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Australia grapples with bushfires fueled by record-breaking heat [Photos]
In the midst of a major heat wave in Australia, thousands of firefighters are battling bushfires ravaging New South Wales.
Wed, Jan 09 2013 at 10:48 AM
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Photo: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
Australia, a country on fire
A firefighter watches as a helicopter flies away to perform water-bombing operations against a bushfire that is scorching the Sandhills of Bungendore on Jan. 9 in New South Wales, Australia.
In the midst of what could be one of Australia's hottest summers on record, thousands of firefighters are battling 140 bushfires ravaging New South Wales. Authorities have rated the string of bushfires as "catastrophic," meaning that the flames are fast, uncontained, uncontrollable and unpredictable.
The weather is so hot and dry in the Land Down Under that the Australian Bureau of Meteorology was forced to add an entirely new color to its heat index maps. In the map below, the purple splotch reflects a record-breaking 129.2 degrees observed on Jan. 8.
Image: Australia Bureau of Meteorology
This new record temperature leaps 6 degrees above the previous record high of 123 degrees, which was recorded in 1960 at the Oodnadatta Airport in South Australia.
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Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Murky billowing smoke
The sun appears red through the thick, dark clouds produced by a nearby bushfire on Jan. 4 near Mount Wellington in Hobart, Australia.
After enduring yesterday's scorcher, Australians woke up to slightly cooler temperatures that rolled in overnight. Firefighters took advantage of this welcome respite by reigning in several of the bushfires, though 30 of them remain uncontained.
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Photo: Chris Kidd/AFP/Getty Images
Tasmania's fiery ordeal
The charred remains of a house destroyed by a bushfire is seen in this aerial view on Jan. 5 between Dunalley and Boomer Bayon on the Australian island of Tasmania.
As the Australian mainland battles the flames, Tasmania is dealing with its own fiery problems. Thousands of people on the island fled their homes after fires burned more than 148,000 acres of land and destroyed more than 100 properties.
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Photo: Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images
Putting out the flames
Firefighters douse burning logs set alight by a fire on Jan, 9 near Nowra, New South Wales, Australia.
Although many of the flames are under control, firefighters remain on guard as temperatures are predicted to rise again later in the week.
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Photo: Pamela Martin/Getty Images
Ominous sky
Smoke rises from a distant wildfire on Jan. 8 in Nimmitabel, New South Wales, Australia.
To avoid sparking any new flames, New South Wales has declared a total fire ban within the state's Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Ranges regions.
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Aussie battlers
Jan 11 2013 at 12:44 AM
I really feel for the families and people who have lost homes, businesses, livestock and possessions. I can't help but shed a tear watching it unfold on TV. My family came very close to losing their home, that I grew up in, in the Black Saturday Fires. It was frightening. My husband was helping with the fires with the Army Reserves and they were heading straight for where the fires were via the HighWay. Needless to say I was happy when he arrived home safely.
I think the worst thing is that
.... More
some of the fires were delibrately lit. One was a camp fire not extingushed properly. Do people seriously not think of what will happen?
I live in Eastern Victoria and so far we have been spared. My chickens are even sweating today.
But still we battle on, we help each other any way we can, food, clothing, hay for livestock and donations made via the Red Cross.
I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose my home, my belongings, garden and animals. As long as my family and I are safe, thats all that matters.
My thoughts go out to all the people affected by disasters like what we are going through.
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