampton to the NSW border and through south-western QueenslandQFES rural fire director Tony Johnstone says the bushfire threat has been building for the past decade The 2019 Northern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook, released today, warns that exceptionally higher than average temperatures and low soil moisture have increased the risk of bushfires, even though there has been rain in some coastal areas.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Service acting director for rural fire Tony Johnstone is warning that fires are already occurring in some places. Normal fire potential is expected for other parts of Queensland. With costs approaching $100 billion, the fires are Australia’s costliest natural disaster. It’s hard to estimate the eventual economic cost of Australia’s 2019-20 megafires, partly because they are still underway, and partly because it is hard to know the cost to attribute to deaths and the decimation of species and habitats, but it is easy to get an idea of its significance – the cost will be unprecedented.
The deadliest bushfires in the past 200 years took place in 1851, then 1939, then 1983, 2009, now 2019-20. The years between them are shrinking rapidly. Only a remote grassfire in central Australia in 1974-75 rivalled them in terms of size, although not in terms of material burnt or loss of life. The term “megafire” is a new one, defined in the early 2000s to help describe disturbing new wildfires emerging in the United States – massive blazes, usually above 400,000 hectares, often joining up, that create more than usual destruction to life and property. With costs approaching $100 billion, the bushfires are Australia’s costliest natural disaster. 2019-2020 Australian bushfires. Australian bushfire photos from the air show scale of carnage and destruction. As PM says Hawaii was not intended holiday plan, jet-setting minister phones in for bushfire talks.
As the prime minister claims he only went to Hawaii after a “very unfortunate series of events” forced him to change his NSW beach holiday plan, it can be revealed another cabinet member has been overseas during bushfire crisis talks. Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann has been phoning in for emergency discussions while holidaying in Singapore. The last thing we need is another bushfire royal commission. Australian fires: Why do people start fires during fires? The number of fires and who lights them. Skip to Content. Causes of bushfires - Australian Bureau of Statistics. Plea for people to stop donating goods directly to 'overwhelmed' fire-affected communities.
Updated 7 Jan 2020, 9:06amTue 7 Jan 2020, 9:06am. Fires misinformation being spread through social media. Updated 8 Jan 2020, 2:23amWed 8 Jan 2020, 2:23am. Residents, tourists urged to leave, 17 missing as dozens of fires burn in East Gippsland. What I learned when visiting a bushfire evacuation centre. Victorian Government Declares A State Of Disaster. Bushfires prompt Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to declare state of disaster as blazes bring 'unprecedented risk' Record-breaking 4.9m hectares of land burned in NSW this bushfire season.
How to monitor the bushfires raging across Australia. Bushfires in Victoria. Australia fires photos show startling before and after destruction. Melbourne air quality drops to 'hazardous' levels as bushfire smoke lingers over Victoria. Parts of Victoria are still not in the clear from bushfires. Yes, Australia has always had bushfires: but 2019 is like nothing we've seen before. Tahmoor coalmine evacuated as Green Wattle Creek blaze rages – as it happened. Australia is Committing Climate Suicide. EXPERT REACTION: Australian bushfires. Explainer: what are the underlying causes of Australia's shocking bushfire season? AAS: Statement regarding Australian bushfires. The truth behind the 'misleading' fire maps. Homes flooded in Cooma during NSW fire emergency after water tank bursts. This is how most bushfires in Australia start, and how we know. Scott Morrison's fires response has put his political judgement in question.
Passengers describe flying through fire-generated cloud. Climatological variability of fire weather conditions throughout Australia. Explainer: how effective is bushfire hazard reduction on Australia's fires? World Air Quality Index (AQI) Ranking. Australia fires: How do we know how many animals have died? Australia's bushfire crisis is so big that it's useless trying to predict how blazes will behave, incident controller says. Bushfire tornado tears through Kangaroo Island in South Australia – video. From disbelief to dread: the dismal new routine of life in Sydney's smoke haze. Australia's lungs have collapsed and Generation X needs to take part of the blame. 'I had no way of leaving': readers share their encounters with the Australian bushfires.
Australia fires: Smoke turns New Zealand skies 'eerie' yellow. Tony Abbott, former Australian PM, tells Israeli radio the world is 'in the grip of a climate cult' Australia fires: A visual guide to the bushfire crisis. Australia fires: Navy rescues people from fire-hit Mallacoota. Australia fires: risk of more extreme weather leaves people unsure whether to flee or stay – video. Immense scale of Victorian bushfires revealed with thermal camera – video. Tens of thousands flee in mass bushfire evacuation – as it happened. NSW state of emergency declared as 17 missing in Victoria bushfires – as it happened. Victoria bushfire evacuee recalls moment. PM Scott Morrision defends climate policies.
Some political leaders find their natural authority in a crisis – not Scott Morrison. Australian bushfires: Scott Morrison defends climate policies. Darkness at noon: Australia's bushfire day of terror. Bushfires on NSW South Coast kill 7 people & destroy 176 buildings. A world beyond the inferno. 2019 may go down in history as Year Zero of the climate apocalypse. Bushfire to affect residents and holidaymakers long after the flames die out - Politics. BBC on Australian bushfires. Morrison's smoke and mirrors. Firefighter writes passionate open letter to PM. The causes of unprecedented bushfires are complex but climate change is part of the puzzle. Scott Morrison rejects calls for more bushfire help, saying volunteer firefighters 'want to be there' Climate protesters, including 10-year-old girl, threatened with arrest outside Australian PM's official residence.
Summary Report Australias 2030 Emission Reduction Target. IGNORE WARMISTS: QUEENSLAND IS BURNING, BUT FEWER FIRES WORLD-WIDE. What's happening in the Amazon? Wildfires, power cuts in scorching European heatwave. Australia could see hottest day on record next week as Perth heatwave conditions travel east.