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
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….