Australia is Quenching Its Fires But a Few Still Remain
A recent New York Times article reports that most of the fires are finally out in New South Whales, but there are still more to address.
After months and months of roaring fires across the island, emergency services have finally gotten a handle on the majority of fires in and around New South Whales, Australia, according to one New York Times article. They are not all extinguished, but many are at least under control.
Since September of 2019, fires across the Australia have ravaged beachside towns and suburbs and swatch of forest. In New South Whales specifically (where most of the country’s fires are), the fires have all been contained, but not all of them are extinguished completely, said deputy commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service Rob Rogers.
In a video posted on Twitter, Rogers said: “All fires are contained, so we can really focus on helping people rebuild.”
For the southeastern state of Victoria, however, fire crews are not so lucky. There, fires continue to be trouble—but torrential rain recently has helped dampen many of the blazes. Australia’s summer season has seen a number of ruthless fires that have killed more than a half a billion animals and led to the deaths of 11 firefighters (including three Americans).
Australia’s weather strife has not been limited to these fires this season, either. Over the past few months, giant storms hit Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra with baseball-sized hail. Rain over the past week has caused flash flooding in many areas, and one of Sydney’s main dams had a recorded increase in water of around 18 percent in under two days.
The overall death toll from the bush fires now exceeds 30, with over 2,500 homes destroyed.
Hopefully, the trend of gaining control over the fires will continue—but the fight has not been without intense strain and anxiety on communities, the environment, and the country as a whole.