Australia is engulfed in flames. (Image: MyFireWatch/screenshot)
'Everything is Burning': Australian Inferno Continues, Choking Off Access to Cities Across Country
"These fires are likely to continue to spread well past Christmas."
Australia is on fire.
The country on Saturday saw delayed flights on the second day of a national state of emergency due to raging brushfires near every major city and choked out smoke conditions.
Australian reporter Saffron Howden used a map from the Government of Western Australia to show how the blazes have ringed the entire continent.
"My god," Howden tweeted.
My god pic.twitter.com/hfmqN7eL2Z
-- Saffron Howden (@saffronhowden) December 21, 2019
The fires in Australia's southeastern state of New South Wales (NSW) were at the "catastrophic" level on Saturday, according to the BBC.
"These fires are likely to continue to spread well past Christmas," said NSW Rural Fire Services Inspector Ben Shepherd.
Photos shared on social media showed hazy skies around the country.
"Everything is burning," said one Twitter user.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, Australia just endured a heat wave that broke records for temperature in consecutive days.
"I think this is the single loudest alarm bell I've ever heard on global heating," said Kees van der Leun, a director at the American consultancy firm Navigant.
Temperatures dropped on the back of a cooling wind on Saturday, but, as The Guardian reported, the wind brings with it other problems:
A southerly change swept through at 5pm, making the fire even more erratic and changing the fire direction. Around this time, NSW authorities began warning of a bushfire-generated thunderstorm that had formed over Currowan and Tianjara fires in the Shoalhaven area, on the NSW south coast.
The fire service said this would lead to increasingly dangerous fire conditions. Such storms, known as pyroCB, can produce embers hot enough to spark new fires 30km from the main fire.
While his country was on fire, right-wing climate-denying Prime Minister Scott Morrison was on vacation in Hawaii. Morrison returned to Australia on Saturday after two firefighters died fighting one of three huge blazes near Sydney. Morrison's absence during the crisis pprovoked outcry from constituents.
One Twitter user posted a picture showing from above the blazes around Sydney as Morrison was arriving in the city, reportedly after circling for an hour due to runway closures.
What Scott Morrison saw landing into Sydney tonight, after an hour delay because of runway closures #auspol pic.twitter.com/qUDTLDzLaw
-- Terry Australis ++ Noisy Australian (@AustralisTerry) December 21, 2019
A map of the city showed only two routes out of Sydney due to the fires.
"Today has been an awful day," NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmon told reporters.
Fitzsimmon added that the fires were largely out of any meaningful control barring nature taking a hand.
"We will not get on top of these fires until we get some decent rain--we have said that for weeks and months," said Fitzsimmon.
According to Reuters, the Australian Bureau of Meterology has reported there will be no significant rainfall in the country for at least the next two months.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Australia is on fire.
The country on Saturday saw delayed flights on the second day of a national state of emergency due to raging brushfires near every major city and choked out smoke conditions.
Australian reporter Saffron Howden used a map from the Government of Western Australia to show how the blazes have ringed the entire continent.
"My god," Howden tweeted.
My god pic.twitter.com/hfmqN7eL2Z
-- Saffron Howden (@saffronhowden) December 21, 2019
The fires in Australia's southeastern state of New South Wales (NSW) were at the "catastrophic" level on Saturday, according to the BBC.
"These fires are likely to continue to spread well past Christmas," said NSW Rural Fire Services Inspector Ben Shepherd.
Photos shared on social media showed hazy skies around the country.
"Everything is burning," said one Twitter user.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, Australia just endured a heat wave that broke records for temperature in consecutive days.
"I think this is the single loudest alarm bell I've ever heard on global heating," said Kees van der Leun, a director at the American consultancy firm Navigant.
Temperatures dropped on the back of a cooling wind on Saturday, but, as The Guardian reported, the wind brings with it other problems:
A southerly change swept through at 5pm, making the fire even more erratic and changing the fire direction. Around this time, NSW authorities began warning of a bushfire-generated thunderstorm that had formed over Currowan and Tianjara fires in the Shoalhaven area, on the NSW south coast.
The fire service said this would lead to increasingly dangerous fire conditions. Such storms, known as pyroCB, can produce embers hot enough to spark new fires 30km from the main fire.
While his country was on fire, right-wing climate-denying Prime Minister Scott Morrison was on vacation in Hawaii. Morrison returned to Australia on Saturday after two firefighters died fighting one of three huge blazes near Sydney. Morrison's absence during the crisis pprovoked outcry from constituents.
One Twitter user posted a picture showing from above the blazes around Sydney as Morrison was arriving in the city, reportedly after circling for an hour due to runway closures.
What Scott Morrison saw landing into Sydney tonight, after an hour delay because of runway closures #auspol pic.twitter.com/qUDTLDzLaw
-- Terry Australis ++ Noisy Australian (@AustralisTerry) December 21, 2019
A map of the city showed only two routes out of Sydney due to the fires.
"Today has been an awful day," NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmon told reporters.
Fitzsimmon added that the fires were largely out of any meaningful control barring nature taking a hand.
"We will not get on top of these fires until we get some decent rain--we have said that for weeks and months," said Fitzsimmon.
According to Reuters, the Australian Bureau of Meterology has reported there will be no significant rainfall in the country for at least the next two months.
Australia is on fire.
The country on Saturday saw delayed flights on the second day of a national state of emergency due to raging brushfires near every major city and choked out smoke conditions.
Australian reporter Saffron Howden used a map from the Government of Western Australia to show how the blazes have ringed the entire continent.
"My god," Howden tweeted.
My god pic.twitter.com/hfmqN7eL2Z
-- Saffron Howden (@saffronhowden) December 21, 2019
The fires in Australia's southeastern state of New South Wales (NSW) were at the "catastrophic" level on Saturday, according to the BBC.
"These fires are likely to continue to spread well past Christmas," said NSW Rural Fire Services Inspector Ben Shepherd.
Photos shared on social media showed hazy skies around the country.
"Everything is burning," said one Twitter user.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, Australia just endured a heat wave that broke records for temperature in consecutive days.
"I think this is the single loudest alarm bell I've ever heard on global heating," said Kees van der Leun, a director at the American consultancy firm Navigant.
Temperatures dropped on the back of a cooling wind on Saturday, but, as The Guardian reported, the wind brings with it other problems:
A southerly change swept through at 5pm, making the fire even more erratic and changing the fire direction. Around this time, NSW authorities began warning of a bushfire-generated thunderstorm that had formed over Currowan and Tianjara fires in the Shoalhaven area, on the NSW south coast.
The fire service said this would lead to increasingly dangerous fire conditions. Such storms, known as pyroCB, can produce embers hot enough to spark new fires 30km from the main fire.
While his country was on fire, right-wing climate-denying Prime Minister Scott Morrison was on vacation in Hawaii. Morrison returned to Australia on Saturday after two firefighters died fighting one of three huge blazes near Sydney. Morrison's absence during the crisis pprovoked outcry from constituents.
One Twitter user posted a picture showing from above the blazes around Sydney as Morrison was arriving in the city, reportedly after circling for an hour due to runway closures.
What Scott Morrison saw landing into Sydney tonight, after an hour delay because of runway closures #auspol pic.twitter.com/qUDTLDzLaw
-- Terry Australis ++ Noisy Australian (@AustralisTerry) December 21, 2019
A map of the city showed only two routes out of Sydney due to the fires.
"Today has been an awful day," NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmon told reporters.
Fitzsimmon added that the fires were largely out of any meaningful control barring nature taking a hand.
"We will not get on top of these fires until we get some decent rain--we have said that for weeks and months," said Fitzsimmon.
According to Reuters, the Australian Bureau of Meterology has reported there will be no significant rainfall in the country for at least the next two months.