Pictures Speak Louder Than Words—18 Photos That Show Just How Devastating Australia’s Bushfires Have Been
Bushfires across Australia have shown no sign of slowing down, forcing the evacuation of entire towns and shutting down major highways along the way. At least 17 people have died since the bushfire season began in August and millions of animals have been killed across some 19,300 square miles of devastation. For nearby towns and cities, a toxic cloud of smoke poses an ongoing health threat to residents, forcing many to wear ventilation masks when outdoors. The 2019–2020 Australian bushfire season marks the most destructive and widespread season in the country’s history.
Exhausted firefighters are facing at least two more months on the frontline before the horrific and unprecedented bushfire season shows any sign of letting up.
Thousands of homes have been lost and authorities estimate at least half a billion animals —whether native Australian or livestock relied on by farmers— have been killed in the fires.
Most of the nation’s cities and towns are also or have been, blanketed in thick, hazardous bushfire smoke.
But words and statistics aside, nothing explains the horror locals and firefighters are dealing with, more poignantly than pictures.To show you just how serious the situation is, we made a list of images that prove that things are absolutely terrifying in the Land Down Under. A warning, some of the following photos are graphic.
Fire fighters are saving people, animals, and homes in Australia
Australia glows like lava after being consumed by bushfire
Over 1 billion animals feared dead in Australian wildfires
Last week, an ecologist at the University of Sydney estimated that nearly half a billion animals had been wiped out since Australia’s devastating wildfires started spreading in September. Now, he says that number has soared to over 800 million in New South Wales and over 1 billion nationally.
A kangaroo that died trying to escape
A juvenile kangaroo tragically caught on a fence trying to escape the devastating Cudlee Creek fire in South Australia. Locals Terry Reardon and Joan Gibbs managed to save their Fox Creek Rd property although the entire area around was burnt, killing hundreds of native animals.
Thousands of firefighters are battling fires for hours on end
No filters. Australia is red from wildfires.
You know it’s serious when wild animals ask human for help
Matrix for Daily Mail Australia
The Kangaroo Is Drenched In Water After Approaching A Human For Help
Bushfire evacuation
Thick plumes of smoke rise from bushfires along the coast of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, on January 4
Australian Maritime Safety Authority via Reuters
Burned animal carcasses lie along the road
The New Batlow Hotel via Reuters
After bushfires swept through Batlow, New South Wales, Australia, on January 5, dozens of animals were seen dead along the road. This image is from a video taken through a car window.
A local shelters near a wharf in Mallacoota, Victoria, where horrific bushfires turned the sky blood red.
The Australia Flag flies under red skies
Getting away from the fires in Mallacoota
Finn Burns, one of the many kids to flee the Mallacoota fires via water. The terrifying photo went global.
Rubble everywhere
The rubble of buildings sits on the ground after they were destroyed by fire, in Cobargo, New South Wales, Australia.
Cow lies dead in Coogalite
Cars are melting in the fires
Charred cars line the streets of NSW
Like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie
The fires are hot enough to melt vehicles
Molten metal running from a burnt-out car in Victoria.
