Australia Fires

Fires Are Raging Outside Every Major City in Australia
January 2020

 

Prayers for Australia

 

2019 and into 2020 Australia Has Been Hit with Bush Fires of
Levels of Devastation almost Beyond Comprehension
Truly Catastrophic

 

 

Here is a song that helps to capture the level of GRIEF
and also deep gratitude to First Responders
‘Let it Rain’: Written and performed by Delta Goodrem

 

 

Firenadoes, ember attacks and megafires: Australia is seeing sci-fi weather
Article January 13 2020  by Andrew Freedman, Sarah Kaplan
Washington Post

Qutoed from the article “Temperatures are soaring to heights scientists did not expect to see for decades.
Landscapes that are usually resistant to fire — including rainforests home to rare, vulnerable species — are going up in flames.  The blazes are so big they generate their own hellish weather.

Fire tornadoes, formed when spinning winds generate a massive rotating column of fire, ash, vapor and debris, are impossible to control.  A volunteer firefighter in New South Wales was killed on Dec. 30 when one of these twisters overturned his truck.

“Ember attacks” occur when violent winds around wildfires pick up burning pieces of debris and carry them aloft, dropping them in a flammable spot where they start another blaze.

Fire whirls — short-lived, swirling vortices of ash, dust and flame that are generated
when updrafts of hot air become twisted as they rise along the leading edge of a forest fire, and can behave unpredictably.

The heat from Australia’s blazes has fueled fire-generated thunderstorms from what are known as pyrocumulonimbus clouds.  These mushroom-shaped clouds act like chimneys, venting heat and sucking in surrounding air to intensify fires, making their behavior more unpredictable and unstoppable.

Neil Lareau, a meteorologist at the University of Nevada at Reno, said he has never seen pyrocumulonimbus clouds on such a large-scale.”

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

“I’ve seen echidnas going into burrows — lizards, and skinks, rabbits,
those sort of things. I have even seen a small wallaby.”
Wombat Rescue manager Yolandi Vermaak

 

Australia’s fires have pushed as many as 100 threatened species closer to extinction  

“Australia’s unprecedented wildfires season has so far charred 40,000 square miles of brushland, rainforests, and national parks – killing by one estimate more than a billion wild animals. Scientists fear some of the island continent’s unique and colorful species may not recover. For others, they are trying to throw lifelines. Where flames have subsided, biologists are starting to look for survivors, hoping they may find enough left of some rare and endangered species to rebuild populations. It’s a grim task for a nation that prides itself on its diverse wildlife, including creatures found nowhere else on the planet such as koalas, kangaroos and wallabies.”

 

Elton John has pledged to donate $1 million to the relief fund
for those affected by the Australian bushfire disaster

 

Here is a Helpful Resource that is on the website Marin Community Foundation

The Australian Bushfires
“Our hearts go out to the people and wildlife of Australia who are suffering the devastating effects of bushfires across the country.  If you are interested in supporting rescue and rehabilitation efforts, we recommend the following Australian-based organizations.  MCF donors should contact their philanthropic advisor to discuss options for making their contributions.”

New South Wales
Rural Fire Service
WIRES – Emergency Fund for Wildlife

Victoria
Wildlife Victoria – Victorian Bushfire Appeal

National
Australian Red Cross

Koala Hospital
https://www.koalahospital.org….

Foodbank Australia