LEIVO AND HIS AUSSIE FIANCEE PRAY FOR END TO BUSHFIRES
The scope of this story is hard to comprehend, and maybe that’s the problem.
On Tuesday, NASA scientists reported the smoke from Australia’s bushfires, which have already affected the air quality more than 4,000 kilometres away in New Zealand, has travelled halfway around the world and will eventually circle the globe. The same day in the Guardian, scientists said the fires are a “harbinger of the planet’s future,” if global warming isn’t curtailed.
The fires, which are now in their fifth month, have devastated an estimated 16.8 million hectares in Australia while killing at least 27 people and destroying some 6,000 buildings. Every state and territory on the continent has been hit.
It’s further estimated one billion animals have been killed, and some endangered species may be driven to extinction.
“It’s crazy,” says Josh Leivo, the Vancouver Canucks forward who is currently out of the lineup with a fractured knee cap. “You see the pictures and it’s hard to believe it’s happening.”
It’s happening, but on the other side of the world, which might explain why the full weight of this story isn’t being measured in North America. CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo were talking about this on Monday night, talking about why the rest of the world hasn’t snapped to attention as Australia burns. It could be because the political situation in the U.S. overwhelms everything else, Cuomo offered. Could be. But in Leivo’s world, those fires aren’t an abstract news item taking place a world away. They’re in his life every day.
His fiancee, Bianca Lane, hails from just outside of Sydney, Australia. Together they have a six-month-old son, Zayne.
Lane also has family in Melbourne, and the couple has talked about living in Australia after Leivo’s hockey career is over.
But they wonder if the Australia she knows will still be there by then.
“It’s all over Australia and I don’t think people realize how serious it is,” Leivo said. “They get bits and pieces, but they don’t get the big part. (Bianca and Zayne) were just over there in October when the fires started. It was a couple of months shy of being in a serious situation. We’re always wondering. She has grandparents. But it’s everyone there.”
Leivo met Lane, a swimsuit designer, three years ago in Miami. The couple has since travelled to Australia just once, but the 26-year-old Leivo fell in love with the place. They travelled up to the Gold Coast and Brisbane. They travelled down to Melbourne where his future father-in-law took him to an Australian rules football game.
Leivo is from the Lake Simcoe area, near Toronto’s cottage country, and he was reminded of his home, only with better weather and better beaches.
“It’s like paradise there,” he said.
Not anymore. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales, the state that’s been hardest hit by the fires. Lane is from Newport Beach, one of Sydney’s northern beaches, and it’s glorious. At least it was. Now the couple are shaken by the pictures sent from Lane’s family.
“The sky is red,” Leivo said. “It’s like something out of a science-fiction movie. Some days are tougher than others with the smoke. They’re on the water and that pushes it away a little more.
But they have friends who have had to evacuate.”
Leivo also has been hit hard by the toll on the continent’s wildlife. He loves animals, loves watching nature shows. But he has trouble watching the heartbreaking images coming out of Australia. The fire has hit Kangaroo Island, a wildlife park and popular tourist destination just south of Adelaide, where rescuers are going from tree to tree to save the koalas.
The scene there has been described as an animal apocalypse. The worst part? This is just the start of Australia’s summer and there’s no end in sight.
“I love animals,” Leivo said. “It’s hard to watch. To see it’s getting destroyed and there’s nothing we can do about it is devastating.”
He’s told about a story that has emerged from the fires. Kangaroos have been digging holes to protect their offspring, but field biologists have also noticed wombats are digging holes and letting other animals use their burrows to escape the fire. “Amazing,” he said.
Leivo and Lane have already given to relief efforts and will likely give again. If you’re interested, a Google search of “donations for Australia” generates over a billion results. Australia’s biggest celebrities are front and centre in the fundraising.
Then there’s this: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was ripped for donating a mere US$690,000 to relief agencies. Others have noted private donations are bailing out a government that was ill-prepared for the fires and has relied on volunteer firefighters to battle the inferno.
Leivo doesn’t care much for the politics of the crisis. He just wants his people to be safe and Australia to be restored.
“We want it to be safe for our kids,” he said. “We’re praying it ends.”
He isn’t alone.