HELL ON EARTH Inside the bushfire crisis
One of the most catastrophic weeks in Australian bushfire history has destroyed vast areas, but worse could still be to come
As dozens of wildfires burn out of control across eastern Australia, experts have warned that the situation is set to escalate. As WHO went to press, over a million hectares of land had been scorched, more than 500 homes destroyed and the death toll looked set to rise towards 10 – and over 70 blazes were still spreading across NSW and Queensland.
A senior emergency official told WHO on Tuesday, it could be the most devastating bushfire season on record.
“This week is by far the most catastrophic in my 31 years on the force,” Inspector Bob Mey from Fire and Rescue NSW says. “It’s only November so the worst really could be yet to come. None of us have enough resources when fires are at this extreme level.”
As states of emergency were declared down the eastern seaboard, thousands of residents were evacuated as dire warnings were issues across the Illawarra, Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley and across parts of Sydney, with 600 schools closed and air quality levels at potentially lethal levels.
High winds were carrying sparks an incredible 20 kilometres ahead of fire fronts, starting new blazes as they went.
The UK version of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, due to start on Sunday, is in doubt as the campground in Murwillumbah, NSW, near the Queensland border, came under threat. Among the contestants is Caitlyn Jenner, 70, who arrived at the weekend.
Former Mcleod’s Daughters actress Bridie Carter lives amid rural bushland just outside Byron Bay less than 15km from a fire . She told WHO on Tuesday that she has spent the week preparing for the worst.
“It’s been a harrowing few days, our conditions are extremely precarious,” the mum of two said. “We have water pumps standing by and are battening down the hatches. We will survive this. If this isn’t climate change, I don’t know what is.”
Iconic Byron Bay hinterland restaurant Fig Tree, where Bachelor stars Sam and Snezana Wood got married last year, was razed to the ground. Chris Hemsworth owns properties in the area, where police have warned residents to be prepared to flee.
But as 20,000 firefighters and volunteers battled to save lives, politicians were slammed for continuing to deny that climate change was making bushfire conditions worse.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said anyone who thought human activity was to blame were “inner-city raving lunatics”.
He added: “[We] don’t need the ravings of some pure, enlightened and woke capital city greenies at this time.” Prime Minister Scott Morrison awkwardly dodged questions on the subject.
But Greens MP Adam Bandt hit back: “[The government’s] done everything in their power to make these catastrophic fires more likely. When you cuddle coal in Canberra, the rest of the country burns.”
Meanwhile, the biggest study into Australian weather ever conducted has just reported that the link is irrefutable. Researchers at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology found that global warming is extending bushfire seasons and making them more severe.
“The changed [climate] conditions has led to an average increase in the severity of
“When you cuddle coal in Canberra, the country burns” — Adam Bandt
seasonal bushfire weather across Australia,” the report states.
“Our research has made clear that climate modes bring large and rapid swings to the fire weather, while human-induced climate change gradually increases background fire weather conditions.”
Twelve houses in the small town of Torrington in the Northern Tablelands have also been destroyed.
Resident Linda Birch took refuge in the town’s fire station, where smoke was billowing under the doors. She thought she was going to die.
“It wasn’t a bushfire, it was a firestorm,” she told AAP. “The sound was like a freight train, we couldn’t hear ourselves, we couldn’t talk.”