Australian bushfires thread - PRAY for Australia!

[Shoshanna]

'Everything is Burning': Australian Inferno Continues, Choking Off Access to Cities Across Country and

"These fires are likely to continue to spread well past Christmas."



byEoin Higgins, staff writer

47 Comments

Australia is engulfed in flames.




Australia is on fire.



The country on Saturday saw delayed flights on the second day of a national state of emergency due to raging brushfires near every major city and choked out smoke conditions.



Australian reporter Saffron Howden used a map from the Government of Western Australia to show how the blazes have ringed the entire continent.



"My god," Howden tweeted.

Full article with tweets at link

[Midnight]

What is left after the Australian wildfires?

[schwartzie]

Australia: Bushfires claim hundreds of homes and businesses

[Midnight]

Australian bushfires claim more lives and destroy 200 homes

[Midnight]

Sky Turns Blood Red In Australia As Massive Fire Sweeps The Region

[Midnight]

[Shoshanna]

Please pray for these wonderful people to be saved! 

“Wildlife Warriors”: Steve Irwin’s Family Helps Over 90,000 Animals as Fires Rage in Australia

The daughter of the “Crocodile Hunter” has devoted her life to continuing her family’s legacy as “wildlife warriors."





ELIAS MARAT





(TMU) — Australia’s bushfire crisis has ravaged local animal and plant life as ecologists warn that the potential loss of nearly 500 million mammals, reptiles, and birds—including 8,000 koalas—could devastate the country’s biodiversity in an unprecedented manner.



Despite the terrifying scope of the tragedy, Australians have stepped up in the thousands to confront the wave of fires by putting their lives on the line in volunteer firefighting brigades, donating to animal hospitals and charities, and working around the clock to mitigate the effects of the environmental disaster.



Among those brave workers and volunteers contributing to the fight against the fires is Bindi Irwin, the daughter of late TV personality Steve Irwin. The celebrated “Crocodile Hunter” was one of Australia’s most famed figures due to his passion for environmentalist and conservationist causes before he passed away in 2006 while filming an ocean documentary.



Steve’s 21-year-old daughter has now devoted her life to continuing the family’s multi-generational legacy as “wildlife warriors” especially during the current crisis impacting animals across the country.



On Thursday, Bindi revealed on Instagram that she has been working hard alongside the staff at Australia Zoo to help treat a record-breaking influx of animal patients wounded in the firestorms. She wrote:



“With so many devastating fires within Australia, my heart breaks for the people and wildlife who have lost so much. I wanted to let you know that we are SAFE. There are no fires near us @australiazoo or our conservation properties.



Our Wildlife Hospital is busier than ever though, having officially treated over 90,000 patients. My parents dedicated our Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital to my beautiful grandmother.



We will continue to honour her by being Wildlife Warriors and saving as many lives as we can.”

http://instagram.com/p/B60DXgHhqrK

The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital has been run by Bindi’s mother Terri Irwin since Steve’s death. According to a Yahoo Lifestyle report last month, the zoo typically treats over 8,000 sick and injured native animals per year. However, the zoo has been inundated by animals affected by the wave of bushfires raging across the country since September.



Bindi’s post comes as footage emerged showing dozens of kangaroos fleeing for their lives from the bushfires ravaging the state of New South Wales (NSW).



In the video, a large group of kangaroos can be seen hopping away in desperation across the parched grasslands near Bredbo, NSW.

Mitchell Lyons, who filmed the tragic scene, said:



“Look, they don’t know which way to run from cars, but they sure know which way to run from fire.”



Ecologists fear that the enormous loss of wildlife due to the current crisis could forever tip the balance for entire species of animals and plants. Kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, wombats, echidnas, possums, and other endemic species have been lost in numbers that remain difficult to gauge due to the ongoing crisis.



Koalas, in particular, have sustained huge losses—with some experts warning that an estimated 30 percent of the koala colony has been lost in the fires on the northeast coast.



link

[maybetoday]

Australian towns teeter on brink of a humanitarian crisis as food, fuel and water run low in bushfire-hit regions and the NAVY is called in 'to evacuate people by the 1,000' ahead of 46C Saturday

Australia is teetering on the brink of a humanitarian disaster after devastating bushfires left eight dead

There are fears that water supplies have become contaminated and towns are still cut off with no power

There were long queues at petrol stations and supermarkets but there is no way to replenish supplies

HMAS Choules is expected to provide relief to more than 4,000 still stranded in the town of Mallacoota

Authorities warn conditions are predicted to worsen on Saturday in Victoria and New South Wales

By BRITTANY CHAIN FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA and AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS



PUBLISHED: 10:02 EST, 1 January 2020 | UPDATED: 06:52 EST, 2 January 2020



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Australia is teetering on the edge of a humanitarian crisis as remote communities remain cut off from medical help, water sources are compromised and food and fuel supplies run low.



Hundreds of fires are still burning out of control across the country, destroying millions of hectares, killing 18 and leaving at least 1,200 homes destroyed, with catastrophic 46C weather conditions forecast for Saturday.



HMAS Choules, which delivered emergency supplies to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, left Sydney on Wednesday and docked off the coast of fire-stricken Mallacoota mid-morning on Thursday.



The vessel can carry 700 passengers but there are up 4,000 people who remain stranded in the seaside town after it was devastated by bushfires.



The ship has also brought much-needed relief for those who will remain in the seaside town.



Authorities are considering airlifting more supplies, such as water, toilet paper and basic medical supplies as some roads may be closed for weeks.



On New Year's Eve residents and tourists fled to Mallacoota's beach, ready to throw themselves in the water to protect themselves from the flames while the sky turned an apocalyptic red.



There are concerns that the town's water supply has now become contaminated due to the fires, and residents have been told to boil water until it can be tested.


Full story with pictures and video at link

[J.J.Gibbs]

Nearly 200 People Arrested Across Australia For Deliberately Starting Bushfires

Yet media & celebrities continue to blame “climate change.”



Published 14 hours ago on 6 January, 2020Paul Joseph Watson165 Comments

Authorities in Australia have arrested close to 200 people for deliberately starting the bushfires that have devastated the country, yet the media and celebrities continue to blame “climate change” for the disaster.



The fires have caused at least 18 deaths, destroyed thousands of homes, millions of hectares of land and killed hundreds of millions of animals.



A total of 183 people have been arrested by police in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania for lighting bushfires over the last few months, figures obtained by news agency AAP show.







Alex Jones is live on air right now breaking down how the carbon tax cult is seizing this tragedy to push for planetary government and taxation. He’s also taking calls from Aussies!



In New South Wales, 24 people were arrested for arson, risking prison sentences of up to 25 years.



In Queensland, police concluded that 103 of the fires had been deliberately lit, with 98 people, 67 of them juveniles, having been identified as the culprits.



“The link between arsonists and the deadly fires that devastate Australia every summer is well known and well documented, with the rate of deliberately lit fires escalating rapidly during the school holiday period,” reports Breitbart’s Simon Kent.



Around 85 per cent of bushfires are caused by humans either deliberately or accidentally starting them, according to Dr Paul Read, co-director of the National Centre for Research in Bushfire and Arson.


 Full story with pictures and video at link

[shalom]

Such incredible wickedness!  


'Arson is not caused by climate change': Row breaks out over real cause of Australia's bushfires after it emerges more than 180 people have been arrested for starting them

Liberal MP has claimed arson to blame for bushfires, rather than climate change

Craig Kelly, a climate change skepticism, appeared on Good Morning Britain

24 people have been charged with bushfire-related offences this fire season

A further 53 people arrested for failing to comply with state-imposed fire bans

At least 25 people have died, and 1,500 homes have been destroyed so far

Some have seized on arrests to say that impact of climate change is overstated

By SOPHIE TANNO and BRITTANY CHAIN FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA



PUBLISHED: 09:15 EST, 7 January 2020 | UPDATED: 13:33 EST, 7 January 2020




A row has broken out over the cause of Australia's deadly bushfire crisis, with Liberal MP Craig Kelly claiming that 'arson is not caused by climate change'.



The MP, who is known for his climate change skepticism, put forward his opinion on why the country is gripped in a fire emergency during an appearance on ABC's RN Breakfast show.



'Unprecedented' numbers of people had been arrested and charged with arson offences, he claimed. 'The arson is not caused by climate change.'


Full story with pictures and video at link

[Honoria]

[Midnight]

'Extinction Crisis': Scientist Warns A Billion Animals Wiped Out by Australian Wildfires

[Shoshanna]

Poor sweet babies. 


Australia Is Dropping Vegetables From Choppers To Feed Wildlife Starved By Fires

POSTED ON JANUARY 12, 2020ENVIRONMENT

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By Elias Marat





As Australia’s bushfire crisis continues to impact wildlife, aircraft have been deployed to feed thousands of starving wild animals who have been stranded by the blazes.



The government of the hard-hit state of New South Wales (NSW) has begun a campaign of airdrops across scorched regions, delivering thousands of pounds of root veggies —like carrots and sweet potatoes —from choppers flying above in a bid to sate the appetites of hungry colonies of brush-trailed rock wallabies, reports Daily Mail.



Dubbed “Operation Rock Wallaby,” the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service’s campaign is meant to help save the threatened marsupials from the growing danger of mass starvation.



Over the past week, the agency has conducted the food drops for rock wallaby colonies in various regions across the state. Nearly 5,000 pounds (2,200 kg) of fresh vegetables have already been delivered to the hungry native creatures.


NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean said that although the wallabies have escaped the threat of the monstrous fires, their food sources remain scarce—or simply nonexistent. The official explained:



The wallabies typically survive the fire itself, but are then left stranded with limited natural food as the fire takes out the vegetation around their rocky habitat.



The wallabies were already under stress from the ongoing drought, making survival challenging for the wallabies without assistance.



Kean added that they plan to follow up on how the animals progress as they continue recovery efforts following the raging bushfires. He said:



When we can, we are also setting up cameras to monitor the uptake of the food and the number and variety of animals there.



Since the fire crisis broke out in September, at least 28 people have been killed and countless others forced to evacuate—often repeatedly—as the historic wave of bushfires ripped through 25.5 million acres (10.3 million hectares) of land, an area equal to the size of South Korea.

More at the link

[maybetoday]

Images of heroic firefighters are projected onto the Sydney Opera House to honour their bravery in the bushfire crisis

Sydney Opera House glowed with images of heroic firefighters on Saturday

The projections began at 8.30pm and were a tribute to those battling bushfires

Pictures were of woman hugging volunteer, another was a sign saying thank you

By KELSEY WILKIE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA



PUBLISHED: 07:36 EST, 11 January 2020 | UPDATED: 12:48 EST, 11 January 2020


Sydney Opera House glowed with images of heroic firefighters who have been battling bushfires across the country.



The projections began at 8.30pm on Saturday and were a tribute to the firefighters and communities who have suffered through the current crisis.



One image showed a woman hugging a volunteer firefighter, while another was of a sign which read: 'Thank You firies'.




Full story with pictures and video at link

[Midnight]

[bloodbought]

This is a bittersweet story, but at least the billion or so animals who died are with the Lord and won't suffer pain or fear ever again.  



Wombats are the heroes of the Australian fires, sheltering animals in their burrows

Photo: sljones/Shutterstock

Eben Diskin

Jan 15, 2020




AMID ALL THE devastation caused by Australia’s bushfires, an unlikely hero has emerged: the wombat. Quite generously, wombats have reportedly been allowing other animals to take refuge in their homes, as they hide from the blazes that threaten their own habitats. Complex underground tunnels, created by wombats, have served as safehouses for other species like wallabies and echidnas, allowing them to survive an otherwise fatal situation.



Peter Hylands, a documentary filmmaker, visited the burnt landscape of the Cobargo Wildlife Sanctuary, and told Yahoo, “You’ve got animals that are completely unscathed and those must be the animals that have been under the ground, it’s the only explanation when the fire zones are so extensive.”





More like this:

Over 1 billion animals presumed dead in Australian bushfires


This sentiment is echoed by Wombat Rescue manager Yolandi Vermaak, who said, “At most, there would be animals fleeing into burrows. I’ve seen echidnas going into burrows — lizards, and skinks, rabbits — those sort of things. I have even seen a small wallaby.”



Vermaak also said that she hasn’t seen a single burnt wombat during her rescue missions, and instead has discovered a series of survivors — wombats and several other species — hiding in the tunnels.



When the fires are eventually extinguished, hopefully wombats get the praise they deserve — both from the people of Australia and their fellow members of the animal kingdom.

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