SYDNEY, Jan 13, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Exhausted firefighters said they had
finally brought Australia’s largest “megablaze” under control Monday, as wet
weather promised to deliver much-needed respite for countryside ravaged by
bushfires.
New South Wales firefighters said they finally had the upper hand in the
fight against the vast Gospers Mountain fire on Sydney’s northwestern
outskirts, which has been burning for almost three months.
Visiting the area on Monday, New South Wales Rural Fire Service
commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said there was a “small area of burning still
to complete” but the “containment prognosis looks promising”.
The fire seared an area of national park three times the size of Greater
London and lit several connected blazes totalling over 800,000 hectares.
As residents and authorities continued to come to grips with the sheer
scale of the devastation, the Bureau of Meteorology forecast some firegrounds
areas could get up to 50 millimetres (two inches) of rain in the next week, a
relief after a prolonged drought.
If that forecast bears out, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said it
would be “all of our Christmas, birthday, engagement, anniversary, wedding
and graduation presents rolled into one. Fingers crossed.”
Dozens of other fires are yet to be controlled.
– Alice Cooper –
The climate-change-fuelled fires have prompted an international outpouring
and donations from around the world to help communities and animal
populations.
Australia’s unique flora and fauna has taken a catastrophic hit, with an
estimated one billion animals killed, and countless trees and shrubs burned
away.
The country’s environment minister Sussan Ley has warned that in some
areas, koalas may have to be reclassified as endangered.
The government has earmarked an initial $50 million (US$35 million) to
spend on helping with the wildlife recovery.
“This has been an ecological disaster, a disaster that is still
unfolding,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announcing the emergency fund.
This weekend, Sydney will host a charity gig to benefit fire services, the
Red Cross and animal welfare organisations.
Headliners include Alice Cooper, Olivia Newton-John and Queen.
– Bushfire backlash –
The political impact of the bushfires is also coming into sharper relief.
A poll released Monday showed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s approval
ratings have nosedived in the face of widespread anger over his handling of
the deadly crisis.
The Newspoll survey showed 59 percent of Australian voters are
dissatisfied with the conservative leader’s performance overall, and only 37
percent were satisfied, an abrupt reversal since his shock election win last
May.
Morrison has been criticised heavily for his response to the months-long
crisis — which included going on holiday to Hawaii, making a series of
gaffes and misleading statements about his government’s actions, and forcing
angry victims to shake his hand.
Morrison began the crisis insisting local authorities had enough resources
to handle the fires and exhausted volunteers firefighters “want to be there”.
He also repeatedly stated that Australia was doing more than enough to
meet its emission reduction targets, prompting a series of large-scale street
protests.
Seeing a backlash, Morrison has since deployed the military, launched the
largest peacetime call up of reserves, pledged billions of dollars in aid,
increased payments to firefighters, and suggested more work may need to be
done on emissions.