With unseasonably warm weather and perfect conditions for a catastrophe, much of New South Wales is burning while hundreds of fires have popped up across Australia. According to the Washington Post, since the fires began in October, more than a 1,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed, 17 people are missing and at least 17 have died. Evacuations are in progress with some 4,000 people set to be moved out of a remote area of Victoria. People are even using the beaches and the wide swaths of sand as safe zones form the fires in some areas.
In November we reported that surfing icon Nat Young had lost his ranch home an hour inland of Angourie, NSW near Nymboida, where he raised three of his four children. “It’s hard to imagine,” Young told us at the time, of the 30-foot flame ball that engulfed his home. “If you’re not there you can’t imagine how dramatic and powerful nature can be when it’s out of control like that. A lot of people have lost their homes so the fire didn’t just pick out ours in particular.”
The video, above, pretty much epitomizes the struggle of fire and rescue crews as they work tirelessly to fight the blazes. According to caption info, the video was taken by “Fire and Rescue NSW Station 509 Wyoming.” It shows the truck being overrun by the brushfire south of Nowra. You can see the crew sheltering themselves from the window as it heats up. They were reportedly okay and were able to make it through.
Good thoughts go out to the Australian people dealing with this catastrophe.
Here is a list of ways you can donate to the victims of the Australian Fires.
